Ask Me Everything!3

River Ganges

The River Ganges is a holy river, sacred to the Hindu religion. As it flows east, from the mountains of the Himalayas to the Bay ot Bengal, cities, farms, and temples linę its banks.

n

(

TTC ■¹ -fc

^ JE ^

m*

^-1 * ♦*. u ,

*7Z*

I.    i

*k

The source of the River Ganges is the Gangotri Glacier in Gaumukh, 12,770 ft (3,892 m) high in the Himalayas. At its source, the river is called the Bhagirathi. It becomes the Ganges when it joins the Alaknandra River.

As the river’s torrents rush down the mountains, they out through rocky gorges. The Ganges leaves the Himalayas at the holy city of Rishikesh, where white-water rafting through the rapids is a popular sport.

At the city of Haridwar, the river meets the plains. Haridwar is an important place of Hindu pilgrimage. Many pilgrims take jars of water from the Ganges away with them to use in religious rituals at home.

(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. Ali Rights Reserved.