Seventy-six kilometres, five districts, and one trail that survived.
Where the flood went, what it hit at each point, and the honest current status of the road, the border and the Langtang trek.
Five districts, three levels of impact
The surge concentrated its destruction in the top 30 km, where the valley is narrowest and the settlements sit on the riverbank. Beyond Nuwakot it attenuated into the wider Trishuli.
Rasuwagadhi, Timure, Syabrubesi and the Mailung area. Worst destruction in the corridor. District headquarters at Dhunche is the coordination point.
Betrawati, Trishuli Bazaar and Devighat. The Trishuli Bazaar bridge was swept away. Downstream hydropower including Devighat damaged.
Riverside settlements along the Trishuli. Alerted and affected as the surge moved downstream.
Downstream on the Trishuli/Narayani system. Bodies were recovered in the wider downstream districts.
Furthest downstream district placed on flood alert as the wave entered the Narayani.
Down the valley
| Place | District | Elevation | River km | What was there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasuwagadhiरसुवागढी | Rasuwa | 1,850 m | 0 | Nepal's principal trade gateway to China, 24 km from Kerung. The customs office was destroyed, the second time this crossing has been wrecked in fourteen months. |
| Timureटिमुरे | Rasuwa | 1,780 m | 3 | The dry port and transit settlement below the border. Among the worst hit; most of the early helicopter rescues, 123 people, were lifted from here. |
| Syabrubesiस्याफ्रुबेसी | Rasuwa | 1,460 m | 16 | The road head and gateway to the Langtang trek, where the Bhote Koshi meets the Langtang Khola. Market area and river frontage destroyed. |
| Dhuncheधुन्चे | Rasuwa | 1,960 m | — | District headquarters of Rasuwa, and the coordination point for the response. |
| Mailungमाइलुङ | Rasuwa | — | 30 | Site of the Mailung Khola and Upper Mailung A hydropower projects, both damaged. |
| Betrawatiबेत्रावती | Nuwakot | 620 m | 60 | Where the Rasuwa road meets Nuwakot; the confluence of the Trishuli and Phalanku. |
| Trishuli Bazaarत्रिशूली बजार | Nuwakot | 540 m | 72 | The main downstream town. Its bridge was swept away. |
| Devighatदेवीघाट | Nuwakot | 520 m | 76 | The oldest plant in the cascade, at the bottom of the chain, also damaged. |
| Gyirong Portकेरुङ | Gyirong County, Tibet | 1,800 m | — | On the Chinese bank of the Lhende Khola, facing Rasuwagadhi across the confluence, so it was hit by the same surge at the same moment. Reported completely destroyed. Early counts put 558 missing in the county, including 260 foreign nationals; Xinhua later gave 43 dead and 519 missing. |
River km measured downstream from the border at Rasuwagadhi. A slab of rock and glacier ice broke away at roughly 5,200 m from the north face of Langtang Lirung, a 7,227 m peak in Rasuwa inside Langtang National Park, and fell about 1,200 m into the Lhende Khola, the stream that marks the Nepal–China border. The debris surged down the Lhende, striking Rasuwagadhi and Gyirong Port together where it meets the Bhote Koshi, then ran on down the Bhote Koshi into the rest of Rasuwa.
Road, border and trek status
This corridor is the gateway to the Langtang Valley and Tamang Heritage treks and the overland staging point for Kailash. The flood arrived at the front edge of the autumn season.
Pasang Lhamu Highway (Kathmandu – Dhunche – Syabrubesi)
Damaged / restrictedLandslides and debris have damaged or blocked sections. The Department of Roads began installing bailey bridges within days to restore basic access. Treat the corridor as unsafe for non-essential travel until authorities say otherwise.
Syabrubesi – Rasuwagadhi road and the Kerung border
DestroyedThe road was still under repair from the July 2025 flood when this one destroyed it. The Rasuwagadhi customs office was destroyed. Operators report the overland Kailash route via this crossing closed.
Langtang Valley trek
Access disrupted, trail largely sparedTwo rivers meet at Syabrubesi and only the Bhote Koshi flooded; the Langtang trail follows the Langtang Khola. The problem is reaching the trailhead, and the condition of Syabrubesi itself, rather than the trail above it. The Nepal Tourism Board has advised postponing travel to the affected corridor.
