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Tatopani Border Reopens for Three Days to Let Dashain Cargo Through

The Tatopani crossing between Nepal and China reopened on Sunday for three days, cargo only, after a closure that began in late August. More than 45 containers are waiting on the Chinese side with goods for Dashain.

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Tatopani Border Reopens for Three Days to Let Dashain Cargo Through

Key points

  • Nepal's Tatopani border point with China reopened on Sunday for three days, and cargo trucks that had been waiting since late August started crossing again with goods for the Dashain festival.
  • Dipendra Prakash Giri, chief of the Tatopani Customs Office, said the Chinese side agreed to reopen the point for three days to ease the supply of festive goods and other essential items to Nepal.
  • More than 45 containers are waiting to enter Nepal from Nyalam county on the Chinese side, Buddha Raj Basnet, president of the Sindhupalchok Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told the news agency.

Nepal's Tatopani border point with China reopened on Sunday for three days, and cargo trucks that had been waiting since late August started crossing again with goods for the Dashain festival. The crossing in Sindhupalchok district, on the main road link between Kathmandu and the Chinese border at Kodari, had been closed since the end of August. Trucks began entering Nepal early on Sunday morning from China's Xizang region, Rastriya Samachar Samiti, the national news agency, reported.

Dipendra Prakash Giri, chief of the Tatopani Customs Office, said the Chinese side agreed to reopen the point for three days to ease the supply of festive goods and other essential items to Nepal. The reopening runs from October 18 to October 20 and covers cargo vehicles only. Passenger movement is not included, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies said in a press note reported by Online Khabar.

What is waiting at the border

More than 45 containers are waiting to enter Nepal from Nyalam county on the Chinese side, Buddha Raj Basnet, president of the Sindhupalchok Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told the news agency. Containers are also lined up at Liping and Kodari on the Nepali side. The loads include clothing, fruit and other goods ordered for Dashain, Nepal's biggest festival, when shops do their heaviest trade of the year. Only trucks that have completed customs clearance can cross during the three days.

China closed the crossing at the end of August, citing the risk of floods and landslides on the mountain road, according to Meroauto. Nepal's government asked several times for it to reopen before China agreed to the three-day window.

Traders want it open for good

Three days is not enough for the businesses that use the crossing. The Nepal Himalaya Trans-Himalayan Commerce Association has written to the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu asking for regular operations to resume, not a festival window. Hundreds of containers were stranded on both sides by the closure, the association said, and many carry perishable goods and seasonal stock that lose value by the day. Small traders are taking the losses now, and the association warned the closure could leave Nepali markets short of goods if it drags on past the festivals.

Timeline

  1. Oct 17, 2026Nepali traders, with hundreds of containers stranded on both sides of the border, formally ask for the Tatopani crossing to reopen on a regular basis, not only for the festival.
  2. Oct 18, 2026The Tatopani point reopens for three days, cargo vehicles only, and trucks begin entering Nepal from Xizang with Dashain goods.

Sources