Budhi Gandaki Flood in Manaslu on 11 October 2026: Is It Safe to Trek?

A flash flood came down the Budhi Gandaki before dawn on Sunday 11 October 2026 and hit the lower Manaslu trail. A landslide had dammed the river near the entrance to Tsum Valley. When the dam broke, the water ran through Jagat, Salleri, Dobhan and Machha Khola and reached Soti by 7:30am.

No deaths had been confirmed by midday, but at least four people are missing. The damage is to houses, hotels and bridges, and much of it sits on the first two walking days of the Manaslu Circuit.

Update, 28 October: TAAN said on 25 October that trekking had resumed on the Manaslu Circuit and in Tsum Valley after temporary repairs. A storm is now forecast from 29 to 31 October, and restricted-area permits, Manaslu and Tsum included, are paused for those days. Please wait for our confirmation before you start. Details are in Nepal weather warning, 29 to 31 October 2026.

Update, 17 October: the Manaslu Circuit and Tsum Valley are still closed, and no reopening date has been given. On 14 October the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) said about 100 foreign tourists and 80 Nepali trekking staff were still waiting for rescue. Manaslu permit holders can now use their permit for one entry into the Annapurna region instead. Details are in Is the Manaslu Circuit open now?

Update, 11 October afternoon: according to the Manaslu Conservation Area Project (MCAP), 211 foreign tourists are stuck because of the flood. Rescue and safe evacuation are under way. No deaths have been confirmed, but at least four herders are missing from Chumchet, and the Nepali Army has airlifted six people from Jagat.

Is the Manaslu Circuit open now?

No. On 15 October 2026 the Manaslu Circuit, Tsum Valley and Manaslu Tsum Valley treks were still closed, and no reopening date had been given. Tourism officials say the flood-damaged trails remain inaccessible.

• People still stranded. On 14 October TAAN wrote to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. It said about 100 foreign tourists and 80 Nepali trekking staff were still waiting for rescue, down from more than 400 tourists and 600 support staff at first. The Nepal Tourism Board asked the government to coordinate the rescue the same day.
• Where they are. Many were on the first days of the trek, around Machha Khola, Jagat and Philim. Others had finished Tsum Valley and were heading for Larkya La. TAAN asked for helicopter evacuation from Jagat, Philim and Chumchet or Chhekampar.
• Insurance gaps. TAAN said most guides and porters have no helicopter rescue insurance, and some tourists' policies do not cover a helicopter evacuation after a natural disaster.
• Manaslu permits work in Annapurna. Under a special arrangement from the Manaslu Conservation Area Project (MCAP), trekkers who bought a Manaslu Conservation Area permit before the flood and cannot use it can make one entry into the Annapurna Conservation Area without buying a new permit. No end date has been set for this.
• Operators are cancelling. The Mountain Company has cancelled its Manaslu and Tsum treks for the whole autumn season and is sending clients to Upper Mustang and the Annapurna Circuit instead.

Some websites still say the Manaslu Circuit has reopened. Those reports are about the earlier flood at Namrung on 6 September, not this one.

Manaslu trail status after the flood

The Manaslu Circuit Trek, Tsum Valley Trek and Manaslu Tsum Valley Trek are temporarily blocked and closed for now, because a few bridges are gone. If you are booked, please wait for confirmation from us before you start. The board below is route by route, with the date each row was confirmed and who confirmed it.

Manaslu recent flood: what happened on 11 October

The water reached the villages at about 4am, with a loud roar. Residents, and trekkers staying in riverside hotels, fled to higher ground in the dark. Ward chair Ram Kumar Gurung said people could not even take their belongings.

At about 6:40am the Flood Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology warned that a large muddy flood was moving downstream. It asked people to keep away from the riverbanks all the way to the Trishuli confluence. Its flood expert, Binod Parajuli, expected the water to take about three hours to reach Arughat.

It reached Soti Bazaar at 7:30am, according to Gorkha's Chief District Officer, Dharmendra Kumar Mishra.

Later, Chumnubri's Chief Administrative Officer, Narayan Sapkota, said the river had blocked again, with no flow seen for 15 minutes. A second surge is possible. Nepal Police asked residents of Khorlabesi, Machha Khola, Soti, Arkhet and Arughat to move to safe places.

