Is the Makalu Base Camp Trek Affected by the 2026 Nepal Floods?
No — Makalu is in the far east of Nepal, running normally. The 26 August flood hit Rasuwa in the north, ~250–300 km away. Here is why the Tumlingtar flight and the Barun-valley trail are unaffected.
At a glance
- Published
- TopicSafety & Advisories
- ReportingOriginal, by our guides in Pokhara
- Treks coveredMakalu Base Camp Trek — 18 Days
📍 Developing story — live figures
The 2026 Nepal floods are a developing emergency and the casualty and damage numbers are still moving. For the latest verified death toll, missing and rescued figures, and region-by-region trek status, follow our continuously-updated Nepal Floods 2026: Live Updates — we do not freeze provisional numbers into a page like this one.
Last updated: 29 August 2026. If you have the Makalu Base Camp trek booked for this autumn, here is the short, honest answer you came for.
Is the Makalu Base Camp trek affected by the 2026 Nepal floods? No — Makalu is in the far east of Nepal and is running normally. The flash flood of 26 August 2026 struck the Rasuwa district in north-central Nepal: the Bhote Koshi river, the Tibet border at Rasuwagadhi, and the road into the Langtang valley. Makalu Base Camp sits in Sankhuwasabha district in Nepal's eastern hills — roughly 250–300 km east of the flood zone, in a separate valley drained by an entirely different river. The flight to Tumlingtar is operating, the trail up the Arun and Barun valleys is open, and the flood on the Bhote Koshi has no physical bearing on your route. If your Makalu trip is booked for October or November, your plans stand.
Makalu Base Camp trek — the honest status
- Affected? No. The flood was on the Bhote Koshi in Rasuwa, in Nepal's north-central border zone. Makalu is in the far east, in the Arun/Barun watershed of the Koshi system — a different river, a different corner of the country.
- Access? Open. The trek begins with a short flight from Kathmandu to Tumlingtar (Arun Valley), then a drive to the trailhead at Num or Seduwa. Neither the flight nor the road passes anywhere near Rasuwa. Mountain flights can slip a day for weather, so we always build a buffer day.
- Permits & guide. Makalu needs the Makalu Barun National Park entry permit and the local rural-municipality permit — not a special restricted-area permit — and, under Nepal's 2023 rule, a licensed guide is mandatory. None of that paperwork is issued in or routed through the flood zone.
- Best season? October–November. Post-monsoon skies are clearest for the great south face of Makalu, and the flood zone is nowhere near the route.
Why Makalu is a different world from Rasuwa
Nepal is a long country, and a flood in one valley does not reach the next. Its trekking regions are separated by great ranges and drained by rivers that do not meet until far down in the plains of India. The 26 August flood surged down the Bhote Koshi, which flows out of Tibet into Rasuwa and on into the Trishuli. Makalu Base Camp is fed by the Barun Khola, a tributary of the mighty Arun, which drains the far-eastern Himalaya into the Sapta Koshi. These are two different river systems on opposite sides of the country. What happens on the Bhote Koshi has no effect whatsoever on the trail to Makalu.
Worst-hit were Timure and Syabrubesi in Rasuwa, with damage downstream toward Betrawati and Trishuli. Syabrubesi is the road-head where nearly every Langtang trek begins. It is not on the Makalu route, and no part of the Makalu journey — not Tumlingtar, not Num, not Seduwa, not the long climb through the Barun valley — comes anywhere near it. Makalu is Nepal's fifth-highest mountain (8,485 m) and one of its emptiest, most remote wilderness walks; that remoteness is exactly why the Rasuwa event is irrelevant to it.
The Makalu Base Camp trek, leg by leg
The clearest way to see why your trek is unaffected is to walk through it as we actually run it and check each stage against the flood zone.
| Region / stage | Status | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Kathmandu (arrival, permits, briefing) | Normal | Nothing — unaffected central hub |
| Flight to Tumlingtar (Arun Valley), drive to Num/Seduwa | Operating | Keep a buffer day; confirm the flight on the day |
| Seduwa, Tashigaon, Barun valley forests | Trail open, lodges/camps running | Trek as planned |
| Kongma Danda, Mumbuk, Yangle Kharka (Barun Khola) | Open | Trek as planned; acclimatise properly |
| Makalu Base Camp (~4,870 m) & the south face | Open | Weather-dependent as always, not flood-affected |
| Rasuwa / Bhote Koshi corridor | Flood-hit | Not on this route — irrelevant to Makalu |
Because the whole route sits inside the Makalu Barun National Park, this is a genuine wilderness trek with fewer lodges than the Everest or Annapurna highways — part of the reason we run it with a strong support crew and a mandatory licensed guide. That is standard practice for Makalu in any year and has nothing to do with the floods.
Is there anything to watch on a Makalu trip?
