The Manaslu Circuit Trek is open again. If you have been holding off on booking because of news of a flood and a trail closure near Namrung, you can relax. The route is walkable, trekkers are already on the trail, and the fix that got it reopened is one of the more impressive examples of local community action we have seen in this region in years.
Here is the full picture, based on what actually happened on the ground, what the district authorities and the Manaslu Conservation Area Project confirmed, and what it genuinely means for anyone with a Manaslu Circuit Trek booked this autumn.
What Actually Happened Near Namrung
In the early hours of Sunday, September 6, 2026, a flash flood tore through the Budhi Gandaki and Therang stream near Namrung village, in Ward No. 4 of Chumnubri Rural Municipality, Gorkha district. Debris that had been blocking the Therang stream upstream broke loose, and the water that had built up behind it came down the valley with real force.
The flood swept away the main suspension bridge crossing the Budhi Gandaki River, along with a second bridge nearby. Four homes in the area were damaged, and two micro hydropower plants that supply electricity to local villages were also affected. This was not a minor trail obstruction. It was a genuine natural disaster that hit a small mountain community hard, and the bridge damage happened to fall directly on the main trekking route to Manaslu Base Camp and the Larkya La pass.
Why The Trail Was Officially Closed
With the main bridge gone, the District Administration Office in Gorkha issued a formal notice suspending trekking on both the Manaslu Circuit and the Larke Pass route. The Manaslu Conservation Area Project issued a matching notice on its side. The DAO notice was direct about what had happened, stating that the flood had washed away the iron bridge connecting Ward No. 4 and Ward No. 2, and instructing trekkers and agencies not to attempt the route until further notice.
This is exactly the right call in a situation like this. A missing bridge over a river the size of the Budhi Gandaki is not something any responsible guide or agency should try to work around informally. The closure protected trekkers who were already in the region and gave local authorities the space they needed to figure out a real fix rather than a rushed one.
How The Community Reopened The Route In Two Days
What happened next is the part of this story worth telling properly. Rather than waiting for a slow, formal reconstruction process, the Chumnubri Rural Municipality Ward No. 4 chair, Pema Gyalpo Lama, worked directly with the Manaslu Conservation Area Project office and the local community of Namrung to build an alternative trail and a temporary wooden bridge at Therangkhola, the exact spot where the original crossing had been destroyed.
The Larke Area Police Office was also involved in the effort, and by September 8, 2026, just two days after the flood, the alternative route was in place and trekkers were crossing again. Photos and video from the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal, known as TAAN, show a newly built wooden walkway anchored into the rock face, with a section of ladder style bridge crossing the gap where the flood damage was worst.
TAAN publicly credited the Chumnubri RM chair, the Ward No. 4 chair, the Manaslu Conservation Area Project, and the local community of Namrung for the speed and quality of the work. Anyone who has spent time in this part of Nepal knows that building a stable wooden crossing over a river gorge in two days, using hand tools and local timber, in a remote village with limited outside support, is a serious achievement.
Where Exactly The New Trail And Bridge Are Located
The new alternative trail and bridge sit at Therangkhola in Namrung, on the section of the route between the lower Budhi Gandaki valley and Samagaon, on the way to Larke La. This is one of the more scenic stretches of the entire trek regardless of the flood, and there is now an added benefit trekkers did not have before. The new crossing sits with a genuinely massive waterfall in the background, visible from the bridge itself, which has already become something of a photo stop for the first groups crossing since the reopening.
If you have trekked the Manaslu Circuit before, or looked closely at the itinerary, Namrung sits along the standard route between Jagat and Lho, on the walk up toward Samagaon and the high pastures below Larkya La. The flood damage and the new crossing are both on this stretch, not higher up near the pass itself.
What This Means If You Have A Trek Booked
If you have a Manaslu Circuit Trek booked for this autumn, the honest answer is that you can proceed. The route is open, the alternative crossing is stable enough that guides and porters are already using it daily, and the closure that worried a lot of trekkers over the past few days has been lifted. We are not aware of any current suspension notice from the District Administration Office or the Manaslu Conservation Area Project as of this writing.
What we would tell any trekker honestly is that this is a temporary structure, built quickly and well, but temporary all the same. Expect it to be a little slower to cross than a normal suspension bridge, particularly if you are trekking with a full backpack or if a porter ahead of you is carrying a heavy load. Your guide will manage the pace at this section, and there is no reason to feel rushed crossing it.
Safety Notes For Crossing The Temporary Bridge
A few practical points are worth knowing before you reach this section. Cross one person at a time rather than bunching up with other trekkers on the structure at once. Keep hiking poles collapsed or secured to your pack rather than swinging loosely while your hands are on the rail or rope. If you want a photo, and most people will, take it from a safe stopping point rather than while walking, since the surface is wood planking over a steep drop and is not the place to be looking through a phone screen while moving.
TAAN itself included this exact request in its public post about the reopening, specifically asking trekkers to be careful while crossing the bridge and taking photos. It is good advice, and it matches what any experienced guide in the region would tell you regardless of where the notice came from.
