Mugu-Humla link road: the 67 km road to Chankheli

The Mugu-Humla link road joins Mugu, which the FCDO project record described as already connected to a strategic road, to Chankheli Rural Municipality in Humla, which that record called the last unconnected district in Nepal¹. For the wider picture see the rural roads hub; the two districts it links are Mugu and Humla.

What the road is

The FCDO project record describes the build as about 67 km of engineered fair-weather earth road, built to Nepal Rural Road Standards with stabilisation and drainage works¹. The same record said the road would connect Humla to neighbouring Mugu, which was already connected to a strategic road¹.

A January 2023 Kathmandu Post report gave the geometry: the 67 km stretch sits at an elevation of 3,300 m and is 4.5 m wide³. It split the route into a 63 km new road through Chhayanath Rara municipality in Mugu to Chankheli Rural Municipality in Humla, following a 4 km upgrade from Gamgadhi³. A December 2022 report put 37 km of the road in Mugu, with four bridges². The January 2023 report said motorable bridges were built across four rivers³.

Who built and paid for it

In the December 2022 handover report, the United Kingdom handed over the 67 km Mugu-Humla road to Nepal’s government authorities². The road cost £10.6 million, funded with UK government assistance². The January 2023 report named the Rural Access Programme 3 (RAP3), a government programme funded by UK Aid, and gave the British contribution as Rs1.6 billion³.

At the handover the UK ambassador asked different spheres of the Government of Nepal to maintain the road adequately².

The monsoon and the surface

In January 2023 the road was yet to be blacktopped, and locals were worried about its condition in the rainy season³. The same report said the monsoon brings all transportation in Humla and Mugu to a halt³.

In January 2026 the Kathmandu Post reported that, despite the completion of key sections of the Karnali Corridor, travel on it remained arduous because of landslides, narrow tracks and lack of blacktopping in many stretches⁴. See monsoon road closures for the wet season, and the Karnali Highway page covers the main route into the region. Landslide hazards on these roads are covered in landslides and road safety.

Reported claims on prices

The January 2023 report cited the RAP3 programme’s own record that food prices had decreased by 43 percent in the two districts after the Mugu-Humla link road began operating³. Wider findings on what roads changed in the far west are in what roads changed.

Humla’s road links, 2025 and 2026

Two later reports describe the connections around Chankheli and Simikot. In July 2025 a new bridge at Lotikhola was reported to connect Piplang, the centre of Changkheli Rural Municipality, and to free residents from depending on Tuin⁵. Also in July 2025, Simkot, the headquarters of Humla, was reported as finally connected to the national road network⁴. The link came through a Bailey bridge over the Chuwakhola river in ward 5 of Kharpunath Rural Municipality, joining Simkot to the Karnali Corridor⁴.

Buses to Kathmandu

The Humla District Traffic Police Office recorded that the direct Humla-Kathmandu bus service was formally launched on 17 December 2025⁴. In January 2026 the same office had fixed the fare to Kathmandu at Rs7,500 (fare seen January 2026)⁴. A Humla traffic police chief said that, because of the terrain and road conditions, buses cannot always operate on a fixed timetable⁴. For other ground options in the region see buses and jeeps; for the pilgrimage side of Humla see Kailash via Humla.

Where the sources differ

The January 2023 report gives 37 km in Mugu and 30 km in Humla³. The December 2022 report gives four bridges in the Mugu section², and the January 2023 report motorable bridges across four rivers on the road³. The 67 km total appears in the FCDO record as approximately 67 km¹, and in both Kathmandu Post reports^2,3.