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The Ganges (Hindi: गंगा Gaṅgā, Bengali: গঙ্গা Gaṅgā) is India's longest and most important river, and a sacred river in Hinduism. At over 2,500 km long, the Ganges is the third-longest river in South Asia, after the Brahmaputra and the Indus.
Understand
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Often called the "lifeline of India", the Ganges has been an important transport route in the country with major cities along its banks for several thousand years.
The river begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers at Devprayag, Uttarakhand. Although the Alaknanada is the source stream for being longer, the Bhagirathi is usually considered as such in Hinduism. The river divides into two branches at Farakka, West Bengal: the Padma (Bengali: পদ্মা Padmā) in Bangladesh, and the Bhagirathi (ভাগীরথী Bhāgīrathī) in West Bengal. The Bhagirathi then meets with the Jalangi (itself a branch of the Padma) to become the Hooghly (হুগলি Hugli or হুগলী Huglī).
Both Padma and Bhagirathi-Hooghly branches of the Ganges empty into the Bay of Bengal, forming the world's largest river delta in Bengal, as well as the mangrove forest of the Sundarbans.
The Yamuna (यमुना Yamunā), a major tributary of the Ganges, is considered the "twin" of the river and is equally sacred to Hindus. It begins at Yamunotri in Uttarakhand, and runs across the cities of Delhi and Agra before meeting with the Ganges at Prayagraj. Hinduism considers another mythical river that meet at Prayagraj, called the Saraswati (सरस्वती Sarasvatī), and that's why the confluence is often called Triveni Sangam (त्रिवेणी संगम Triveṇī Saṅgam).
The Brahmaputra (Assamese: ব্ৰহ্মপুত্ৰ Brahmaputra) is another major tributary of the Ganges, or rather its Padma branch. It begins at Manasarovar (near Mount Kailash) in Tibet as Yarlung Zangbo, and enters the Himalayas through Arunachal Pradesh, disputed between India and China. After that, it then enters the Assam valley as the Brahmaputra, and then Bangladesh as the Jamuna (যমুনা Yamunā), which finally meets with the Padma.
History
[edit | edit source]Although the Indus Valley Civilisation was developed along the Indus River basin, due to climatic shifts, the population later migrated to the more humid Gangetic Plain. After the Indo-Aryan migration, the Ganges became central during the late Vedic period, with many small kingdoms developed around the river. The Maurya Empire was originally based around the river, with the capital at Pataliputra, present-day Patna.
In addition, a couple of holy cities were developed along the river, including Badrinath, Gangotri, Uttarkashi, Haridwar, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Gangasagar.
The arrival of Islam in India led to the development of the syncretic Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb in northern India, literally the "Ganges-Yamuna culture" in Hindi and Urdu.
Flora and fauna
[edit | edit source]The Ganges is home to around 140 species of fish, 90 species of amphibians, as well as endangered reptiles and mammals like the gharial and the South Asian river dolphin.
Cities
[edit | edit source]Some of India's greatest cities lie along the Ganges and its basin. Except for Kolkata – which was unimportant until the 17th century, when the East India Company developed it as one of India's great cities – most of these have existed for centuries and even millennia. Listed from source to mouth, they are:
Alaknanada
[edit | edit source]- 1 Badrinath — one of the "Char Dham" pilgrimage sites across India
- 2 Joshimath — gateway to the Nanda Devi National Park, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Bhagirathi
[edit | edit source]- 3 Gangotri — source of the Bhagirathi River, one of the two source streams of the Ganges
- 4 Uttarkashi — literally the "Kashi of the North", home to a number of ashrams and temples
- 5 Tehri — home to the Tehri Dam Reservoir, with opportunities for trekking
Ganges
[edit | edit source]- 6 Devprayag — confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers
- 7 Rishikesh — often called the "yoga capital" of India
- 8 Haridwar — holy city at the foothills, where the river descends from the Himalayas to the plains
- 9 Kannauj —
- 10 Kanpur — once known as the "Manchester of India", now famous for its leather works and IIT Kanpur
- 11 Prayagraj (Allahabad) — confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati
- 12 Varanasi — holiest city on the Ganges
- 13 Patna — capital of Bihar, near the remains of the former Mauryan capital
- 14 Munger — home to the Munger Fort
- 15 Bhagalpur — home to a medieval Buddhist centre of learning
