Is the Dhaulagiri Circuit Trek Affected by the 2026 Nepal Floods?
No — the Dhaulagiri Circuit runs on the Kali Gandaki in western Nepal, a separate watershed well to the west of the flood zone, and the trail and its high passes are unaffected. Here's why — and the real challenge, which was always the mountain, not the flood.
At a glance
- Published
- TopicSafety & Advisories
- ReportingOriginal, by our guides in Pokhara
- Treks coveredDhaulagiri Base Camp Trek — 13 Days, Dhaulagiri Circuit Trek — 18 Days
📍 Developing story — live updates
The 2026 Nepal floods are a nationwide, still-developing emergency and the figures are rising. For the latest verified death toll, missing and rescued numbers and region-by-region trek status, follow our continuously updated Nepal Floods 2026: Live Updates.
Last updated: 29 August 2026. I plan the road approach, camping and high-pass logistics for our Dhaulagiri trips, so let me keep this page honest and current. If you have the Dhaulagiri Circuit booked, here is the short answer first, then the detail.
Is the Dhaulagiri Circuit trek affected by the 2026 Nepal floods? No — the circuit runs on the Myagdi Khola and Kali Gandaki in western Nepal, a separate watershed well to the west of the flood zone, and the trail and its high passes are unaffected. The flash flood of 26 August 2026 came down the Bhote Koshi into Rasuwa district in the north-central Himalaya. Dhaulagiri sits in Myagdi district to the west, drained by the Kali Gandaki — a completely separate river that never meets the Bhote Koshi in the mountains. The French Col (5,360 m), Hidden Valley and the Dhampus Pass (5,244 m) were never in the flood zone. I will be straight with you, though: Dhaulagiri's real challenge was never the flood. It is one of the hardest treks in Nepal, and that is what you actually plan around.
Dhaulagiri Circuit — the honest status
- Affected by the 26 August flood? No. That flood was on the Bhote Koshi in Rasuwa, north-central Nepal. Dhaulagiri is in Myagdi, in western Gandaki province, on the Kali Gandaki side — a different watershed, well to the west.
- The trail and both high passes are clear. Darbang, Italian Base Camp, Dhaulagiri Base Camp, the French Col, Hidden Valley and the Dhampus Pass were not touched by the flood.
- The real challenge is the mountain, not the water. This is a serious, high, self-supported crossing of two passes above 5,000 m with real objective hazard and no teahouses on the high section. It demands fitness, acclimatisation and a strong crew.
- The approach road is the one thing to confirm. The drive from Pokhara to Beni and Darbang is normal, but the last dirt section can see routine monsoon landslides in the tail of the season — that is standard late-summer behaviour, not flood damage.
- Best season is weeks away. Autumn (October–November) brings crisp, clear air, dry trails and stable passes — the flood hit in the last of the monsoon, before the season opens.
Why Myagdi and Rasuwa are different worlds
Nepal is not one small place where a single flood touches everything. Its regions are split by great ranges and drained by separate rivers that stay apart until the plains. The 26 August flood surged down the Bhote Koshi, which flows out of Tibet into Rasuwa and on into the Trishuli, hitting Timure and Syabrubesi hardest according to reporting collated by Wikipedia's running summary and outlets including CNN. That is a north-central event.
The Dhaulagiri Circuit is a Kali Gandaki trek in Myagdi district, in the western Gandaki province. It follows the Myagdi Khola up onto the flanks of Dhaulagiri I (8,167 m), crosses the French Col into Hidden Valley, drops over the Dhampus Pass, and exits toward Marpha and Jomsom in the deep Kali Gandaki gorge. The Kali Gandaki is a different river, a different valley and a different set of villages from the Bhote Koshi. A flood on the Bhote Koshi in the north has no physical bearing on the trail to Dhaulagiri Base Camp — they are on opposite sides of the country's central massifs.
Dhaulagiri, stage by stage
The clearest way to see why your trek is fine is to walk it as we run it and check each stage against the flood zone.
| Stage / region | Watershed & where it is | Status & what to do |
|---|---|---|
| Kathmandu / Pokhara (arrival, permits, briefing) | Central hubs | Normal — permits issued as usual |
| Drive Pokhara → Beni → Darbang | Lower Myagdi, road on the Kali Gandaki side | Running, but monsoon landslides possible — confirm the road on the day |
| Darbang → Italian Base Camp → Glacier Camp | Myagdi Khola gorge, Myagdi | Trail open; camping route below Dhaulagiri |
| Dhaulagiri Base Camp → French Col (5,360 m) | Upper Myagdi / Hidden Valley | Open — not in the flood zone; high-pass weather & acclimatisation rules apply |
| Hidden Valley → Dhampus Pass (5,244 m) → Marpha | Kali Gandaki side, Mustang/Myagdi | Open; standard high-pass discipline required |
| Marpha / Jomsom exit | Kali Gandaki gorge, lower Mustang | Open — a different valley again, unaffected |
The permits — the ACAP entry for the Kali Gandaki side and the trekking paperwork — are arranged in Kathmandu or Pokhara before you set out. None of it is issued in or routed through Rasuwa, so the flood has no effect on your permits. We confirm the exact current fees and the road status with you before you travel.
How we run Dhaulagiri this autumn
This is the one trek on this list where I want to talk about difficulty, not floods, because that is the real subject. The Dhaulagiri Circuit is self-supported camping over two high passes with genuine objective hazard — it earns its reputation. We build proper acclimatisation days, carry a full high-altitude camping and safety setup, watch the pass weather closely and will hold a day rather than push a crew over the French Col in bad conditions. We watch the Darbang road forecast and adjust the drive if a landslide closes the last section. And we insist on strong travel and rescue insurance. None of that changes because of the floods in Rasuwa — it is simply how a hard trek is run safely.
A local guide's take
Let me be precise rather than just reassuring. The 26 August flood was a Bhote Koshi event in Rasuwa; the Dhaulagiri Circuit is a Kali Gandaki trek in Myagdi. Two different rivers, two sides of the central Himalaya. The flood does not reach the trail, the passes or the base camp. What you should weigh for Dhaulagiri is the thing that was always true — it is a hard, high, committing trek — plus the monsoon-battered approach road, which is a nuisance every August and firms up as autumn comes. Cancelling over a flood in another watershed would be the wrong call. Training for the passes, and confirming the road the day you drive, is the right one.
What you can book for autumn
Dhaulagiri departures running normally this October and November
These are the trips we are putting people on right now, priced from the per-person rate a small group pays:
- Dhaulagiri Circuit Trek — 18 days · from US$2,250 per person in a group of eight (US$3,490 solo). The full circuit over the French Col and Dhampus Pass — one of Nepal's great wilderness treks, for strong, experienced walkers.
- Dhaulagiri Base Camp Trek — 13 days · from US$1,850 per person (US$2,790 solo). The shorter option to base camp without the two high passes — still remote, but less committing.
Want to check a date, the fitness needed or the Darbang road status before you commit? Message us on WhatsApp or use the contact form. No pressure — if this trek is not the right fit, I will tell you honestly.
Related reading
- Nepal trekking conditions right now: region-by-region status after the 2026 floods
- Bhote Koshi flash flood, 26 August 2026: what happened in Rasuwa district
- Nepal Floods 2026: live updates, death toll and trek status
Sources: Wikipedia — 2026 Nepal floods; CNN live coverage. Road-access notes reflect normal late-monsoon conditions on the Myagdi approach and should be reconfirmed on the day of travel.
Cover photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).
Still running this season
Dhaulagiri Base Camp Trek — 13 Days is running normally
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