About the Annapurna Region Archive
The Annapurna region is Nepal’s busiest trekking area and home to the first 8,000-metre peak ever climbed. It includes Annapurna I and its satellite peaks, the Annapurna Sanctuary trail to Annapurna Base Camp, the Annapurna Circuit over Thorong La, the Kali Gandaki valley up to Jomsom and Muktinath, and Mustang beyond. Most of it lies within the Annapurna Conservation Area, managed by the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). Pokhara is the gateway for nearly everyone.
The dangers here are different from Everest’s. Annapurna I has the highest fatality rate of the 8,000-metre peaks, but far more people die on the trekking side, from altitude illness on the road-accessible high passes and pilgrimage sites, from avalanches on the Sanctuary trail and from sudden storms. The mountain air route to Jomsom has its own history of crashes. This Log records all of it, alongside the rule and access changes that affect trekkers and climbers.
Places this archive tracks
- Pokhara — gateway city, airport
- Jomsom and the Pokhara–Jomsom air route — aviation incidents
- Muktinath and Mustang — altitude illness, road access
- Manang and Thorong La (5,416 m) — storms, altitude illness
- Annapurna Base Camp trail (Chhomrong, Himalaya, Deurali, Machhapuchhre Base Camp) — avalanches
- Annapurna I base camp and Camps 1–4 — climbing accidents
- Mardi Himal and Poon Hill — trekking accidents
How each entry is built
Every event gets its own dated entry on this Log’s timeline. The entry date is the date the event happened, not the date it was written up, so the timeline reads as history even when an old event is added years later. Each entry opens with the same fact table: event date, location, type, impact (deaths, injuries, missing, displaced where relevant), verification status and current status. The write-up follows, then the sources it was built from.
Event types used here: climbing accident, avalanche or storm, trekking accident, aviation or helicopter incident, missing persons, earthquake or flood, rescue and evacuation, infrastructure and connectivity, regulation and permits, environment and waste, and major historical events.
Verification levels
- Unverified: early reports only; details likely to change.
- Partially verified: at least one credible source confirms the event, but key details (names, numbers) are incomplete or disputed.
- Verified: confirmed by an official body or by several independent, reliable outlets.
When figures differ between sources, which is common for death tolls in the first days after a disaster, the entry says who reported which number instead of quietly picking one. When new information emerges, the original entry gets a Correction or Source note attached to it rather than being rewritten, so the record of what was known and when stays intact.
Sourcing and originality
Entries are written from notes, in Merolog’s own words, after reading at least two independent sources. Direct quotes are short, in quotation marks and credited. Photographs come only from freely licensed collections such as Wikimedia Commons, with the photographer and licence named under each image; news agency photos are never copied. Preferred sources are official bodies (Nepal’s Department of Tourism, Nepal Police, the government’s aircraft accident investigation commissions, ICIMOD, conservation-area offices and local municipalities), established Nepali outlets (The Kathmandu Post, The Himalayan Times) and specialist mountaineering reporting (Explorersweb, Alan Arnette, the American Alpine Club).
Follow this Log to be notified when a new Annapurna region entry is added.
Last reviewed 29 September 2026. Written in Merolog’s own words from the sources listed; where sources disagree, each figure is attributed rather than merged. Spotted an error or a newer figure? Leave a comment on this entry.