Which Treks in Nepal Are Open After the Rasuwa Flood? A Trail-by-Trail Answer

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday and third-generation Himalayan guide. TAAN Member #1586. Last updated 8 September 2026. This is a live situation and I update this page as the position on the ground changes.

On the morning of 26 August a flash flood came down the Bhote Koshi river from the Tibet side and hit Rasuwa district, on Nepal's northern border. It destroyed the Rasuwagadhi border crossing and damaged the river corridor below it. Contractors, guides, cooks and porters who work with us were caught in it, and our people joined the rescue and the search in the days that followed, in Rasuwa and beyond. So what follows is not compiled from news reports. It is what we know from the ground, and I will keep this page current as things change.

Update, 6 September 2026: a second, separate flash flood has now hit the Manaslu region, washing away bridges near Namrung, and the district administration has closed the Manaslu Circuit and the Larke Pass until further notice. This is a new event, unrelated to the Rasuwa flood. I have written a full report with the official notice and photographs from our guides here: Manaslu Circuit closed after the September flood.

Update, 8 September 2026, evening: a landslide has blocked the Kimrong Khola in Kaski, above the Modi Khola on the Annapurna Base Camp trail, and the police have asked residents of Nayapul and Birethanti to move to safe ground. That landslide has since cleared and, as of 13 September 2026, Annapurna Base Camp, Poon Hill and Khopra Danda are open and running with us again. Mardi Himal, the Annapurna Circuit from Besisahar and everything outside the Annapurna region are unaffected. Full detail and what to do if you are booked: Kimrong Khola landslide, which Annapurna trails are not safe right now.

Update, 8 September 2026, later the same evening: good news from Manaslu. The Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal has announced that the Manaslu Circuit and Larke Pass trek is passable again, on an alternative trail with temporary wooden bridges built by the ward, the conservation area project and the people of Namrung where the suspension bridge was lost. Details and caveats on the Manaslu page.

The one-line answer: is trekking in Nepal safe right now?

Yes. Nepal is open and safe to trek, and the great majority of the country is running a completely normal autumn season. Out of every trekking region in the country, only two are affected by this year's floods: the Manaslu region and the Langtang and Rasuwa corridor on the northern border. Everest, Annapurna, Upper Mustang, Dolpo, Kanchenjunga and every cultural tour are unaffected and operating as usual. If you have read an alarming headline and are wondering whether to cancel Nepal altogether, please read the table below before you do anything.

Region-by-region status, at a glance

This is the honest, current picture as of 6 September 2026. Green means running normally, amber means route-dependent and checked before every departure, red means officially closed.

Region / trek	Status	Detail
Everest (Base Camp, Gokyo, Three Passes, Everest View, Ama Dablam)	✅ Open	Untouched. Lukla flights normal. Our groups fly through September and October as planned.
Annapurna (Circuit, Base Camp, Poon Hill, Mardi Himal, Tilicho, Nar Phu)	✅ Open	Trails, teahouses and permits all normal. A different river system entirely from the floods.
Upper Mustang	✅ Open	Rain-shadow region behind the main Himalaya. Unaffected.
Dolpo, Rara, Far West	✅ Open	Remote western regions, unaffected.
Kanchenjunga (far east)	✅ Open	Opposite end of the country from the floods. Unaffected.
Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Bardia, Lumbini (all city, cultural and safari tours)	✅ Open	Kathmandu itself was not damaged. Every cultural tour runs normally.
Langtang & Rasuwa (Langtang Valley, Tamang Heritage, Gosaikunda, Ruby Valley)	⚠️ Route-dependent	Parts open, sections near the flood corridor damaged. Checked on the ground before every departure.
Manaslu (Manaslu Circuit, Larke Pass, Tsum Valley)	🟠 Reopened 8 Sep on a local bypass	8 September: TAAN reports the trek is passable again on an alternative trail with temporary wooden bridges built by the ward, MCAP and the Namrung community; slower going at the crossing. Originally suspended by the District Administration Office, Gorkha, after the 6 September flood. Reopening date unknown.
Overland to Tibet / Kailash via Rasuwagadhi	⛔ Closed	Border crossing destroyed. Overland Tibet and Kailash routes via this border suspended until further notice.

So the whole of the disruption sits in two river corridors on the northern border. Everything else, which is where the overwhelming majority of trekking in Nepal actually happens, is open.