Helicopters have been sent to Gorkha for rescue and evacuation. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said an army helicopter had already left and that market areas were being evacuated. Prime Minister Balen Shah said Nepali Army teams were deployed by air and by land, and six people were airlifted from Jagat, where the landslide risk is high.

By the afternoon, the Manaslu Conservation Area Project (MCAP) said 211 foreign tourists were stuck because of the flood, and that their rescue and safe evacuation were under way.

Budhi Gandaki flood: what caused it

It was not rain. There was no rainfall in the upper catchment, according to the disaster authority.

The Budhi Gandaki, also spelled Budi Gandaki or Burhi Gandaki, was blocked by a landslide in ward 6 of Chumnubri Rural Municipality. Ratopati reports the slide fell overnight between Lokpa and Chumling, on the trail into Tsum Valley. Assistant Chief District Officer Netra Prasad Sharma said floodwater had been held back in the Syar Khola, the river that drains Tsum, before it surged down.

Chumnubri's deputy chair, Laxmi Gurung, compared it to the Bhotekoshi flood of 26 August in Rasuwa. That one took out the road to Langtang. See Is Nepal safe to trek after the 2026 flood? for that story.

Gorkha flood effect: houses, hotels and bridges

These are early figures from the morning of 11 October. Officials say a detailed count is still under way.

• Houses. 35 houses were washed away in Paiyu and Bagar, according to deputy chair Laxmi Gurung. One early report put it at more than 10.
• Villages. Gurung reported extensive damage in Dobhan, Ghatte Khola, Jagat and Salleri. Police at the local post said early information was that Salleri bazaar had been washed away and Jagat bazaar badly damaged.
• Hotels. Hotels at Nyak Phedi were swept away, and water entered hotels along the Ghatte Khola.
• Bridges. The bridge between Nyakchet and Philim/Sirdibas, the Bailey bridge at Dobhan, the suspension bridge from Machha Khola to Kerauja, the Masi Khola bridge and the road bridge between Soti and Manbu.
• Power. Electricity in the affected area is cut.
• People. No deaths had been confirmed by midday. At least four herders who lived in a shed by the Ungilung river at Chumchet are missing, and 15 yaks and nak were washed away with the sheds. The Kathmandu Post later counted five missing, plus four or five herders out of contact between Sirdibas and Chumling. Radio Nepal reported at least ten missing.

Lower Manaslu: the trail from Machha Khola to Philim

This is the part of the Manaslu Circuit that matters for anyone booked. On our itinerary, day 4 walks from Machha Khola to Jagat and day 5 carries on through Salleri and Philim towards Deng. Every flood report above names a place on those two days, and they are the only way up the Budhi Gandaki valley.

Higher up, the reports describe no damage at Namrung, Lho, Samagaun or Larkya La. That does not make the upper trail reachable. Until the bridges near Philim and at Dobhan are replaced or bypassed, and the river is running freely, the usual walk-in is cut.

The drive is affected too. The Soti to Manbu road bridge is gone and the flood reached Soti Bazaar, on the road towards Machha Khola. Our Manaslu Circuit trek guide has the full day-by-day route.

Tsum Valley after the flood

The flood started at the mouth of Tsum Valley. The landslide that dammed the river is on the trail between Lokpa and Chumling, which is how you walk into Tsum. The water that broke through had been held in the Syar Khola, Tsum's own river.

Higher up the valley, at Chumchet in ward 6, herders' sheds by the Ungilung river were washed away, with 15 yaks and nak. At least four herders who lived there are missing, and villagers searching for them could not find the shed. Little else has been reported from the valley, so treat the whole of Tsum as unconfirmed. This covers both the Tsum Valley Trek and the Manaslu and Tsum Valley Trek.

Is Manaslu safe or not right now?

Not to start a trek this week. Three things are true at once:

• The lower trail is cut. Bridges are gone near Philim and at Dobhan, and Salleri and Jagat are badly damaged.
• The river may surge again. It was reported blocked again after the first flood.
• The damage count is not in. Officials are still assessing, and power is out in the area.

What we know: no deaths have been confirmed, at least four people are missing, and on 14 October about 100 foreign tourists and 80 Nepali trekking staff were still waiting for rescue. What we do not know yet is when the trail will be walkable. That depends on temporary bridges and on the river settling. We will update this page and the board as the Gorkha district administration and the Manaslu Conservation Area Project publish changes.

