Manaslu, Larke Pass Trekking Suspended After Flash Flood

Update, September 6, 2026 (evening, NPT): The District Administration Office (DAO) of Gorkha has formally asked all trekkers to stop travelling on the Manaslu Circuit and Larke Pass (Larkya La) trail with immediate effect, publishing a public notice on Sunday, September 6, 2026. Trekkers who are preparing for the trek or who are already on the trail have been requested not to undertake the trek until a further notice is issued. The request covers the Manaslu trail and the Larke Pass route in Chumnubri Rural Municipality, Gorkha district, and it follows a pre-dawn flash flood that destroyed two bridges on the route at Namrung.

The notice, issued the same day as the flood, is the clearest signal yet that the Manaslu Circuit is effectively suspended for the start of the autumn season. Here is what the administration announced, which bridges were destroyed, what it means for the route, and what trekkers on the trail or planning the trek should do now.

This article builds on our earlier coverage of the flood itself: Namrung flash flood hits the Manaslu Circuit trek corridor. Facts in this article are sourced from the DAO Gorkha notice as reported by Online Khabar and from The Kathmandu Post’s reporting from Gorkha district (see Sources section).

Key Takeaways

Official request to halt trekking: DAO Gorkha issued a public notice on Sunday, September 6, 2026, asking trekkers preparing for or already on the Manaslu and Larke Pass trail not to travel until a further notice is published.
Trigger: A flash flood on the Therang Khola struck Namrung (Chumnubri Rural Municipality ward 4) at around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, damaging the trail, hotels and a hydropower installation.
Two bridges destroyed: The flood swept away the iron bridge linking ward 4 and ward 2 of Chumnubri Rural Municipality, and the suspension bridge over the Budhi Gandaki on the route from Ghap toward the Namrung forest.
No casualties reported: Police say no one was hurt in the Namrung flood; four houses were damaged, and villagers moved to safety in time.
Timing: The suspension lands at the opening of Nepal’s peak autumn trekking season, with hundreds of climbers and trekkers already holding Manaslu permits.
What to do: If you are on the trail, do not push north from the damaged sections. If you have not yet started, postpone and monitor official notices before rebooking.

What the Official Notice Says
Which Bridges Were Destroyed
What This Means for the Manaslu Circuit Route
Trekkers Already on the Trail: What to Do
Trekkers Planning Manaslu This Autumn: What to Do
Autumn Season Stakes and the Wider Weather Picture
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources

What the Official Notice Says

The District Administration Office Gorkha published the notice on Sunday, September 6 (Bhadra 21, 2083 BS), hours after the flash flood. In it, the administration states that a flood arrived in the Therang Khola at Namrung in Chumnubri Rural Municipality-4 at around 3:30 a.m., sweeping away the iron bridge connecting ward 4 and ward 2, as well as the suspension bridge over the Budhi Gandaki River on the route from Ghap toward the Namrung forest.

Because of this damage, the notice asks all trekkers who are preparing for the Manaslu trail or the Larke Pass trail, or who are currently trekking, not to undertake or continue the trek until a further notice is published. Translated from Nepali, the operative line reads: since the flood has swept away the bridges, trekkers preparing for or currently on the Manaslu trail or the Larke Pass trail are requested not to trek until another notice is issued, and this information is published for the notice of all concerned.

Two things stand out about how this request is framed. First, it is addressed to everyone: trekkers still in preparation and trekkers already on the trail, Nepali and foreign alike. Second, it sets no reopening date. The suspension stands “until a further notice is published,” which means the trail status now changes only when the administration says it does. For trekkers, the practical meaning is simple: as of Sunday evening, the Manaslu Circuit and the Larkya La crossing are closed for new and in-progress attempts.

