In the space of five days in September 2025, a youth-led protest movement in Nepal went from street demonstrations to the fall of the government. What became known as the Gen Z protests began in Kathmandu on Monday 8 September 2025. By the end of the week the prime minister had resigned, parliament had been set on fire, and a former chief justice had been sworn in to lead an interim government. Around 76 people were killed, most of them young protesters.
We are a Kathmandu company, and many of our staff and their families were in the city that week. This is a summary of what happened, and what it meant for people travelling in Nepal.
In short: protests began on 8 September 2025 after the government blocked 26 social media platforms, and quickly widened into anger at corruption and the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children ("nepo kids"). Police opened fire on the first day. On 9 September protesters burned parliament and other buildings, and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned. On 12 September former chief justice Sushila Karki became interim prime minister, Nepal's first woman to hold the post, and parliament was dissolved ahead of elections in March 2026.
How it started
In the first days of September 2025 the government blocked access to 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube and X, saying they had not registered with the authorities under new rules. For a country where millions of families keep in touch with relatives working abroad through these apps, and where many small businesses, including tourism businesses, sell through them, the effect was immediate.
The ban landed on top of a growing anger among young Nepalis. In the weeks before, a "nepo kids" trend had spread online, contrasting the luxury holidays and designer clothes posted by the children of politicians with the reality of unemployment and the hundreds of young people leaving Nepal every day for work abroad. Students and young people organised a protest for 8 September through the platforms that were still available, many of them in school or college uniform.
Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Early September | Government blocks 26 social media platforms that had not registered under new rules. |
| Monday 8 September | Thousands of young protesters march in Kathmandu and other cities. Police fire on crowds near the parliament building in New Baneshwor; many are killed and hundreds injured. Curfews are declared. The social media ban is lifted that night and the home minister resigns. |
| Tuesday 9 September | Protests spread despite the curfew. Parliament, the Singha Durbar government complex, the Supreme Court, party offices and politicians' homes are set on fire. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigns. The army takes control of security. |
| 10–11 September | Army-enforced curfew in Kathmandu Valley. Talks between the army chief, the president and Gen Z representatives on an interim leader. |
| Friday 12 September | Sushila Karki, former chief justice, is sworn in as interim prime minister. Parliament is dissolved and elections are set for March 2026. |
The human cost
Final figures put the death toll at around 76, with well over a thousand people injured. Most of those killed were young protesters shot on 8 September; others died in the fires and violence of the following day, and several police officers were also killed. The interim government announced compensation for the families of those killed, and later declared those who died as martyrs. A commission was set up to investigate the use of force.
The violence of 9 September also caused enormous damage. Government buildings that held decades of records were burned, along with businesses and some hotels in Kathmandu.
What it meant for travellers
Tourists were not targeted at any point. But for a few days, travel in Kathmandu was seriously disrupted:
- Curfews kept people indoors in Kathmandu and some other cities for several days.
- Tribhuvan International Airport briefly suspended flights, leaving some visitors stuck in Kathmandu or unable to fly in.
- Treks already underway in the mountains were largely unaffected, although some groups waited in the hills or in Pokhara until Kathmandu reopened.
- Within about a week, shops, hotels and flights were back to normal, and the autumn trekking season went ahead.
During those days our team kept every trekker on the trail and in the city informed, rebooked flights where needed, and moved a few people to quieter hotels. If you are planning a trip and have questions about safety, read our first-time visitor's guide or talk to us directly.
What happened next
Elections were held in March 2026. The Rastriya Swatantra Party won more than two-thirds of the directly elected seats, and Balendra Shah, the former mayor of Kathmandu, became Nepal's youngest-ever prime minister. On 8 September 2026 Nepal marked the first Gen Z Martyrs' Day.