Kathmandu, September 6: The famous Manaslu trekking route has been completely blocked due to floods in the Budhi Gandaki and Therang rivers. A flood that occurred this morning in the Budhi Gandaki and Therang rivers at Namrung in Chumnubri Rural Municipality-4 of northern Gorkha, within the Manaslu Conservation Area, swept away two bridges and two micro-hydropower projects.
According to Assistant Chief District Officer Netra Prasad Sharma, the District Administration Office has completely halted travel on the Manaslu trekking route and the Larkya Pass until further notice after the bridges were washed away by the flood. The administration has urged all domestic and foreign tourists and travelers who are preparing for the journey or are already on the route to remain in safe locations and refrain from traveling until another notice is issued. Sharma said there had been no human casualties so far.
Local residents and tourists have been placed in a difficult situation after the bridges connecting the villages were swept away by the flood. Lakpa Dundup, a local resident of Namrung, said the bridges on both the upper and lower sides of the village had been washed away by the floods and landslides, leaving people with no way to travel in either direction.
Similarly, after two micro-hydropower projects were swept away, electricity, communications and all services dependent on electricity have been completely disrupted in the local area. Hundreds of tourists who had traveled toward the Larkya Pass have been stranded along the route after the bridges were washed away.
According to data from the Department of Tourism, a total of 348 climbers from 29 teams have obtained permits to climb Mount Manaslu alone during this year’s autumn season (September–October). Overall, 367 climbers from 32 teams have received permits from the department to climb various mountains, with the number of Manaslu climbers being the highest. With the bridges along the trekking route washed away, tourist arrivals and tourism businesses in the Manaslu region, where the autumn trekking season has just begun, are expected to be seriously affected.
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