Ganges River

While on India tours, you will possibly come across the Ganges River, also known as the River Ganga which is transboundary and runs through India and Bangladesh. Measuring 2,525 km (1,569 mi), the Ganges rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. 

Serving as a lifeline for millions of Indians living along its course, it is also considered sacred in the Hindu religion. The Ganges is personified as a goddess and also holds an important place in Hindu mythology. It is believed that bathing in the river helps atone for past sins and facilitates the attainment of nirvana, as well, it prompts many people to travel distances to immerse their kin’s ashes in the holy river, all to be experienced on trips to India.

The first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, requested in his will that part of his ashes be thrown into the Ganges. He wrote, “The Ganga, especially, is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which is intertwined her memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her defeats. She has been a symbol of India's age-long culture and civilization, ever-changing, ever-flowing, and yet ever the same Ganga.”