Nepal Trailhead Access in Autumn 2026: Road Closures, Flights and What Actually Works
Last updated 6 September 2026. Road and flight situations in Nepal change week to week. We keep this page current through the autumn season, and if you have a booking with us you will hear from us directly before anything affects your dates.
Autumn is the busiest trekking season in Nepal, and this year it opens with two problems on the roads that nobody planned for. The Prithvi Highway, which is how almost everyone gets from Kathmandu to Pokhara and the Annapurna trailheads, collapsed at the start of September. And the Rasuwa corridor, which is how everyone gets to Langtang, was torn apart by a flash flood in late August.
Neither of these means Nepal is closed. Most of the country's trekking is completely unaffected. But the difference between a smooth trip and a miserable one this October is knowing which routes are compromised and planning around them instead of finding out at six in the morning on a bus.
Here is the honest state of things, region by region.
The Prithvi Highway at Krishnabhir
On Sunday 1 September 2026 a roughly 70 metre section of the Prithvi Highway dropped into the Trishuli river at Krishnabhir, in Benighat Rorang municipality in Dhading district. A further 120 metre stretch alongside it cracked badly enough that engineers will not put traffic on it. The cause was floodwater carrying heavy debris straight into the base of the Krishnabhir cliff, which undercut the road.
This is not a minor closure. The Prithvi Highway normally carries about 12,000 vehicles a day and it is the single road link between Kathmandu and the entire west of the country. Pokhara, Chitwan, Lumbini, the Annapurna trailheads and the road to Besisahar and Manaslu all sit on the far side of it.
As of this update the government has not committed to a reopening date. The Prime Minister has said publicly that the Krishnabhir section will be operational within the month, and separate estimates from the road department have talked about 15 days. Engineers are still deciding whether to rebuild the road on its original alignment or push a new one into the hillside, and until that decision is made any date you read is a hope rather than a plan.
What people are actually doing instead
Traffic is moving, just slowly and by other roads.
- Galchhi to Anbu Khaireni via Dhadingbesi, Arughat and Gorkha Bazaar. This is the main diversion for anyone heading west from Kathmandu. It is a narrower road through hill country and it adds roughly two hours to what used to be a six or seven hour drive to Pokhara.
- The Tribhuvan Highway via Naubise, Hetauda and back up. Longer again, and heavy vehicles are restricted, but it is tarmac the whole way and it is what most of the freight is using.
- Bhimphedi, Kulekhani, Sisneri and Dakshinkali for light vehicles under 14 seats coming up from Hetauda.
Congestion on the alternatives is the real cost. Journeys that took three hours are taking five, and the Kathmandu to Pokhara run that was a comfortable six or seven hours is realistically nine to eleven at the moment, with the variance depending entirely on how many trucks are queued at the single-lane sections.
Our advice for Annapurna and Pokhara trips this autumn
Fly to Pokhara. It is a 25 minute flight, there are multiple daily services, and domestic fares dropped by nearly 15 per cent in July after the fuel price cut, so the gap between a tourist bus ticket and a plane ticket is smaller than it has been in years. For an Annapurna Base Camp, Poon Hill, Mardi Himal or Khopra trek, flying removes the problem entirely. We are quietly switching most autumn Annapurna departures to flights and absorbing the difference where we quoted a drive.
If you are going to Chitwan, fly to Bharatpur. Twenty minutes, and it sidesteps the whole Mugling stretch.
If you are heading for the Annapurna Circuit or Manaslu, which start from Besisahar and Machha Khola rather than Pokhara, we are routing through Dhadingbesi and Arughat. That road was always rough and the diversion traffic has made it rougher, so we are building an extra hour into every transfer and starting earlier.
One genuinely good piece of news for anyone flying in: from 23 September 2026 Flydubai starts a daily Dubai to Pokhara service, the first scheduled international route into Pokhara International Airport. If you are coming from Europe, the Gulf or India and your trip is Annapurna-focused, you can now skip Kathmandu and the highway completely.
Rasuwa, Langtang and the Tibet border
On 26 August 2026 a flash flood came down the Bhotekoshi from the Tibetan side and did severe damage through Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading. Sections of the Betrawati to Rasuwagadhi road were washed away. The Miteri bridge at the border was swept out. The Rasuwagadhi to Kerung crossing into Tibet closed.
The important distinction, and one a lot of coverage has blurred: the flood was a river corridor event, not a trail event. The walking route above Syabrubesi through Lama Hotel, Langtang village and up to Kyanjin Gompa was not in the flood path and the trail itself is reported intact. The problem is entirely about getting to the start of it.
Reconstruction is following the pattern it always does after a monsoon event: clear the debris, drop Bailey bridges into the gaps, run jeep relays across the broken sections while the permanent repairs happen. That takes weeks, not days, and the sections nearest the border are the slowest because they are the most damaged and the hardest to supply.