For Makalu specifically, the honest answer is: the usual remote-trek considerations, none of them flood-related. This is a high, committing walk into thin country — give yourself proper acclimatisation on the way to the 4,870 m base camp, carry travel-and-rescue insurance that covers that altitude and a helicopter evacuation from a place with no roads, and go with a crew that knows the Barun. The 26 August flood is a reminder that Nepal faces fast-moving mountain hazards, and that is a real, nationwide conversation — but it changes nothing on the Makalu trail today. If your wider itinerary happened to route through Rasuwa — a Langtang add-on or an overland Tibet crossing — that is the one case to pause and confirm, and we cover exactly which treks are on hold in the region round-up below.
A local guide's take — Bishnu Adhikari
I plan the logistics for these treks, so let me be plain. Makalu is about as far from the Rasuwa flood as you can get and still be in Nepal — a different district, a different river, the far-eastern end of the Himalaya. There is no mechanism by which a flood on the Bhote Koshi touches the Barun. The wrong move is to cancel a Nepal trip wholesale over a localised event in one northern valley. The right one is to know your route. My thoughts are with the families in Rasuwa — that valley took a hard hit. But if your route is Makalu, keep your dates: the south face of Makalu in clear October air is one of the great sights of the Himalaya, and you will likely have it almost to yourself.
Booked, or thinking about it? Ask us anything — no pressure
If you want a straight answer about your specific dates, message us on WhatsApp or use our contact page. Our full Makalu route, day by day and with real prices, is here: Makalu Base Camp Trek — 18 days. We will tell you honestly if anything on your itinerary needs a second look.
What you can book for autumn
Makalu departures running normally this October and November
This is the departure we are putting people on right now, priced from the per-person rate a small group pays:
- Makalu Base Camp Trek — 18 days · from US$2,350 per person in a small group of four (solo from US$2,850). The full wilderness walk through the Barun valley to the foot of the world's fifth-highest mountain.
Prefer the far-east but want a gentler introduction? Message us and we will match you to the right trek honestly — there is no need to change continents over a flood in one valley.
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: Makalu Barun National Park and rural-municipality permit requirements and the 2023 mandatory-guide rule per current Nepal trekking-permit guidance; Tumlingtar flight and Num/Seduwa trailhead access per Nepal operator advisories; region and route details reflect our own on-the-ground knowledge of the Barun and the Rasuwa corridor. Flood figures are held in the live tracker, which we update as authorities confirm them. Always confirm your Tumlingtar flight on the day.
If you want to help. Nepal’s official relief channel is the government’s Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund — restricted by law to rescue, relief and rehabilitation, audited annually, and it takes international cards directly. We collect nothing and receive nothing. Be careful of account numbers circulating in forwarded messages: disaster fundraising draws scams within days.
Cover photo: Ben Tubby via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Still running this season
Makalu Base Camp Trek — 18 Days is running normally
NMA-certified local guides, transparent pricing, 5,000+ treks since 1998. Message us your dates and we'll sort the permits, lodges and logistics — reply within 24 hours, no obligation.
Popular Nepal treks
All treks →
Related coverage
Safety & Advisories
Is the Everest Base Camp Trek Affected by the 2026 Nepal Floods?
No — the Everest region is running normally. The 26 August flood hit Rasuwa in the north, not the Khumbu. Here is why Lukla flights and the EBC trail are unaffected, leg by leg.
Safety & Advisories
Is the Gokyo Lakes Trek Affected by the 2026 Nepal Floods?
No — the Gokyo valley in the Everest region is running normally. The 26 August flood hit Rasuwa in the north, not the Khumbu. Here is why Lukla flights and the Gokyo Lakes trail are unaffected.
Safety & Advisories
Is the Nar Phu Valley Trek Affected by the 2026 Nepal Floods?
No — Nar Phu is a restricted Annapurna-region valley in Manang, on the Marsyangdi, far from the flood-hit Bhote Koshi in Rasuwa, and it is running normally. Here is why the trail is unaffected, plus the one monsoon road caveat.
Safety & Advisories
Is the Tilicho Lake Trek Affected by the 2026 Nepal Floods?
No — Tilicho Lake is an Annapurna-region trek in Manang, on the Marsyangdi, well away from the flood-hit Bhote Koshi in Rasuwa, and it is running normally. Here is why the trail is unaffected, plus the one monsoon road caveat.
Latest from the desk
Safety & Advisories
Is the Pikey Peak Trek Affected by the 2026 Nepal Floods?
No — Pikey Peak is a road-access ridge trek in lower Solukhumbu, in the east, on a different river system from the flood-hit Bhote Koshi in Rasuwa. Here is why it is running normally — and the one road detail to confirm.
Safety & Advisories
Is the Mera Peak Climb Affected by the 2026 Nepal Floods?
No — Mera Peak is in the Hinku valley of the Everest region and the climb is running normally. The 26 August flood hit Rasuwa in the north. What decides your summit is Lukla flights, acclimatisation, the weather window and your NMA permit — not the flood.
Safety & Advisories
Is the Island Peak Climb Affected by the 2026 Nepal Floods?
No — Island Peak (Imja Tse) is in the Khumbu, Everest region, and the climb is running normally. The 26 August flood hit Rasuwa in the north. What decides your summit is Lukla flights, acclimatisation, the weather window and your NMA permit — not the flood.