Which Bridges Were Destroyed

According to the DAO notice and The Kathmandu Post’s report from Gorkha, the flood destroyed or swept away the following infrastructure:

Structure	Location	Status
Iron (metal) footbridge	Links ward 4 and ward 2, Chumnubri Rural Municipality, on the route used by pedestrians and pack animals between Narbu and Lho	Swept away
Suspension bridge over the Budhi Gandaki	On the route from Ghap toward the Namrung forest section	Swept away
Four houses	Namrung area, ward 4	Damaged or destroyed
Hotels and a hydropower installation	Namrung area	Significant damage reported by the administration

The Kathmandu Post adds that the metal bridge was used by pedestrians and pack horses on the route from Narbu to Lho, both of which are familiar stage names to anyone who has walked or planned the Manaslu Circuit. The newspaper also reports that a team from the Larke police post has reached the area, and that the settlement has no road access and can only be reached after roughly two days on foot from the district headquarters.

No casualties have been reported, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar Shrestha, cited by The Kathmandu Post. Our earlier reporting, based on local officials, indicates villagers ran to safety when they heard the flood coming, and the river had returned close to its normal level by mid-morning.

What This Means for the Manaslu Circuit Route

The Manaslu Circuit is a roughly 177 km trek around Manaslu, at 8,163 m the world’s eighth-highest mountain, first climbed in 1956 by a Japanese expedition. The route follows the Budhi Gandaki river valley from the subtropical lowlands up through Nubri and Kutang, crosses the Larkya La (Larke Pass) at 5,106 m, and descends into the Annapurna side at Bimthang. The government only opened the circuit to organised trekking in 1991, and much of it runs inside the Manaslu Conservation Area, a protected zone established in 1998 covering 1,663 square kilometres of Gorkha district.

Namrung sits in the middle of the route, typically reached around day five or six of a standard 14-day itinerary, after the trail has climbed through Machhekhola, Jagat, Deng and Ghap. It is the last big village before the route pushes north to Lho, Shyala and Samagaun, the acclimatisation hub beneath Manaslu Base Camp. In other words, the two destroyed bridges sit squarely on the approach corridor that every Manaslu trekker walks.

The suspension bridge lost on the Ghap side affects the section trekkers use coming up the Budhi Gandaki toward Namrung, while the iron bridge between wards 4 and 2 lies on the route onward toward Lho. With crossings gone on both sides of Namrung and trail, hotel and hydro infrastructure damaged in the village itself, through-hiking the circuit is not currently possible without crossing swollen river sections on foot, which is exactly what the administration is asking trekkers not to do.

For full background on the route, stages and permits, see our Manaslu Circuit trek guide.

Trekkers Already on the Trail: What to Do

If you are on the Manaslu Circuit now, or were due to cross Larkya La in the coming days, treat the DAO notice as binding guidance, not a suggestion. The administration’s request is explicit: trekkers currently on the Manaslu or Larke Pass trail should not continue trekking until a further notice is published.

Do not attempt to cross the damaged sections. The lost bridges mean the only alternatives are informal crossings of the Therang Khola or the Budhi Gandaki, which are unsafe and now explicitly discouraged.
Coordinate with your trekking agency and guide. Agencies operating in the region are being informed through the administration and local authorities, and guides on the trail will be the first to know the status of back-tracking or evacuation options.
Plan to descend the way you came. The standard fallback is to return south along the Budhi Gandaki toward Soti Khola and Machhekhola, from where road transport to Gorkha Bazaar and onward to Kathmandu or Pokhara is available.
Watch your supplies and accommodation. Flood damage to hotels in Namrung means lodging capacity in the upper valley may be constrained for both trekkers and displaced villagers.
Monitor official channels. The signal to move again will come as a further public notice from DAO Gorkha, typically picked up by the local press and trekking agencies the same day.

Trekkers holding permits for the Manaslu Conservation Area and the restricted-area (special trekking) permit required for Nubri should keep all documents and receipts. Permit rules and refund mechanics are covered in our complete guide to Nepal visas and trekking permits.

