Nepal flood road closures: the Rasuwa and Trishuli corridor
A flash flood down the Bhote Koshi on 26 August 2026 destroyed roads, bridges and settlements from Rasuwagadhi and Timure through Syabrubesi and on down the Trishuli. This page lists the routes a visitor would actually be on, what is reported about each, and who reported it.
If your plans go through Rasuwa, Langtang or the Kerung/Rasuwagadhi border, do not travel — postpone, and check with your operator.
Approximate locations of the settlements and road sections named below. These are place markers, not road alignments — we have no verified geometry for a valley this flood has just rearranged, and drawing a line through it would be a claim we cannot support.
Closed
Open with difficulty
Not verified
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Routes affected, and what is reported about each
Every row is dated and linked to its source. Where nobody credible has said, the row says “not verified” rather than guessing in either direction — a wrong “open” puts somebody on a road that is not there.
The only road to Syabrubesi, which is the trailhead for the Langtang Valley and Gosaikunda treks and the road to the Tibet border.
There is still no road at all between Dhunche and Syabrubesi; Syabrubesi is reached only by helicopter, drone or on foot. About 40 km of road and 41 motorable bridges were destroyed across Nuwakot and Rasuwa, and the work so far is at the southern end of the corridor rather than the trekking end — a 9.5 km track has been opened between Dhunge Bazar and Betrawati with about 500 metres to go, and a 200-metre washout at Ratmate is being bypassed — but nothing continues above Dhunche. The Department of Roads describes a three-phase repair: a 70-metre Bailey bridge at the Falakhu Khola to restore a direct link up to Dhunche and on towards Syabrubesi, then Bailey bridges over the Bhote Koshi and the Chilime at Syabrubesi, then one onward towards Timure. It is aiming for a temporary track through to the Rasuwagadhi border by Dashain. Treat that as a target, not a date.
Alternative route to Dhunche (Tokha – Kalikasthan – Dhunche)
Open with difficulty
The detour opened around the destroyed highway, reaching Dhunche via Tokha and Chhahare.
Dhunche itself is still reachable by road from Kathmandu and Bidur, and is where relief supplies are being stockpiled. The detour is a single-lane route open to small vehicles, reported to be in poor condition and held up by landslides and mud. It is a relief and residents' route, not a tourist route, and it ends at Dhunche — nothing continues up the valley from there.
Nepal's main overland crossing into Tibet, and the road used by overland Mount Kailash trips.
The flood destroyed the border checkpoint, the Timure customs and immigration area and the Miteri (Sino-Nepal Friendship) Bridge itself. The crossing is still closed and no reopening date has been set. The government says it is preparing a temporary track to keep some route to Rasuwagadhi open, and China has given a verbal commitment to help rebuild the road with nothing yet signed; electric vehicle imports, around 60 percent of what came through here, have been redirected to the Chobhar dry port. Reported on 30 August: cargo was also diverted to Korala in Mustang, the overland Kailash route is not expected to run again this season, and flying Kathmandu – Lhasa is the remaining way in.
Not a Rasuwa road, but the main link between Kathmandu and the rest of the country — and the road most visitors use to reach Pokhara.
Reopened, on a temporary track. About 70 metres of the highway collapsed into the Trishuli at Krishnabhir on 30 August and the Malekhu – Muglin section was cut for 18 days; two-way traffic resumed on the morning of 17 September over a new 270-metre gravel track cut above the slip. That track is provisional — the Department of Roads plans to watch it for about two weeks before deciding when to blacktop it — several stretches between Nagdhunga and Mugling are still down to one lane, and the district administration warns that parts of the highway remain liable to subsidence, landslides and falling debris. A tunnel under Krishnabhir, a bypass bridge and a Benighat – Fisling alternative are all still being studied as the permanent fix. Check on the day you travel.
The upper valley settlements above the flood path.
Still reported cut off by road and reliant on helicopter and drone deliveries, with supplies waiting in Dhunche for airlift. Temporary rope crossings are being installed at several points, including one over the Bhote Koshi between Syabrubesi and Chilime.
Langtang Valley and Gosaikunda trails above Syabrubesi
Closed
The walking, once you are past the roadhead.
The Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal has warned against travel to Langtang, and the Langtang Valley trek, Gosaikunda, the Helambu Circuit and the Tamang Heritage Trail are reported closed or restricted. Bridges, trails and part of the Syabrubesi market were swept away. Note what is and is not sourced here: the closure is, the physical state of the trail above Syabrubesi still is not — so treat the upper valley as unknown rather than as fine.
Our pages for these describe them as they were before 26 August 2026 and have not been rewritten — read them for what the valley is, not for whether you can get there now.
Is the Langtang trek open after the 2026 Rasuwa flood?
No. The Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal has warned against travel to Langtang, and the Langtang Valley trek, Gosaikunda, the Helambu Circuit and the Tamang Heritage Trail are reported closed or restricted. The road to the trailhead is gone too: Syabrubesi is reached by the Pasang Lhamu Highway, which is buried by landslide debris with sections carried away by the flood of 26 August 2026, and two weeks on there is no road up the valley from Dhunche at all. The physical state of the trail above Syabrubesi is a separate question nobody credible has answered, so treat the upper valley as unknown rather than as fine.
Can I still cross into Tibet at Rasuwagadhi or Kerung?
No. The crossing and the Timure customs area were wrecked by the flood, and the overland Mount Kailash route is not expected to run again this season. Flying Kathmandu to Lhasa is the remaining way in.
Is the Kathmandu to Pokhara road affected?
It was, and it is open again. The Malekhu – Muglin section was cut at Krishnabhir from 30 August, when about 70 metres of the highway collapsed into the Trishuli, until 17 September, when two-way traffic resumed over a new 270-metre gravel track cut above the slip. That track is temporary: the Department of Roads means to watch it for about two weeks before deciding when to blacktop it, several stretches between Nagdhunga and Mugling are still down to one lane, and the district administration warns that parts of the highway remain liable to subsidence and falling debris. Check on the day you travel rather than trusting any page, including this one. Pokhara itself is open and its airport is operating normally.
Is the rest of Nepal safe to visit?
This flood hit one corridor — the Bhote Koshi and upper Trishuli through Rasuwa and Nuwakot. The government and the trekking industry both say the rest of the country is open: airports are operating normally, and Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Lumbini, Janakpur, Bardiya and the Annapurna and Everest regions are unaffected. Note that both of those are interested parties, and getting west by road is a separate question — the Kathmandu – Pokhara highway only reopened on 17 September, over a temporary track at Krishnabhir. The country-wide caution is the ordinary one for late monsoon: roads and flights change at short notice into September.
Where should I check for official updates?
Nepal's BIPAD disaster portal at bipadportal.gov.np is the official source, and your own embassy publishes its own advisory. Both are more current than any travel site, including this one. We date every row on this page so you can see how old it is.
How current is this page?
Every route below carries the date its status was reported and a link to the source. The page as a whole was last checked against those sources on 18 September 2026. If that date is far behind today, treat the page as history and go to the official portal.
How we sourced this
National press, official notices and embassy advisories only. We have left out the trekking-company posts that dominate a search for this event: they went up within hours to rank, and their incentive runs toward telling you the season is fine. We publish no casualty or missing figures — those moved by orders of magnitude within a single afternoon, and a stale number here would be worse than none.
We are a travel site, not a disaster authority. Everything below is dated so you can see how old it is, and BIPAD and your own embassy will always be more current than we are.
Our thoughts are with everyone in Rasuwa and Nuwakot, and with the families still waiting for news.
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