What exactly is damaged, and why it is so contained

Two separate floods, two weeks apart, both on the northern border, both following a single river valley each.

The Rasuwa flood of 26 August came down the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli. It destroyed the Rasuwagadhi border crossing to Tibet, damaged a section of the Langtang trail network near the corridor, and damaged the Rasuwa end of the Ruby Valley trek where it meets the same drainage. Overland trips into Tibet, including the Kailash overland route through this border, are suspended.

The Manaslu flood of early September came down the Budhi Gandaki and the Therang near Namrung, in Gorkha district. It washed away bridges on the Manaslu Circuit trail, including the main suspension bridge over the Budhi Gandaki, along with two micro hydropower plants and homes in the village. The District Administration Office in Gorkha and the Manaslu Conservation Area Project both issued notices the same day suspending the route.

Here is the thing worth understanding, because it is the whole reason the rest of the country is fine. These floods are violent but narrow. The destruction follows the river and nothing else. Nepal is 800 kilometres wide and its trekking regions are separated by some of the biggest mountains on Earth, sitting in entirely different watersheds. A flood in one border valley does not, and physically cannot, close a trail three ranges to the east. International headlines rarely draw the map, so it reads as "Nepal flooded" when the truth is "two river corridors on one border were hit".

What is completely open and running normally

Everything outside those two corridors. To be specific about the treks people are actually booked on this autumn:

The Everest Base Camp trek, Gokyo, the Three Passes and the Everest panorama routes are all unaffected. The Khumbu sits in a different watershed and was untouched by both floods. Lukla flights are operating normally and our own groups are flying through September and October as planned.

The Annapurna Circuit, Mardi Himal, Tilicho and Nar Phu are all open. Annapurna Base Camp, Poon Hill and Khopra Danda were on hold from the evening of 8 September because of the Kimrong Khola landslide above Nayapul and reopened on 13 September, see the update at the top of this page. The Annapurna region runs up the Marsyangdi and down the Kali Gandaki on the western side of the country, a separate river system entirely from the valleys that flooded. If your heart was set on Manaslu, the Annapurna Circuit is the closest open equivalent: a high pass, a full circuit, remote country and a similar challenge.

Upper Mustang, Dolpo, Rara, Kanchenjunga and the far west are all unaffected. And every city, cultural and wildlife tour, Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara, Chitwan and Bardia safaris and Lumbini, is running exactly as normal. Kathmandu itself was not damaged.

One honest operational note on Annapurna. The trek is entirely unaffected, but the road drive to the trailhead at Besisahar runs up the Trishuli corridor, which took damage in the Rasuwa flood, so that drive can be slower than usual and occasionally needs a four-wheel-drive vehicle. It is a travel-day inconvenience, not a closure, and it improves week by week. We plan for it and tell you in advance.

The two affected regions, in honest detail

Manaslu was officially closed on 6 September after the flood severed the trail at Namrung. On the evening of 8 September the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal announced it is passable again: the ward chair, the Manaslu Conservation Area Project and the Namrung community built an alternative trail with temporary wooden bridges where the Budhi Gandaki suspension bridge was lost, and the ward has told trekkers they can travel on it. Departures can run, with slower going at the crossing and the guide's call final at the bridge. I am still waiting to see the district administration's written withdrawal of its suspension and will note it here. The full report, with the government notice, the reopening and photographs from our guides, is here.

Langtang and Rasuwa is the genuinely "it depends" region. Parts of Langtang remain open and parts of the trail network near the flood corridor are damaged, so the answer turns on your exact route and your dates. We check conditions on the ground before every single departure, and where a section is not right we say so and offer an alternative rather than walk you into it. If you hold a Langtang, Tamang Heritage, Gosaikunda or Ruby Valley booking with anyone, the fair question to ask is not "is it open?" but "which sections have you personally verified this week?"

If you already have a booking, here is what to do

If you are booked on Everest, Annapurna, Mustang, Dolpo, Kanchenjunga or any cultural tour: nothing changes. Come as planned. Your trek is unaffected.

If you are booked on Manaslu: as of 8 September your trek can go ahead on the local bypass, and I will confirm with each of you personally before you fly. If you would still rather move, you have two honest options and you lose nothing either way. Keep the Manaslu booking and reschedule it for later in the season, or switch to an open trek on your same dates with your deposit carried straight across. Either way, message me and I will handle the change.