Tamang Heritage Trail
Significantly affectedItineraries include an overnight at Syabrubesi, which has suffered serious damage. Operators report departures affected.
Please read this before booking or cancelling. Amarnepal is not on the ground and this is not an official advisory. Rasuwa's search and recovery operation is ongoing and several hundred people are still missing. Beyond the practical question of whether a route is passable, the corridor is not currently a place for tourism. When it is ready for visitors again, returning will matter enormously to people whose livelihoods depend on it, but that is a decision for the district and the Tourism Board to signal, not for a website.
Affected areas and travel
Which districts were affected by the Bhote Koshi flood?+
Rasuwa took the direct impact, with Nuwakot immediately downstream. Alerts and downstream effects extended to Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan as the surge moved into the Trishuli and then the Narayani system. The worst destruction was concentrated in the upper valley at Rasuwagadhi, Timure and Syabrubesi.
Is the Langtang trek open after the 2026 flood?+
Access is disrupted rather than the trail itself being destroyed. Syabrubesi, the road head, suffered serious flood damage, and sections of the Pasang Lhamu Highway linking Kathmandu to Dhunche and Syabrubesi have been damaged or blocked. Importantly, two rivers meet at Syabrubesi and only the Bhote Koshi flooded; the Langtang trail follows the Langtang Khola. The Nepal Tourism Board has advised postponing travel to the affected corridor until conditions are restored. Check with operators and local authorities before travelling.
Is the road to Rasuwagadhi and the Kerung border open?+
The Syabrubesi-Rasuwagadhi road was destroyed, having still been under repair from the July 2025 flood, and the Rasuwagadhi customs office was destroyed. The Department of Roads began installing bailey bridges within days to restore basic access. The overland Kailash route via this crossing has been reported closed by operators.
How far downstream did the flood reach?+
The destructive surge ran roughly 76 km from the border down to Devighat in Nuwakot, dropping from about 1,850 m at Rasuwagadhi to about 520 m. Beyond that the flood wave attenuated into the wider Trishuli and Narayani, but flood warnings were issued for districts as far as Chitwan.
Sources & data note
This is a mass-casualty event whose count is still rising. Nepal's confirmed death toll was reported at 31, then 95, 165, 175 and over 350 within the first 36 hours, and passed 1,000 within a week as bodies were recovered downstream. The headline toll on this page is the official count (NDRRMA, via The Kathmandu Post) as of 18 September 2026, 9:00 am NPT; NDRRMA's BIPAD portal does not consolidate this event, so there is no official machine-readable feed and the figure is updated by hand from primary reports. Every figure carries the outlet that published it and the time it was reported true. Amarnepal does not have reporters in Rasuwa; nothing here is independently verified on the ground. For the latest count, follow Nepal Police, the Kathmandu Post, Setopati and Onlinekhabar directly.
- Kyirong–Rasuwa flood 2026: frequently asked questionsICIMOD ↗
- What triggered the Rasuwa flood? Scientists piece together a complex chain of eventsThe Kathmandu Post ↗
- Nepal–Tibet floods: what happened, what caused them and who is missingAl Jazeera ↗
- At least 1,500 missing after deadly Nepal–Tibet floodsNPR ↗
- Hundreds killed in Nepal flood as fears grow of secondary disasterCNN ↗
- Bhote Koshi floods: death toll rises to 95, hundreds missingNepalnews ↗
- Supraglacial lake outburst in Tibet caused Bhotekoshi flooding (July 2025)The Kathmandu Post ↗
- Nepal floods affect hydropower projects in Rasuwa and NuwakotInternational Water Power ↗
- Rasuwa floods damage six hydropower and transmission facilitiesKhabarhub ↗
- How people can help Nepal's flood-affected communitiesThe Kathmandu Post ↗
- IFRC releases emergency funds as flash floods leave communities isolatedIFRC ↗
- Rasuwa Glacial Flood Situation Report (July 2025)NDRRMA / DPNet Nepal ↗
- Rasuwa Flood: a transboundary wake-up callNew Spotlight Magazine ↗
- 2026 China–Nepal floodsWikipedia ↗
