Thorong La is being crossed again. ACAP's update on the evening of 3 October 2026 reported seven trekkers over the pass that day. On the morning of 4 October, ACAP's checkpoint in Manang was letting trekkers climb to Yak Kharka and High Camp.
It is not a formal reopening yet. ACAP's 30 September notice closing Thorong La and Tilicho "until further notice" has not been withdrawn. The road above Chame is still damaged, and only a lodge or two is open near the pass.
The board below is route by route, with the date each row was last confirmed and who confirmed it.
Is the Annapurna Circuit open?
Partly, and it is changing by the day. Three things are true at once:
- The pass is being crossed. ACAP's 3 October update reported seven trekkers over Thorong La that day.
- It has not been formally reopened. ACAP closed Thorong La and Tilicho until further notice on 30 September, and we have not seen a notice lifting that.
- The road reaches Chame. Vehicles can drive from Besisahar to Chame as of 3 October. Above Chame, the road to Bhratang is damaged but the trail is open.
So the circuit can be walked from Chame, with care and with spare days. It is not back to normal.
Thorong La pass: crossed again on 3 October
ACAP's Manang update on the evening of 3 October said seven trekkers had crossed the pass that day.
On the morning of 4 October, a trekker posting from Manang in the Annapurna Circuit Trek group on Facebook said the ACAP checkpoint had cleared them to climb to Yak Kharka and then High Camp. Checkpoint staff told them the pass should be fully open within a day or two, that others were already crossing, and that only one or two lodges were open at Thorong Phedi.
TAAN said on 1 October that ACAP expected the pass to reopen within five to six days. It also said ACAP had kept issuing permits for Thorong La and Tilicho throughout, on condition that trekkers register their route plan at the ACAP office in Dharapani.
Tilicho Lake is less clear. ACAP's closure named it, its 3 October update did not mention it, and NTNC reissued Tilicho permits on 2 October. Ask us before you plan the side trip.
Why Thorong La closed in late September
The closure began as a three-day precaution and outlasted it.
On 24 September, Manang's District Administration Office banned trekking from 25 to 27 September after the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology forecast heavy to extreme rain and high-altitude snow. Assistant Chief District Officer Krishna Prasad Paudel named Tilicho Lake, Thorong La, Ice Lake, Kang La and Bhimthang, and asked trekkers already on the trail to shelter in hotels.
The forecast was right. Snow started falling from about 7am on Friday 25 September, from Humde at about 3,300 metres upward. By 30 September, Dhak Bahadur Bhujel, chief of ACAP's Manang unit, said more than 150 trekkers who had crossed or tried to cross Thorong La had turned back. He said 226 foreign trekkers had registered in upper Manang and 44 had come down.
On 30 September, days after briefly reopening the Manang route, ACAP closed Thorong La and Tilicho until further notice. On 1 October an ACAP official told the BBC: "We have been holding back all these people who want to go to the Annapurna Circuit trek, although we are under pressure from the trekking industry to announce the route open." About 700 trekkers were waiting in Pokhara to start.
Besisahar to Chame road: reopened on 3 October
The Marsyangdi, swollen by rain, ate the road at several places along the valley. On 3 October, Nabin Bista, information officer for the Dumre-Besisahar-Chame Road Project, said the road had reopened for vehicles. Crews had cleared the landslides at Khotro, in Nason Rural Municipality ward 3, and Koto, in Chame Rural Municipality ward 5.
ACAP's update that evening said the road above Chame, to Bhratang, is still damaged, but the walking trail is open. Local authorities in Manang told our team on 3 October that ACAP was aiming to reopen the road on to Manang by 4 October. We will confirm here when vehicles are through.
During the storms, Chame was evacuated for landslide risk, and trekkers walking out told the BBC they crossed collapsed roads and swept-away bridges on the way down. Expect damaged sections on foot above Chame.
Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Himal and Poon Hill: permits reissued
ACAP's notice of 27 September closed three routes:
- the round Annapurna Circuit
- the Manang route
- the Jomsom to Muktinath route
It listed four more as awaiting confirmation of safe access: Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Himal, Ghorepani Poon Hill and Ghandruk.
On 2 October, the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), which runs ACAP, reopened permits for every route in the Annapurna Conservation Area. The notice names Annapurna Base Camp, Ghandruk, Ghorepani Poon Hill, Mardi Himal, Khayar Barah, Jomsom, Muktinath, Upper Mustang, Sikles, Kapuche Lake, Tilicho Lake, the Annapurna Circuit and Nar Phu. We have marked the four southern routes open on that basis.
On the Mustang side, the Beni to Jomsom road was still blocked between Tilkenichaur and Tatopani on 1 October. Floods and landslides damaged it at 46 places, according to the road project chief. The road from Jomsom down to Dana was open. That matters for anyone finishing the circuit at Muktinath and planning to drive out.
How many trekkers were stranded on the Annapurna Circuit
ACAP's checkpoint at Dharapani registered 590 foreign trekkers between 22 and 28 September, and 146 of them had already turned back by 30 September, according to ACAP tourism education assistant Bhupendra Gurung. ACAP said every trekker in Manang was safe. Helicopters were arranged for anyone ill, injured or running out of visa.
The BBC reported on 1 October that hundreds of trekkers had been flown out of Manang and Mustang. Across Nepal, the late-September landslides and rain killed about 30 people and affected more than 1,900 families.
Annapurna Circuit in October 2026: if you are booked
October is normally the best month on the circuit, and it can still be this year. The first days after fresh snow are slow ones, though, and the valley is still being repaired.
- Talk to us before you fly. We can go through your dates and whether to start now or wait a few days. Contact us with your departure date.
- Register at Dharapani. ACAP asks trekkers to give its Dharapani office their route plan. Check conditions again in Manang before going higher.
- Build in spare days. Allow two or three, for weather at the pass and the damaged road above Chame.
- Plan the exit. If you mean to drive out from Jomsom, the Beni road was still blocked on 1 October.
We will update this page and the board as ACAP and the district publish changes. For the rest of Nepal after the August flood, see Is Nepal safe to trek after the 2026 flood? The Annapurna Circuit Trek page has the full itinerary.
Sources
- Annapurna Circuit Trek group on Facebook, trekker report from the ACAP checkpoint in Manang, 4 October 2026
- NTNC Annapurna Conservation Area Project, Annapurna Circuit Trek (Manang) Update: 3 October 2026, 3 October 2026
- Nepal News (RSS), Besisahar-Chame road resumes after six-day obstruction, 3 October 2026
- The Tourism Times, Trekking permits reopen across Annapurna and Manaslu conservation areas, 2 October 2026
- Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, on the Thorong La reopening and permits, 1 October 2026
- Ratopati, Road repair begins on Beni-Jomsom-Korala road after floods and landslides, 1 October 2026
- BBC World Service, Trekkers helicoptered off mountains as more deadly landslides hit Nepal, 1 October 2026
- The Tourism Times, Thorong Pass, Tilicho trekking routes closed in Manang, 30 September 2026
- The Himalayan Times, Floods, landslides strand hundreds of tourists in Manang, 30 September 2026
- Nepal Press, Tourists stranded in Manang as floods, snowfall disrupt Annapurna Circuit, 30 September 2026
- The Tourism Times, Annapurna trekking routes closed or awaiting safety clearance, 27 September 2026
- The Kathmandu Post, Snow and rain disrupt life across Nepal's highlands, 26 September 2026
- Nepal News, Manang closes high-altitude trekking routes for three days due to weather, 24 September 2026
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