Is the Chisapani–Nagarkot Trek Affected by the 2026 Nepal Floods?

The short version: of all the “is my trek affected” questions we are getting this week, this is the easiest to answer honestly — the Chisapani–Nagarkot walk is the Kathmandu Valley’s own doorstep trek, and the flood never came near it. But because it is a beginner-friendly favourite and people are understandably nervous, let me spell out exactly where it runs, why it is safe, and the one direction where I would still check a road.

Where this trek runs — the valley rim, not the flood zone

The Chisapani–Nagarkot trek is a short, two-to-four-day cultural walk around the high rim of the Kathmandu Valley. The classic line starts at Sundarijal and climbs into Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park to Chisapani on the northern edge, then traverses the ridge southeast through Nagarkot villages to the famous Nagarkot viewpoint, and often finishes at the Newar town of Dhulikhel or Namobuddha. You are on forested ridgeline between roughly 1,400 and 2,300 m the whole way, looking north to the Himalaya on a clear morning — Langtang, Ganesh Himal, sometimes Everest far to the east.

Crucially, every one of those places drains into the Bagmati and the valley’s own small rivers, which flow south. The 26 August flood came down the Bhote Koshi into Rasuwa and then the Trishuli — north of the valley, on the far side of the Shivapuri ridge, in an entirely separate river system. The high wall of Shivapuri literally stands between this trek and the flooded valleys. That is why Kathmandu itself never flooded and why the rim trek is walking normally.

Why this is the safe trek to keep on your plan

If you booked a short Kathmandu-area trek to bookend a bigger trip, this is one I would tell you to keep without hesitation. It is low altitude, it is close to the city, it runs all year including through the monsoon tail, and it sits inside a protected national park with maintained trails. There is no river crossing on the classic route that the flood could have touched, and the drive to Sundarijal and back from Dhulikhel is ordinary valley driving that was never disrupted. In a week where I am telling a lot of people to change their Langtang plans, it is a relief to have a trek I can simply say yes to.

The one honest note — and I would rather give it than leave it out — is the Chisapani side. Chisapani sits on the boundary between the valley rim and southern Sindhupalchowk, which is on the outer edge of the districts that saw monsoon damage. The rim-walking route itself is fine. But if your itinerary pushes north from there toward Melamchi or into the Helambu region, those approach roads are more monsoon-fragile and worth a direct check before you commit. On the standard Sundarijal–Chisapani–Nagarkot–Dhulikhel loop, you never go that way.

How we run it right now — and an honest word on booking

Let me be straight about the product, because I would rather you trust the next thing I say. We do not currently list the full multi-day Chisapani–Nagarkot–Dhulikhel trek as a one-click booking on the site — the closest published trip is our Nagarkot Sunrise & Himalayan View day tour, which catches the same dawn panorama in a single day from Kathmandu. The two-to-four-day rim trek is something we arrange to order, with a licensed guide, park permits and teahouse or resort nights along the ridge. If that is what you want, message us and we will build it for your dates rather than point you at a page that does not exist.

Either way, we run it with a guide who knows the Shivapuri trails and current conditions, and we will tell you honestly if any extension you are considering strays toward the disrupted north. For the dawn view on a tight schedule, the day tour is genuinely the better-value pick and we will say so.

Cover photo: Bandana kc via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).