Trekkers Planning Manaslu This Autumn: What to Do

If your Manaslu trek has not started yet, the safest reading of Sunday’s notice is that it will not happen on schedule. A practical checklist:

Postpone, do not cancel blindly. Bridge reconstruction on trek routes in Nepal is often measured in weeks, not days. Wait for the administration’s further notice before deciding whether to shift dates or change routes.
Ask your agency about rebooking terms now. Reputable agencies are already fielding these questions and most will move deposits to later dates or alternative treks. Get any agreement in writing.
Check your insurance position. Cancellation cover, trip interruption and non-refundable costs are handled differently by each policy. Our guide to trekking travel insurance in Nepal explains what to look for.
Consider an alternative region. The Annapurna side of the pass, reached after Larkya La, is unaffected by this flood, and the Annapurna region offers comparable teahouse infrastructure at similar altitudes. Start with our complete guide to Annapurna region treks to compare routes.
Keep watching this site. We are tracking the Manaslu situation and will report the reopening notice when it is issued.

Autumn Season Stakes and the Wider Weather Picture

The closure could hardly come at a worse point in the trekking calendar. Late September through November is Nepal’s peak trekking window, when post-monsoon skies settle and the trails fill up. Climbing and expedition traffic is already moving: our earlier reporting found 348 climbers holding Manaslu permits for this season even before the flood, part of a wider surge in autumn permits issued by the Department of Tourism.

The Namrung flood is also the latest in a run of monsoon-season disasters affecting Nepal’s trekking and travel corridors. The Bhotekoshi flood in Rasuwa has dominated national headlines for close to two weeks, the Prithvi Highway has been repeatedly blocked by landslides including a collapse at Krishnabhir, and last month seven road sections were simultaneously closed across the country. Flash floods and landslides are a known monsoon hazard across the Nepal Himalaya, but the concentration of damage this season has been unusually high.

For context on how to weigh weather risk when booking any Nepal trek, including altitude, insurance and evacuation planning, see our related guide: Nepal trekking safety and health guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Manaslu Circuit closed right now?

Yes, effectively. On September 6, 2026, the District Administration Office Gorkha publicly asked trekkers not to travel on the Manaslu and Larke Pass trail, whether they are preparing for the trek or already on it, until a further notice is issued. Treat the route as closed until that further notice appears.

Why was the trail suspended?

A flash flood on the Therang Khola hit Namrung at around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 6, 2026, sweeping away two bridges on the route, damaging the trail, hotels and a hydropower installation, and destroying four houses. With the crossings gone, the administration has asked trekkers to stop using the route.

Was anyone hurt in the Namrung flood?

No casualties have been reported. Police say villagers moved to safety when they heard the flood coming, and a team from the Larke police post has reached the area to assess the damage.

When will the Manaslu Circuit reopen?

No date has been announced, and the DAO notice explicitly says the suspension stands until a further notice is published. Reopening depends on rebuilding the two bridges and repairing the trail, which typically takes weeks. Monitor DAO Gorkha notices and follow our updates for the reopening announcement.

I am currently on the trek. What should I do?

Stop moving north, coordinate with your guide and agency, and plan to descend south along the Budhi Gandaki toward Soti Khola, where road access is available. Do not attempt informal river crossings near the damaged bridge sites.

Will Larkya La (Larke Pass) be open in October?

Unknown as of September 6. The pass itself is not the problem; the destroyed bridges below it are. If the crossings are rebuilt quickly, October treks could still run. Booking anything before the administration’s further notice, however, carries real risk.

What happens to my permits if I cancel?

Manaslu requires both a Manaslu Conservation Area permit and a restricted-area permit, arranged through a registered agency. Refund and date-change handling varies by agency and by how the permits were issued, so raise it with your agency in writing before cancelling anything.

Sources

District Administration Office Gorkha public notice, as reported by Online Khabar, September 6, 2026 (Nepali language).
“Flood damages four houses and bridge in Gorkha”, The Kathmandu Post, September 6, 2026.
TravellingNepal earlier coverage: Namrung flash flood hits the Manaslu Circuit trek corridor, September 6, 2026.
Background facts (route length, Larkya La altitude, conservation area, climbing history) cross-checked against Wikipedia’s sourced articles on Manaslu and the Manaslu Conservation Area, September 6, 2026.

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