Is the Annapurna Circuit Trek Affected by the 2026 Nepal Floods?

The short version: we have had a run of the same message this week — “I’ve got the Annapurna Circuit booked, is it cancelled?” The honest answer is no, the walk itself is fine. The 26 August flood was a Rasuwa event, on the other side of the country. But I am not going to pretend there is nothing to check, because there is one genuine thing: the road you drive in on. Let me lay out exactly where the Circuit sits, why the water never reached it, and the single logistics point that actually matters for your dates.

Where the Annapurna Circuit sits — and where the flood was

The Circuit is the big loop around the Annapurna massif. From Besisahar in Lamjung it climbs the Marsyangdi valley through Chame and Manang, crosses Thorong La at 5,416 m, drops to the temple town of Muktinath, and finishes down the Kali Gandaki through Jomsom and Mustang. Both of those rivers drain the western Himalaya and flow south to join the Narayani well downstream. The upper valleys sit in the rain shadow behind the peaks — Manang and Mustang are among the driest trekking country in Nepal, which is exactly why the Circuit stays walkable at the tail of the monsoon.

The 26 August disaster was a flash flood and debris flow down the Bhote Koshi from the Tibet border into Rasuwa — the gateway to Langtang and Gosaikunda — and then downstream into the Trishuli, raising alerts in Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan. Look at a map and the point makes itself: that is central and north-central Nepal. The Circuit is a full country over to the west, in a different watershed. Water in the Bhote Koshi has no path to the Marsyangdi or the Kali Gandaki. That is why every honest operator, including us, is telling people the Circuit trail is not affected.

The one thing worth checking: the drive to Besisahar

Here is the part I will not gloss over. Almost every Annapurna Circuit trip starts with a road journey out of Kathmandu on the Prithvi Highway, which hugs the Trishuli for hours before you branch off at Dumre for Besisahar (or carry on to Pokhara). Because the Trishuli carried the flood downstream, the Department of Roads restricted and then cleared sections of that highway through late August — the Galchhi–Mugling stretch came back into use first, with mud and debris still being shifted elsewhere and the Mugling–Narayangadh road closed. None of that touches the trek. All of it touches how you get to the trek.

So the practical move is simple. If your Circuit starts with a Kathmandu–Besisahar drive, ask your operator to confirm the Prithvi Highway is clear on your travel day, or build in a buffer. If you would rather skip the question entirely, fly Kathmandu–Pokhara (25 minutes) and drive the short, unaffected leg up to Besisahar or Bhulbhule from the Pokhara side. By the time the autumn season properly opens in October, the highway should be fully back to normal — but you check it anyway, the same way you would check any monsoon-season road in Nepal.

What about the jeep roads on the Circuit itself?

This comes up every year and it is worth separating from the flood, because it is a different issue. The Circuit’s long-running complaint is that dirt roads have crept up both ends of the valley — jeeps now reach well up the Marsyangdi and down the Kali Gandaki. That is a route-quality debate, not a safety closure, and it has nothing to do with 2026’s floods. It is exactly why many trekkers now shorten the walking on the road sections and start higher, or add the Tilicho Lake side trip and the high route through Ghyaru and Ngawal for the best of the trail. If road-walking is your worry, that is a planning conversation, and a good one — but it is not a flood problem.

How we run the Circuit right now

Three things, plainly. First, we confirm your access road or fly you to Pokhara rather than assume the highway is clear — we would rather change a drive than leave you stuck on the Prithvi. Second, we run the Circuit with a licensed guide who has this week’s ground reports, not last season’s, and we build in an acclimatisation buffer before Thorong La regardless of floods, because 5,416 m demands it. Third, we will tell you the honest thing: if you actually meant Langtang or Gosaikunda — the treks that were hit, and that people mix up with “the Annapurna region” — we will say so and help you move your plan, not sell you a departure into a closed valley.

Send us your dates and we will check the exact status of the departure you are eyeing, including the road on your travel day. If the honest call is to fly instead of drive, that is what we will tell you.

Cover photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).