Manasi Parekh on Nepal floods escape: 'Getting out felt like winning a war'
Synopsis
Actor Manasi Parekh had been at the exact Tibet flood site just five days before disaster struck. Her account of walking through landslides, waiting four hours in a stranded bus at Nyalam, and enduring the ‘bumpiest ride of her life’ to Kathmandu is a rare first-person window into the chaos that engulfed the Nepal-Tibet border on 26 August.
Key Takeaways
Manasi Parekh returned to Mumbai on 31 August after being caught near the Nepal-Tibet border flash floods during the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra .
A landslide at the Chinese town of Nyalam kept her group stranded in a bus for four hours before they could leave China by road.
The group walked through a second landslide at the Nepal border as it was the only way to reach buses on the other side.
A four-hour bus ride from the border brought them to Kathmandu , which Parekh called ‘the bumpiest bus ride of our lives.’ Parekh revealed her group had been at the same flood-hit Tibet location just five days before the 26 August disaster struck.
The floods devastated Rasuwa , Nuwakot , and Dhading districts in Nepal, destroying bridges, roads, and homes.
Actor Manasi Parekh returned to Mumbai on 31 August after a harrowing multi-day journey out of China following the devastating flash floods that struck the Nepal-Tibet border region on 26 August. Parekh had been in Tibet as part of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra when the disaster unfolded, and described the ordeal of getting back home as “like winning a war.”
The Journey Out of China
Parekh shared a detailed account of her return on social media, revealing that a massive landslide at the Chinese town of Nyalam stranded her group inside their bus for nearly four hours before they could resume their road journey out of China. “There was a huge landslide at the China town of Nyalam which kept us waiting in our bus for 4 hours till we could start our journey out of China by road,” she wrote.
Following the wait, the group undertook a bus ride of approximately 40 miles to reach the Nepal border, only to encounter yet another landslide. “There had been another landslide which we had to walk through as there was no other way for us to make it till the buses waiting on the other side,” Parekh said.
A Bumpy Road to Kathmandu
Once across the border, the group boarded buses for a four-hour ride to Kathmandu, which Parekh described as “the bumpiest bus ride of our lives.” Despite the gruelling conditions, she said the journey was entirely worth it. “All this was worth it because it meant coming back to Mumbai, to my family and getting to kiss my daughter,” she wrote in her post.
A Near-Miss That Shook Her
The emotional weight of Parekh’s account deepened when she revealed that her group had been at the same location in Tibet just five days before the floods struck. On 27 August, she shared visuals of the destruction and wrote: “This is what happened. We were supposed to be here tomorrow morning.” In a separate post, she added: “I was literally welcomed at this spot 5 days ago. So warmly! And now the whole place is submerged.”
The Scale of the Disaster
The flash floods struck along the Nepal-Tibet border on 26 August, triggering a massive surge of water and debris through the Himalayan region. On the Nepal side, Rasuwa district and areas further downstream—including Nuwakot and Dhading—were among the worst affected. Critical infrastructure, including bridges and road stretches, was damaged or washed away, and homes were destroyed across the region. The disaster affected communities on both sides of the border, with rescue and relief operations complicated by the terrain and continued landslide risk.
Parekh’s account offers a rare first-person glimpse into the logistical nightmare faced by pilgrims and tourists caught in the region during the catastrophe. With the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra drawing thousands of Indian devotees annually, the episode has renewed attention on emergency protocols for pilgrims travelling through high-risk Himalayan corridors.
Point of View
Not a journalist, and her posts capture the disorder that official statements rarely convey. But the story also surfaces a structural gap: thousands of Indian pilgrims undertake the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra each season through one of the world’s most geologically volatile corridors, yet emergency evacuation protocols remain opaque. The fact that her group had to physically walk through an active landslide zone because there was ‘no other way’ should prompt both the Ministry of External Affairs and tour operators to revisit contingency frameworks. Climate-driven extreme weather events in the Himalayas are intensifying—this will not be the last such episode.
NationPress
31 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Manasi Parekh and why was she near the Nepal-Tibet floods?
Manasi Parekh is a Mumbai-based actor who was travelling in Tibet as part of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a Hindu pilgrimage to sacred Mount Kailash. She was in the region when flash floods struck the Nepal-Tibet border on 26 August, complicating her return to India.
What happened to Manasi Parekh during the Nepal-Tibet floods?
Parekh’s group was stranded in a bus for four hours due to a landslide at the Chinese town of Nyalam. They then completed a 40-mile bus journey to the Nepal border, walked through a second landslide on foot, and took a four-hour bus ride to Kathmandu before eventually flying back to Mumbai.
When did the Nepal-Tibet border flash floods occur?
The flash floods struck on 26 August along the Nepal-Tibet border, triggering widespread destruction across the Himalayan region. Nepal’s Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading districts were among the worst affected, with bridges, roads, and homes damaged or destroyed.
How close was Manasi Parekh to the flood site?
Parekh revealed that her group had been at the exact location in Tibet that was later submerged just five days before the floods hit. She shared visuals of the destruction on 27 August, writing that her group had been scheduled to be there the following morning.
What is the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra?
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is an annual Hindu pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in Tibet, undertaken by thousands of Indian devotees each year. The route passes through high-altitude Himalayan terrain via China, making it one of the most logistically complex and weather-sensitive pilgrimages in the world.
