The Kathmandu to Pokhara highway is cut at Krishnabhir and it could be shut for a month

A roughly 20-metre section of the Prithvi Highway collapsed at Krishnabhir in Dhading district on Saturday 30 August, closing the Kathmandu–Muglin road in both directions. Deputy Superintendent of Police Prakash Dahal of the Dhading District Police, who inspected the site, said restoring traffic could take at least a month.

This is the second corridor the same flood wave has taken out. The first was the border road itself — see what happened at the Rasuwagadhi–Kerung crossing to Tibet.

Muglin is the junction where the road out of Kathmandu splits, west to Pokhara and south to Narayangadh and Chitwan. Because Krishnabhir sits above that junction, every road route from Kathmandu to Pokhara, Chitwan, Lumbini and the Annapurna road-heads is cut at the same place.

The Kathmandu Valley Traffic Office stopped highway-bound vehicles inside the valley on Saturday and instructed operators at the New Bus Park to keep scheduled services parked until conditions improve, according to The Himalayan Times. Travellers were told to confirm before starting a journey rather than turn up at the terminal.

The city at the far end of the closed road was not itself touched by the flood. If you are weighing up whether to keep an Annapurna trip, see whether Pokhara is safe from the floods.

What actually gave way

The road did not slide off the hill. It sank. More than half the carriageway subsided and cracked along a stretch of about 20 metres, The Tourism Times reported on 30 August. The highway runs along a slope roughly 60 metres high above the Trishuli, and the flood wave that came down the Bhote Koshi on 26 August raised the river far enough to scour the toe of that slope.

The Department of Roads has sent an expert team to the site. Engineers cannot fully assess the erosion until the river drops, and only then will they decide whether one lane, both, or neither can carry traffic while permanent works run. That sequencing is why the one-month figure is a police estimate rather than an engineering schedule.

Krishnabhir has failed before. A major landslide hit the same stretch in 1999, and the road was repaired there again last year after subsidence was noticed. This is a known weak point on the corridor that carries around 14,000 vehicles a day.

The detour runs through Gorkha

Two alternative routes have been identified, both looping through Gorkha district and rejoining the highway at Benighat. Gorkha Chief District Officer Tulsi Bahadur Shrestha is coordinating with road offices to upgrade the weak points on them while the main highway is shut. These are narrow rural roads, not a highway, and OnlineKhabar reported on 31 August that traffic on the flood-zone alternatives elsewhere was already being slowed by mud and congestion.

What this means for your trek

If your trek starts in Pokhara, fly. The scheduled Kathmandu to Pokhara flight was always the faster option and it is now the dependable one; an Annapurna Base Camp trek or a Poon Hill itinerary loses nothing except the drive. If your trek starts from an Annapurna road-head reached through Muglin, the same applies: get to Pokhara by air, then travel locally from there.

Booked on a Chitwan extension? Ask whoever is running it how they are moving you before you leave Kathmandu, and expect a longer day. Everest trekkers are not affected at all, because the Manthali and Lukla routing does not use this highway. Manaslu and Ganesh Himal approaches through Dhading and Gorkha do share this corridor, so put a buffer day in if you are heading that way in September.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Kathmandu to Pokhara road open right now?

No. The Prithvi Highway is closed in both directions at Krishnabhir in Dhading as of 31 August 2026. Traffic is being routed through Gorkha on two rural detours.

How long will the Prithvi Highway be closed?

Dhading police estimate at least a month. The Department of Roads has not published a schedule, and engineers cannot set one until the Trishuli falls far enough for them to assess the erosion.

Can I still fly Kathmandu to Pokhara?

Yes. Domestic flights between Kathmandu and Pokhara are operating and are unaffected by the road closure.

Does this affect the Everest Base Camp trek?

No. Everest Base Camp itineraries fly from Kathmandu or Manthali to Lukla and do not use the Prithvi Highway. Our autumn 2026 Lukla flight guide explains that routing.

Is the rest of Nepal open?

Most of it, with real exceptions. Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on 29 August that the country remains open to travellers and that areas outside the flood zone are functioning normally. Rasuwa and Langtang are a different matter — see our Langtang access update.

Sources: OnlineKhabar English (30 and 31 August 2026), The Himalayan Times (30 August 2026), The Tourism Times (30 August 2026). Flood context from Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Planning an autumn Annapurna trek and unsure how this changes your first two days? Message us on WhatsApp or send us your dates and we will tell you honestly whether to fly or drive. Our 5-day Ghorepani Poon Hill trek and 9-day Annapurna Base Camp trek both start in Pokhara and are running normally.

Cover photo: BD Shrestha via Pexels (Pexels License).