Why This Kind Of Closure Happens On The Manaslu Circuit
The Manaslu region sits in a genuinely steep, glacier fed river valley, and the Budhi Gandaki and its side streams carry a huge volume of water during and after the monsoon months. Flash floods caused by blocked debris suddenly releasing, sometimes called outburst floods when they involve a temporary natural dam, are a known risk in this kind of terrain, and they are not unique to Manaslu. Similar events have affected trails in the Langtang and Rasuwa areas in recent years as well.
This is one of the reasons the Manaslu Circuit is managed as a restricted area requiring a licensed guide and a Restricted Area Permit in the first place. It is not simply a bureaucratic hurdle. It means there is always a structure in place, through the district administration, the Manaslu Conservation Area Project, and local government wards, to respond quickly when something like this happens, close the route when it is genuinely unsafe, and reopen it as soon as a safe alternative exists.
How This Differs From The Earlier Rasuwa Flood This Year
If you have been following Manaslu region news, you may have also seen reports earlier this year about flooding near Rasuwa affecting trekking routes closer to the Tibet border trade corridor. That was a separate event, in a different part of the wider Manaslu and Langtang trekking region, and it does not affect the standard Manaslu Circuit Trek route through Namrung and Samagaon in the way this Budhi Gandaki flood did. It is worth knowing the difference if you have read both stories and are not sure whether they describe the same closure. They do not.
What Our Guides Are Reporting From The Trail
Our own guides who have crossed the new Therangkhola bridge in the days since it opened describe it as sturdy underfoot, well anchored into the rock on both sides, and no more difficult to cross than the temporary bridges trekkers already encounter elsewhere on the circuit during a normal season. Groups are moving through the section at a slightly slower pace than usual simply because it is new and everyone wants to look at the waterfall, not because of any instability in the structure itself.
We will continue to check in with our guide team on the ground and will update this page directly if that changes, whether that means the temporary bridge is upgraded to a permanent structure or if any new weather event affects the route again during the rest of the autumn season.
Should You Still Be Cautious About Booking
It is a fair question, and we want to answer it honestly rather than simply reassure you. The Manaslu region, like any high mountain trekking area in Nepal, carries some baseline risk from weather, landslides, and river conditions, especially right at the tail end of the monsoon in early September. That risk did not disappear the moment this bridge reopened, and it never fully disappears on any Himalayan trek.
What has changed is that the specific hazard from this particular flood, a missing river crossing at Namrung, has a working solution in place, verified by local authorities and already in daily use by trekking groups. Booking a trek later in September or in October, once the tail end of monsoon rain has cleared and trail conditions are typically at their most stable for the year, remains a sound decision.
Frequently Asked Questions About The Reopening
Is the Manaslu Circuit Trek open right now? Yes. The route reopened on September 8, 2026, two days after the flood, once the alternative trail and temporary bridge at Therangkhola were completed.
Was anyone hurt in the flood? The reports we have seen describe damage to four homes and two micro hydropower plants, along with the loss of two bridges. We have not seen any report of trekker injuries connected to this event.
Is the new bridge safe? It was built by the local community with support from the Manaslu Conservation Area Project and the Larke Area Police Office, and it is currently in daily use by trekking groups and their guides. As with any temporary structure, cross with care, one person at a time, and follow your guide’s instructions at that section.
Does this affect the Larkya La pass crossing itself? No. The flood damage and the new alternative trail are both lower in the valley near Namrung, well before the approach to Samagaon and the pass itself.
Will my itinerary need to change? For most trekkers, no. The alternative trail adds a short detour around the damaged section rather than requiring a different overall route, and it does not add an extra day to a standard itinerary.
Do I need to change my Restricted Area Permit dates because of this? No. This closure and reopening happened at the trail infrastructure level, not the permit level, and it does not change the permit process or requirements for the Manaslu Circuit Trek.
Where can I see photos of the new bridge? Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal shared photos and video of the construction and the finished crossing on its official social media channels shortly after the reopening.
Our Commitment To Keeping This Page Updated
Trail conditions in a region like Manaslu can change quickly, and we would rather tell you honestly what our guides see on the ground than repeat outdated information. If the temporary bridge at Therangkhola is replaced, if weather affects the route again, or if the district administration issues any new notice, we will update this page directly rather than leaving old information standing.
If you want the most current word before you book or before you fly to Kathmandu, reach out to our team directly. We speak with our guides on the trail regularly and can give you a real answer rather than a guess.
Ready To Book The Manaslu Circuit Trek
With the route open again and the alternative crossing at Namrung already proven in daily use, this autumn remains a genuinely good window for the Manaslu Circuit Trek. Clear skies, stable trail conditions, and the same spectacular views of Manaslu, Himlung, and the Larkya La pass that make this trek one of the best restricted area treks in Nepal are all still exactly what they were before the flood.
You can see our full itinerary, permit details, and current departure dates on our Manaslu Circuit Trek package page, or get in touch with our team directly if you have questions about how this reopening affects your specific travel dates.