- 16 Farakka — home to the Farakka Barrage, the point where the river splits into the Padma and the Hooghly
Yamuna
[edit | edit source]- 17 Yamunotri — near the origin of the Yamuna, with hot sulphur springs and various waterfalls
- 18 Delhi — the bustling metropolis that contains New Delhi, the capital of India
- 19 Mathura — known as the birthplace of Lord Krishna
- 20 Agra — tourist capital of India, home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Taj Mahal
- 21 Etawah — famous for its lion safari, as well as the gharials and dolphins at the Chambal River valley
Padma
[edit | edit source]Brahmaputra
[edit | edit source]Bhagirathi (West Bengal)
[edit | edit source]All the cities on the Bhagirathi are in South Bengal and Rarh regions of West Bengal. The following lists the most important ones:
- 27 Murshidabad — former capital of Bengal under the Nawabs
- 28 Katwa — confluence of the Ajay and Hooghly rivers
- 29 Mayapur — headquarters of the Hare Krishnas
- 30 Nabadwip — temple city and heritage town
Hooghly
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All the cities on the Hooghly are in South Bengal and Rarh regions of West Bengal. The following lists the most important ones:
- 31 Ambika Kalna — temple town, home to Kalna Rajbari and Nava Kailasha
- 32 Bandel — one of the first European (Portuguese) settlements in Bengal
- 33 Chinsurah — former Dutch colony
- 34 Chandannagar — former French colony
- 35 Barrackpore — cantonment town with memories of the 1857 rebellion
- 36 Serampore — former Danish colony
- 37 Kolkata — capital of West Bengal, centre of the Bengali culture in India
- 38 Howrah — twin of Kolkata, connecting the city to the rest of India
- 39 Budge Budge — port town, home to one of the first Chinese settlements in India
- 40 Gadiara — confluence of the Hooghly and Rupnarayan rivers
- 41 Haldia — major port town near the mouth
- 42 Gangasagar — pilgrimage site at the mouth of the Hooghly River
Other destinations
[edit | edit source]- 1 Nanda Devi National Park — part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, featuring the highest mountain entirely in India
- 2 National Chambal Sanctuary — ome to various endangered species like the gharial, Gangetic dolphin, red-crowned roof turtle and various species of birds
- 3 Kaziranga National Park — a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- 4 Sundarbans — one of the best places in South Asia to see tigers
Prepare
[edit | edit source]While you can get away with only English in major cities, you would need a phrasebook of either Hindi or Bengali or both if you're exploring the rural areas, as well as the Sundarbans.
Get in
[edit | edit source]Delhi has a major international airport with connections to almost anywhere. The other major cities on the route (Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Patna, Kolkata) have airports with good domestic connectivity, but few to no direct international flights. Kolkata is a mixed bag in this regard. On one hand, it has no direct connectivity to the West, that is you must lay over to an intermediate city to get to Kolkata if coming from the West. On the other hand, it has a plenty of direct flights from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
The nearest major airport to the Padma River is Dhaka.
See India#Get in and Bangladesh#Get in for visa information.
Go
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One of the most popular ways to explore the Ganges is the Ganga Vilas, the world's longest river cruise. Inaugurated in February 2023, the 51-day voyage from Varanasi to Dibrugarh covers the Varanasi–Gangasagar section of the river, as well as the Sundarbans, Bangladesh and Assam, covering over fifty destinations on the way. With a capacity of 36 tourists on board, the Ganga Vilas has three decks and 18 suites. The ticket costs ₹12.59 lakh per head.
The Grand Trunk Road roughly covers the Ganges River from Howrah to Bandel, and from Varanasi to Kannauj.
In the Hooghly River basin, especially from Kalyani to Budge Budge, travelling by ferry is also an option but not essential, as there are good rail and road connections; see public transport in Greater Kolkata.
Stay safe
[edit | edit source]Regardless of the sanctity of the river, don't drink the Ganges water (gaṅgājal) directly. The river has been severely polluted for decades, and the levels of fecal coliform bacteria from human waste near Varanasi are more than 100 times the Indian government's official limit. Many initiatives have been taken to clean up the river, including the Ganga Action Plan, but they have failed to live up to their expectations.