Manaslu Climbing Permits 2026: Record 422 Climbers Waiting

Rain fell on Manaslu Base Camp on Thursday. Photos from the 7 Summits Club team showed climbers holding umbrellas beside their tents. Above them, a week of fresh snow sat on the slopes they came to climb.

The camp below that snow holds a record crowd. Nepal’s Department of Tourism has issued permits to 422 foreign climbers from 35 expedition teams for Manaslu this autumn, according to its report of 9 September. The previous high was 404, set in autumn 2022.

Almost nobody saw it coming. In late August, sources at the department told ExplorersWeb they expected to issue around 300 permits this season.

The permit count also understates the crowd. Most foreign climbers go up with Sherpa guides and support staff, and ExplorersWeb reports that local staff outnumber the permit holders. It describes Base Camp as a spread of thousands of tents, the second-largest base camp in Nepal after Everest’s.

Manaslu autumn 2026 at a glance

Why 300 permits became 422

Two things changed between the August forecast and the September count.

China kept Tibet closed. On 24 August, Kathmandu outfitter Climbalaya confirmed to ExplorersWeb that the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association would keep Cho Oyu and Shishapangma shut to foreign climbers this autumn. Cho Oyu in particular has long been a popular first 8,000-metre peak. Climbers booked on either mountain needed a new objective, fast.

Manaslu was the obvious switch. It was already Nepal’s most popular autumn 8,000er, with a fixed-rope route and a large operator presence. Price helped too. The Tibetan permits cost $9,300 each, according to Climbalaya. Manaslu’s autumn royalty is $3,000.

The surge came late. An earlier department count listed 348 climbers from 29 teams. The 9 September report added 74 climbers and six teams on top of that, The Tourism Times reported.

The record also came at a much higher price. When Manaslu drew 404 climbers in 2022, the autumn royalty was $900, the Kathmandu Post reported at the time. Nepal’s revised royalty schedule, effective September 2025, set it at $3,000. This year’s crowd is paying more than three times what the last record crowd paid.

(Our earlier piece on why Manaslu faced overflow demand in autumn 2026 covers the Tibet closures in more depth.)

What a record crowd means on the mountain

As far as ExplorersWeb knows, every team this season is on Manaslu’s normal route, which typically uses four high camps. A single Sherpa team fixes the ropes and everyone else follows. This season, the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal (EOAN) assigned that team.

The fixers reached Camp 3 on 10 September, EOAN secretary Rishi Ram Bhandari said. The route’s most technical section, a serac zone between Camp 1 and Camp 2, is now roped. Camp 3 is high enough for commercial climbers to complete their acclimatisation rotation. For many, it is the only rotation before the summit push.

Then the weather stalled progress. A week of heavy precipitation left the mountain loaded with fresh snow, and teams are waiting for it to slide off before climbing higher. Bhandari said the fixers aim to reach the summit by 19–20 September.

Snow and crowds have met on this peak before. In 2022, the last record year, heavy snowfall and an avalanche led several Western operators to end their expeditions, Alan Arnette reported. Madison Mountaineering said in a statement that the mountain “had other plans.”

When hundreds of climbers share one set of fixed lines, a short weather window puts them on the same slopes on the same days. Timing, and the discipline to turn around, become part of the safety picture.

Last season shows the scale. From 381 permits, Manaslu recorded 659 summits, counting foreign climbers and Nepali guides, some of whom summited more than once. The first summits came on 21 September, and the mountain had closed by 2 October.

One team is planning something different this year. A small group led by ski mountaineer Luke Smithwick intends to ski down from the summit.

What it costs to climb Manaslu this autumn

The government royalty is the one fixed number. Foreign climbers pay $3,000 in autumn and $1,500 in spring, through a registered Nepali expedition operator.

So far, the 422 permits have brought in $1,266,000 in royalties. That is exactly 422 multiplied by $3,000, which matches the per-climber rate.

The rest of the bill varies by operator: guide ratio, oxygen, base camp services and transport. This autumn adds a cost many budgets did not plan for. With the lower trail damaged, nearly every team is flying by helicopter to Samagaon, the last village before Base Camp. Ask for an itemised quote that shows the royalty, oxygen and helicopter charges as separate lines.

(If Tibet had opened, here is what a Cho Oyu expedition would have cost.)

Manaslu Circuit trek: status as of 11 September 2026

Trail conditions are changing quickly. Confirm with your operator before you travel.

Before dawn on Sunday, 6 September, heavy monsoon rain swelled the Therang Khola in the Namrung forest area. The flood swept away four houses and the two suspension bridges trekkers use to cross between valleys, the Everest Chronicle reported. The damage cut the Manaslu Circuit, and local authorities urged trekkers to postpone.

Residents of Chumnubri Rural Municipality responded within days. They built a temporary log-and-plank bridge over the river and cleared an old path back to the main trail. Local authorities have declared the route open.

The district has not dropped its warning. Gorkha district still encourages trekkers to postpone until further notice, and more rain was forecast. The makeshift bridge would offer little resistance if the river rose again, ExplorersWeb noted.

This flooding came from rain. It was not a glacial lake outburst like the August disaster in Rasuwa. (Our Rasuwa corridor access page tracks the routes affected by that event.)

If you are booked for October or November

October and November are the circuit’s busiest trekking months. A trip several weeks away does not need a snap decision, but it does need answers from your operator. Ask whether their guides have crossed the Therang detour, what happens if the temporary bridge fails, and whether your dates can move.

Check your travel insurance as well. You need helicopter evacuation cover to at least 5,106 metres, the height of Larke Pass. Some policies exclude disruption from events that were already public when you bought cover, so read the wording before you pay.

The record climbing crowd will touch trekkers less than the headline suggests. Most climbers fly straight to Samagaon and acclimatise there before moving to Base Camp. If 2026 follows last year’s timeline, expeditions will be packing up in early October, just as trekking season peaks.

Trekking permits for the Manaslu Circuit

The restricted area permit is issued only through a registered trekking agency, and a licensed guide is required. Fees last verified: 2026-09-11.

What to watch next

The next milestone is ropes on the summit, targeted for 19–20 September, followed by the first commercial summit pushes. Permit counts often keep rising through September, so the final figure may be higher than 422.

Longer term, the pressure on Manaslu depends on Tibet. If Cho Oyu and Shishapangma reopen to foreign climbers, some of this demand will likely move back north. If they stay shut, Manaslu will keep absorbing the climbers those peaks would have drawn.