Where we stand on Langtang bookings
We are not taking new Langtang bookings for September. For October and November dates we are holding what we have and reconfirming the access chain about two weeks before each departure, which is when we can actually see whether the jeep relay is running reliably.
We would rather tell you now that Langtang is uncertain than sell you the trip and improvise on the day. If your October Langtang date does not firm up, the two swaps that work best are the Everest View trek, which is a similar length at a similar grade with better guaranteed access, or Mardi Himal out of Pokhara. Both are unaffected.
The Tamang Heritage trek and Gosainkunda use the same road corridor and carry the same uncertainty. Treat them as one question, not three.
If you had planned an overland crossing into Tibet via Rasuwagadhi, that is not happening this autumn. The Kathmandu to Lhasa flight is running normally and we are rerouting Tibet groups that way.
Everest, Manaslu, Mustang, Kanchenjunga and Dolpo: normal
Everything else is operating as it should.
Everest and the Khumbu are reached by air from Kathmandu or Manthali and never touch the Prithvi Highway or the Rasuwa road. Everest Base Camp, Gokyo, the Three Passes, Island Peak and the Everest View trek are all running on schedule. The only Everest caveat is the usual one: in the peak weeks of October, flights to Lukla shift to Manthali in Ramechhap because Kathmandu air traffic is capped, which means a four to five hour pre-dawn drive east on a road that is not affected by any of this. We will tell you which airport you are flying from once the season schedule is published.
Manaslu is open and running. Access is via Dhadingbesi and Arughat, which is currently carrying diversion traffic, so budget an extra hour or two on the drive in.
Upper Mustang is open, reached by flight to Pokhara and then Jomsom, so the highway is irrelevant. It is also the one region where the season runs longest, which makes it a genuinely good substitute if something else falls through.
Kanchenjunga, Makalu and Dolpo are all reached by domestic flight from Kathmandu and are unaffected.
What this actually means for your booking
Four practical things, in order of how much they matter.
Build in spare days. This has always been the right advice and this season it is not optional. Two days between the end of your trek and your international flight home covers a weather-grounded Lukla flight, a delayed jeep relay or a highway queue. One day covers almost nothing.
Fly the internal legs where you can. The price difference is smaller than it was, and the time and certainty you buy back are worth far more than the saving.
Get travel insurance that covers trip delay and curtailment, not just medical. Medical cover is what everybody checks. Delay cover is what actually pays out in a season like this one, and if you need a helicopter seat out of Lukla to make an international connection it is the clause that reimburses you.
Ask your operator a direct question and expect a direct answer. The right question is not "is Nepal open", because the answer is yes and it tells you nothing. The right question is "what is the access chain for my specific trek on my specific dates, and what is your plan if it breaks". Any operator who cannot answer that in detail is guessing.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to trek in Nepal in autumn 2026?
Yes, in most of the country. Everest, Annapurna, Manaslu, Mustang, Kanchenjunga, Makalu and Dolpo are all operating normally and the trails are in their usual post-monsoon condition. The problems this season are on two road corridors, not on the mountains, and they are logistical rather than dangerous. Langtang is the one region where we are advising people to wait and reconfirm.
Can I still get from Kathmandu to Pokhara?
Yes. Fly, and it takes 25 minutes. By road it is currently nine to eleven hours via the Dhadingbesi and Arughat diversion or the Tribhuvan Highway, against six or seven before the Krishnabhir collapse. There is no closure of Pokhara itself, only of the fastest road to it.
When will the Prithvi Highway reopen?
No official date has been set as of 6 September 2026. The Prime Minister has said within the month and the road department has floated 15 days, but the engineering decision about whether to rebuild on the old alignment has not been finalised. Plan your trip as though it will still be closed, and treat an early reopening as a bonus.
Is the Langtang Valley trek open?
The trail is intact. The road to the trailhead is not, and that is what decides whether the trek runs. We are not selling September departures. October and November dates are being held and reconfirmed roughly two weeks out. If certainty matters more to you than Langtang specifically, take an Everest or Annapurna route this season and come back to Langtang next spring.
Is the Everest Base Camp trek affected?
No. Everest is reached entirely by air and neither the Krishnabhir collapse nor the Rasuwa flood touches it. The only variable is the usual autumn switch of Lukla flights to Manthali in the peak October weeks.
Can I cross into Tibet overland from Nepal right now?
Not via Rasuwagadhi. The Miteri bridge was swept away and the crossing is closed. Kathmandu to Lhasa flights are operating normally and that is how we are running Tibet groups this autumn.
Talk to us before you book
We have been running trips out of Kathmandu since 1991 and this is not the first season a road has gone. What has kept people coming back is that we tell them the truth about it early, including the times the truth is that they should change their plans.
If you have dates in mind, write to us with them and the trek you want, and we will tell you plainly whether it works, what the access chain looks like, and what we would do instead if it does not. That advice costs nothing and it does not come with a booking obligation.