If you are booked on Langtang or Ruby Valley: message me with your dates and I will tell you honestly what we can verify for that week and whether I would change any section of your route.

If you were considering Nepal and have not booked: come. Pick any region outside the two affected corridors, which is almost all of them, and you are trekking a completely normal season.

How do you actually know a trail is safe?

A fair question to ask any operator right now, so here is how we know, honestly.

Our guides and crew live and work in these valleys, and trail information in Nepal moves guide to guide and lodge to lodge, faster than any official bulletin. We call the lodges on the route before departure, and a lodge owner will not talk a group into a valley their own village cannot reach. And we have a standing rule, told to every client in writing: the guide has final say on safety, over the itinerary and over the client's wishes. That rule does not change in a normal season and it certainly does not change now.

You should also not take my word for the closures on trust, including this page. The Manaslu route was closed by the District Administration Office in Gorkha and the Manaslu Conservation Area Project, and they are the authorities that will reopen it. The Rasuwa border status is a matter for the Department of Immigration and the district authorities. Those are the sources that decide it, not any trekking company.

Should you still come to Nepal this autumn?

Yes, and I will give you the practical reasons rather than a slogan. The floods did not touch the regions where the overwhelming majority of autumn trekking happens. October remains the most reliable trekking month of the year, with the clearest, most stable weather. And tourism is precisely what keeps the families of these valleys standing after a hard monsoon. The lodge owners, porters and drivers of the unaffected country, which is almost all of it, did nothing wrong and are open for business. Cancelling a trek to Everest or Annapurna because a border valley flooded does not help the people who were hit; it only hurts the ones who were not.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to trek in Nepal right now? Yes. Only two trekking regions are affected, Manaslu and the Langtang and Rasuwa corridor. Everest, Annapurna, Mustang, Dolpo, Kanchenjunga and all cultural tours are open and running normally.

Is the Everest Base Camp trek affected by the floods? No. The Everest region sits in a different watershed and was untouched by both floods. Lukla flights are normal and treks are running as planned.

Is the Annapurna Circuit affected? The trek itself is not affected at all. The only knock-on is that the road drive to Besisahar can be slower where the Trishuli corridor was damaged, which is a travel-day inconvenience, not a closure.

Is the Manaslu Circuit open? Yes, again, since the evening of 8 September. It was closed by the District Administration Office in Gorkha after the 6 September flood washed away the bridges near Namrung, and it reopened when the local community, the ward and the Manaslu Conservation Area Project built an alternative trail with temporary wooden bridges. TAAN announced the reopening. Expect a rougher crossing than before and let your guide make the call at the bridge.

Is Langtang open? Partly. Some sections are fine and some near the flood corridor are damaged, so it depends on your exact route and dates. We verify conditions before every departure.

Can I still travel to Kailash overland from Nepal? Not through the Rasuwagadhi border, which was destroyed. That overland route is suspended. If you are planning Kailash, message me and I will tell you the current position honestly.

Was Kathmandu damaged? No. Kathmandu, Pokhara and the cultural sites were not affected. Flights, hotels and city tours are all normal.

Should I cancel my trip to Nepal? If your trek is in any region other than Manaslu or Langtang and Rasuwa, there is no reason to. If it is in one of those two, you do not need to cancel; message me and we will reschedule it or move you to an open trek without losing your deposit.

Talk to a person on the ground

If your plans touched the affected corridors, meaning Manaslu, Langtang, Ruby Valley, Tamang Heritage or the overland route to Tibet, message me on WhatsApp and I will tell you honestly what we can verify for your dates and what I would change. And if anyone tells you all of Nepal is closed, or all of Nepal is untouched, be equally suspicious of both. We are a licensed Kathmandu operator, registered in 2016, TAAN member 1586, with our own guides in the affected valleys.

A note for journalists covering the floods: our team took part in the rescue and search operations and we operate in the affected valleys. For on-the-ground information, trail and border status, or an interview, contact Shreejan Simkhada directly on WhatsApp at +977 9810351300 or [email protected]. We have given broadcast interviews on the flood already and respond quickly.

Official sources: District Administration Office, Gorkha (Manaslu closure notice); Manaslu Conservation Area Project (permit-region advisory); Department of Immigration, Nepal (border status); Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday and third-generation Himalayan guide. TAAN Member #1586. This page was last updated on 6 September 2026 and will be updated as conditions change. Every booking helps fund our Nagarjun Learning Center.