Nepal Just Shut 11 Highways to Landslides, and the Road to Mustang Is Blocked in Six Places

Key facts

• 11 highway sections have been disrupted nationwide by continuous rain since September 24, per Nepal’s Department of Roads
• The Beni–Jomsom–Korala road, the vehicle route into Mustang, is blocked at six locations in Myagdi district
• Night travel is restricted in 12 districts, including Mustang, Myagdi and Kaski
• At least four people have died in Nepal this week, including three children, when a landslide buried a home in Baglung district’s Nishi Khola area
• Nepal’s weather department expects conditions to improve nationally from September 28, with western Nepal — where these roads sit — forecast to lag

Heavy rain that has fallen across Nepal since September 24 has shut eleven highway sections and blocked the road to Mustang in six separate places. If you have a trek starting in the Annapurna or Mustang region this week, the honest answer is to plan on a delay, not a cancellation: Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology expects rain to ease nationally from September 28, but the west — exactly where these roads run — is forecast to clear last.

What's Actually Closed Right Now

The worst-hit stretch for trekkers is the Beni–Jomsom–Korala road, the jeep route that carries most overland traffic into Mustang. Landslides triggered by three straight days of rain have blocked it at six points in Myagdi district — Ghasa Bagar, Sirubari, Tatopani, Rupse and Pokharebagar — stranding vehicles travelling in both directions, according to Radio Nepal and the Kathmandu Post. Separately, Baglung’s Mid-Hill Highway is blocked at Kanabagar in Nisi Khola, and the Kaligandaki Corridor is blocked near Jaimini. The Department of Roads counts eleven highway sections disrupted nationwide as of September 27, and has restricted night driving in twelve districts.

Is Your Annapurna or Mustang Trek Affected

If you’re trekking Upper Mustang, the Jomsom side of the Annapurna Circuit, or the Dhaulagiri Circuit — all of which rely on this road or the airstrips it feeds — yes, access is disrupted right now, and jeeps have been stuck midway since Friday. Trekkers heading to Muktinath by road are affected the same way. If you’re on Annapurna Base Camp, Poon Hill or Mardi Himal via Nayapul, the reported blockages sit further north past Beni and those trailheads haven’t been named in any closure report we’ve verified — but Myagdi and Kaski are both under the night-travel restriction, so build in a buffer day regardless. Flights between Pokhara and Jomsom, the usual way to skip this road entirely, depend on the same clear morning weather this system has taken away; treat them as unreliable until the forecast improvement actually holds on the ground.

Why Western Nepal Is Getting Hit Hardest

This system is a slow-moving low-pressure area drifting up from the Bay of Bengal, and it’s colliding with the monsoon’s withdrawal from northwest India — the dry air pulling out of India is pushing the wet system’s impact toward Nepal’s west instead of letting it pass through quickly. That is why Baglung, Myagdi, Mustang and Kaski have taken the worst of it while eastern districts are already seeing improvement. It is a different event from the catastrophic Rasuwa flood of late August, which struck the Langtang region to the north of Kathmandu; this one is entirely in the west, around the Annapurna and Mustang access roads.

What This Means for Trekkers This Week

What this means for you

Don’t cancel yet. If your trek starts within the next three or four days, ask your operator for a one- to two-day buffer before you’re due at Jomsom or Muktinath, and confirm the day before whether jeeps are moving past Beni. The Department of Roads runs a live closure map at navigate.dor.gov.np that updates faster than any single news report. If you’re flying Pokhara–Jomsom, hold the flight loosely — it is the first thing grounded in weather like this, and the second flight of the morning often goes when the first doesn’t. We are watching this daily and will move a group's start date rather than send them into a closed road.

Should I cancel my Annapurna or Mustang trek this week?

Not yet. Nepal’s weather service expects conditions to improve from September 28, and road crews are already clearing the Beni-Jomsom stretch with excavators. A short delay at the start of your trek is far more likely than a full cancellation.

Are flights between Pokhara and Jomsom still running?

They run only in clear, calm morning weather, and a multi-day rain system like this one is exactly the condition that grounds them. Check the morning of your flight rather than assuming either way.

Is this the same flooding that hit Langtang in August?

No. This is a separate weather system centred on western Nepal — Baglung, Myagdi, Mustang and Kaski — and is unrelated to the Rasuwa flood that struck Langtang to the north of Kathmandu.

If you're planning an autumn trek into Mustang or along the Kali Gandaki, talk to us before you fly in — we track the Department of Roads' closure map daily and can shift a start date rather than send a group into a blocked road.

Cover photo: Nepal Moto Tours via Pexels (Pexels License). Section photos: Deekshyant via Pexels (Pexels licence); Sakshi Patwa via Pexels (Pexels licence); Cheer Miron Asso via Pexels (Pexels licence); Kishan Sharma via Pexels (Pexels licence); Namal Siriwardana via Pexels (Pexels licence).