Prithvi Highway collapse leaves Pokhara’s tourist buses idle as air traffic soars
Summary
A landslide at Krishnabhir has blocked the Prithvi Highway and left about 150 Pokhara-Kathmandu tourist buses idle, while air travel on the route has nearly tripled. Tourism operators in Gandaki are exploring a Jamire-Benighat detour as the disruption hits nearly 1,000 businesses and workers.
Key Points
- A landslide at Krishnabhir has blocked the Prithvi Highway, disrupting Pokhara-Kathmandu road travel and leaving around 150 tourist buses idle.
- Passenger traffic on the Pokhara-Kathmandu air route has surged sharply, with more than 3,500 travelers on Friday across Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines and Shree Airlines flights.
- NATTA Gandaki is examining an alternative route via Krishnabhir, Jamire and Benighat to restore tourist bus service if the highway remains unusable.
- The shutdown of the road route has affected nearly 1,000 tourism businesses and workers in Pokhara during the start of the tourist season.