Manaslu flood effect on October and November departures

October and November are the best months on the Manaslu Circuit, and that is when this has landed. If you hold a departure:

• Wait for confirmation before you start. We will tell you when the trail is confirmed safe.
• Talk to us before you fly. We can go through your dates or a later start. Contact us with your departure date.
• Use your permit in Annapurna. A Manaslu permit bought before the flood allows one entry into the Annapurna Conservation Area, so you can switch to an Annapurna trek without paying for a new conservation area permit.
• Allow spare days. Even after a reopening, expect temporary bridges and slower walking on the lower trail.

The Manaslu Circuit Trek page has the full itinerary and dates.

Gandaki flood on 6 September at Namrung

This is the second Budhi Gandaki flood in five weeks. On the morning of 6 September 2026, the Therang Khola flooded at Namrung, in wards 4 and 2 of Chumnubri. It swept away four houses and a suspension bridge on the trekking route. DSP Rajkumar Shrestha of the District Police Office said there were no human casualties.

Chumnubri's chairman, Nima Lama, said locals could arrange a temporary way across on foot. On 2 October, NTNC said all trekking routes in the Manaslu Conservation Area were open for permits again. The 11 October flood hit lower down the valley, below the Tsum junction, while Namrung is above it.

Sources

• The Tourism Times, Manaslu permit holders allowed one-time entry to Annapurna region after flood disruption, 15 October 2026
• The Tourism Times, Around 100 foreign tourists, 80 Nepali trekking workers await rescue in Manaslu, 15 October 2026
• ExplorersWeb, New flash floods disrupt trekking routes in Nepal, 13 October 2026
• Manaslu Conservation Area Project (MCAP), 211 foreign tourists stuck, rescue and evacuation under way, 11 October 2026
• The Kathmandu Post, Four people unaccounted for after Budhi Gandaki floods, 11 October 2026
• The Kathmandu Post, Five things to know about the Budhi Gandaki flash flood, 11 October 2026
• The Himalayan Times, Budhi Gandaki flood risk remains high as bridges, homes swept away, 11 October 2026
• Radio Nepal, Massive flood hits Budhigandaki River, at least 10 people missing, 11 October 2026
• OnlineKhabar, Six people at risk from Budhigandaki flood rescued by air, 11 October 2026
• Ratopati, Tourists stranded on Manaslu circuit due to floods in Budhi Gandaki, 11 October 2026
• OnlineKhabar, Flash flood in Budhigandaki puts areas down to Arughat at risk, 11 October 2026
• OnlineKhabar, Flood in Budhigandaki washes away 35 houses in Chumanubri, 11 October 2026
• OnlineKhabar, Budhigandaki flood washes away motorable bridge linking Manbu and Soti, 11 October 2026
• OnlineKhabar, Flood recalls Bhotekoshi disaster, says Chumnubri Deputy Chair Gurung, 11 October 2026
• Ratopati, High flow after landslide-blocked Budhi Gandaki opens, two suspension bridges washed away (Nepali), 11 October 2026
• Ratopati, Budhigandaki river blocked again in Chumanubri, 11 October 2026
• Ratopati, Helicopters deployed for flood rescue in Chumanubri, 11 October 2026
• Ratopati, Floodwaters reach Soti Bazaar, Dobhan's Bailey bridge washed away, 11 October 2026
• Ratopati, Major damage in Machhakhola bazaar, suspension bridge to Kerauja washed away, 11 October 2026
• Nagarik, Salleri bazaar washed away, huge damage at Jagat (Nepali), 11 October 2026
• Samaya Post, Blocked Budhi Gandaki bursts, tourists and locals flee (Nepali), 11 October 2026
• myRepublica, Budhigandaki flood raises alarm along Trishuli River, 11 October 2026
• Radio Nepal, People advised to move to higher ground as large muddy flood hits Budhi Gandaki, 11 October 2026
• The Tourism Times, Trekking permits reopen across Annapurna and Manaslu conservation areas, 2 October 2026
• Ratopati, Flooding in Therang Khola damages four houses and a bridge, 6 September 2026