Is the Panchase Trek Affected by the 2026 Nepal Floods?

No — Panchase is a short forested ridge right beside Pokhara in the Annapurna foothills, far from the Rasuwa flood, and it is open. Here is the honest status and why it is a good monsoon-shoulder pick.

BA By Bishnu Adhikari · Aug 29, 2026 · 6 min read · ▶ Web Story

The forested Panchase ridge southwest of Pokhara in the Annapurna foothills, Nepal, looking out to Machhapuchhre and the Annapurna range — a short, low-altitude trek unaffected by the 2026 Rasuwa flood

At a glance

PublishedAug 29, 2026
TopicSafety & Advisories
ReportingOriginal, by our guides in Pokhara
Treks coveredPanchase Trek

📍 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. Panchase is the short trek people book when they only have a few days around Pokhara, so it is worth saying plainly whether the floods change anything. They do not — here is the detail.

Is the Panchase trek affected by the 2026 Nepal floods? No — Panchase is a short forested ridge right beside Pokhara in the Annapurna foothills, far from the flood, and it is open. The flash flood of 26 August 2026 hit Rasuwa district in north-central Nepal, on the Bhote Koshi above the Langtang valley. Panchase rises just southwest of Pokhara, a short drive from the lakeside, topping out around 2,500 m on a rhododendron ridge between Phewa Lake and the Modi Khola. Pokhara is normal and the ridge is open. Because it is low, close and forested, it is actually one of the better picks in the monsoon shoulder — with the honest caveats that come with any wet-season forest walk.

Panchase trek — the honest status

Affected by the flood? No. The flood was in Rasuwa, on the Bhote Koshi. Panchase is in the Annapurna foothills right by Pokhara, draining into the Seti and the Kali Gandaki systems — a completely separate watershed, hundreds of kilometres away.
It is a short, low, easy ridge trek. The high point, Panchase Peak, is about 2,500 m — no pass, no glacier, no altitude concern. A good first trek and a good monsoon-shoulder option.
Access is from Pokhara. A short drive to the trailhead near Phewa Lake or Naudanda, then you walk. Pokhara itself is entirely unaffected by the Rasuwa flood.
Two honest, seasonal caveats. In the monsoon tail the forest trail carries leeches and mud, and the descent is poorly marked in places — which is exactly why a guide earns their keep here. Both ease as the trails dry through September and October.
When to go. Because it is low and quick, Panchase works in the shoulder as well as in peak October–November, when the ridge opens onto a clean line of Annapurna and Machhapuchhre. None of it is near the affected area.

Why the Pokhara foothills are a world away from Rasuwa

Nepal's trekking regions are separated by great ranges and drained by rivers that never meet in the mountains. The 26 August flood came down the Bhote Koshi out of Tibet into Rasuwa, hitting Timure and Syabrubesi hardest according to reporting collated by Wikipedia's running summary and outlets including CNN. Syabrubesi is the road-head for Langtang treks, a long day north of Kathmandu.

Panchase is a forested ridge on the edge of Pokhara, at the southern rim of the Annapurna foothills. Its streams drain into the Seti Gandaki and, over the ridge, toward the Modi and Kali Gandaki — not the Bhote Koshi or the Trishuli. A flood in Rasuwa has no physical route to this hill. They are on opposite sides of the country, and the emergency in the north-east does not change conditions on this ridge.

The Panchase trek, stage by stage

Here is the whole short trek, checked stage by stage against the flood zone.

Panchase trek: each stage and its exposure to the Rasuwa flood (guide's assessment, 29 August 2026)
Region / stage	Where it is	Status & what to do
Pokhara (start point)	Central-west Nepal, Annapurna gateway	Normal — unaffected
Drive Pokhara → trailhead (Phewa / Naudanda side)	Southern Annapurna foothills	Running normally
Ridge climb through forest to Panchase Bhanjyang	Rhododendron forest ridge	Trail open; leeches & mud in the monsoon tail
Panchase Peak (~2,500 m) viewpoint	Annapurna & Machhapuchhre panorama	Open — not in the flood zone
Forest descent to villages / Pokhara	Seti / Modi Khola side	Open; descent poorly marked, so keep the guide close
Permit: ACAP + TIMS	Issued in Pokhara / Kathmandu	Issued normally

The trek uses the ACAP permit plus the TIMS card, both issued in Pokhara or Kathmandu — not in Rasuwa, and not affected by the flood. Nepal's permit desks are open and processing as usual; the paperwork is covered in full in our Annapurna ACAP & TIMS guide.

How we run Panchase this autumn

Panchase is the trek I reach for when someone has only two or three spare days in Pokhara and wants real forest and a real mountain view without going high. Autumn makes it easy: the trails dry, the leeches disappear, and the ridge clears to a long line of Annapurna and Machhapuchhre. The one thing I never skimp on here is the guide, because the descent genuinely is easy to lose in the forest — that is the honest reason a guided Panchase is worth more than a solo one. We keep it simple: a short drive out, a steady climb through the rhododendron, a night on the ridge, and a bright morning at the top before dropping back to the lake. As always, decent travel insurance is worth having even on a gentle trek.

A local guide's take

People are surprised how good Panchase is for how little it asks — a couple of days, a couple of thousand metres, and a proper Annapurna skyline from the top. So the flood question is easy: it does not touch this ridge. The emergency was on the far side of Nepal, on the Bhote Koshi, above Langtang. Here my job is the small stuff — keeping you off the leeches, timing the top for a clear morning, and above all not losing the trail on the way down, which is where an unguided walker on Panchase usually comes unstuck. Come as the monsoon fades and it is a lovely, quiet trek.

What you can book for autumn

Panchase departures running normally this autumn

This is the exact trip we are running right now, priced from the per-person rate a small group pays:

Panchase Trek — 4 days · from US$420 per person in a group of eight (US$590 solo). A short forested ridge trek from Pokhara with a full Annapurna view — low, easy and open.

Only have two or three days, or want to pair it with Ghandruk or Poon Hill? Message us on WhatsApp or use the contact form. If it is your first trek, I am happy to just talk through what fits your dates — no pressure.

Panchase Trek 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.

Panchase Trek$590 pp

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