About the Ganga
The Ganga is India's sacred mother river, the longest river on the subcontinent at 2525 kilometres, and the lifeblood of the most densely populated river basin on earth. Rising from the Gangotri Glacier in the Garhwal Himalaya at 3892 metres, the river descends through Rishikesh and Haridwar before spreading across the vast Indo-Gangetic plain to meet the Bay of Bengal in the Sundarbans — the world's largest mangrove delta. The Ganga basin drains 26% of India's total land area and sustains more than 400 million people.
Ecologically, the Ganga supports an extraordinary diversity of freshwater life including the critically endangered Gangetic river dolphin — one of the world's four freshwater dolphin species and India's national aquatic animal. The Chambal River, a major tributary, harbours the world's largest surviving gharial population. The National Mission for Clean Ganga (Namami Gange) is India's most ambitious river restoration programme, aiming to rejuvenate the river's ecological health while preserving its sacred and cultural heritage.
Yamuna · Ghaghra · Gandak · Kosi · Son · Chambal · Betwa