A Landslide Blocked a River in Nepal — Now 100+ Trekkers Are Cut Off

The Nepal floods foreign trekkers encountered this week trace back to a predawn landslide that blocked the Budhi Gandaki River in Nepal’s Gorkha district on Sunday, triggering flash floods that stranded more than 100 hikers along the popular Manaslu trekking trail, according to Bhuwan Raj Ojha of the Manaslu Conservation Area Project. Part of the trail itself was swept away, cutting off access for hikers moving through different sections of the route roughly 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of Kathmandu.

The only group whose nationality has been specifically identified so far is nine Bangladeshi trekkers waiting in Jagat village for a possible helicopter evacuation, according to fellow trekker Md Shahadat Hossain, who said the group remains safe but has had no electricity since the flooding began.

How Nepal floods foreign trekkers along the Manaslu trail

The floods washed away bridges and hiking trails and damaged or destroyed more than 200 homes in the district. Three hydroelectric plants were also damaged, cutting power and communications to Jagat village and leaving food supplies there running low. Nepal’s disaster authorities have issued flood alerts for Gorkha and four downstream districts — Tanahun, Chitwan, East Nawalparasi and West Nawalparasi — as water levels moved through the river system.

Five villagers remain out of contact as of the latest update, though officials have reported no deaths from this specific flood event, a notably better outcome than the catastrophic glacier-collapse flood that struck a different Nepal river system in August and killed more than 1,450 people with thousands still missing.

Rescue operations underway

Nepal’s army rescued 321 people on Monday, October 13, including 12 foreign nationals, and said the operation would continue into Tuesday even as the river’s water level began to drop. Gorkha district authorities have asked villagers living along the riverbank downstream to evacuate as a precaution while the situation stabilizes.

Ojha, from the Manaslu Conservation Area Project, said trekkers who want to leave the area “need to be rescued,” while those willing to continue their trek “can do so from locations that are safe,” adding that tea houses along the route have not been affected and remain safe for travelers to shelter in. Hossain, the Bangladeshi trekker, echoed that assessment for his own group: “We are safe, but there has been no electricity since yesterday.”

Why this flood draws extra scrutiny

Nepal is still recovering from August’s catastrophic flood, caused by a glacier collapsing into a different river valley near the Nepal-Tibet border, which killed more than 1,450 people and left thousands missing across both the Nepali and Tibetan sides of the border. That disaster has made Nepali authorities and the international trekking community considerably more alert to flood risk in mountain river valleys generally, which likely explains the relatively fast army response — 321 people rescued within roughly 24 hours of this smaller, separate incident.

The Manaslu trail is one of Nepal’s most popular restricted-area trekking routes, drawing thousands of foreign visitors annually who pay for a special permit to trek around the eighth-highest mountain in the world. A prolonged closure would have knock-on effects for trekking operators and guides who depend on the October-November season, one of the two main trekking windows in the Nepali Himalaya.

What rescue teams are doing next

The Nepali army says rescue operations will continue beyond Monday as water levels permit safer access to stranded groups in harder-to-reach sections of the trail. Travelers currently on or planning to join the Manaslu circuit should check conditions directly with Nepal’s Department of Tourism or their trekking agency before departure, since trail damage in a landslide-prone valley can take weeks to fully repair even after floodwaters recede.

Downstream communities in Tanahun, Chitwan and the two Nawalparasi districts remain under flood alert, meaning the practical risk from this event is not yet fully resolved even though the immediate trekker rescue appears largely complete.

Nepal’s tourism board has not yet issued guidance on whether permit holders due to start the Manaslu circuit in the coming days should delay their trips, leaving that call in the hands of individual trekking agencies for now. Operators with experience in the region say a short delay of several days is the more common outcome after this kind of landslide-triggered flood, rather than a season-long closure, since the damage is concentrated on specific bridge crossings rather than the trail’s higher, more remote sections.

Questions about the Gorkha floods

How many trekkers were stranded?
More than 100 foreign trekkers were stranded across different points on the Manaslu trail, according to local conservation area officials.

What caused the flooding?
A predawn landslide on October 12 blocked the Budhi Gandaki River, triggering flash floods downstream.

Were there any deaths?
No deaths have been reported from this specific flood event as of the latest update.

How many people have been rescued?
Nepal’s army rescued 321 people on October 13, including 12 foreign nationals, with operations continuing.

Is this related to August’s deadly Nepal flood?
No, it is a separate incident in a different river valley, though it follows the catastrophic August glacier-collapse flood that killed more than 1,450 people elsewhere in Nepal.

Are the Manaslu trail’s tea houses safe?
Yes, according to a local conservation official, tea houses along the route have not been affected and remain safe for trekkers to use.

Sources

• Al Jazeera — More than 100 foreign trekkers stranded by floods in Nepal’s Gorkha region. aljazeera.com
• The Japan Times — More than 100 foreign trekkers stranded in flood-hit region of Nepal, official says. japantimes.co.jp

For related coverage, see our reports on Nepal’s August flood death toll and the earlier Himalayan flash floods disaster.