{"id":20026398,"date":"2019-01-07T12:30:35","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T07:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thethirdpole.net\/?p=26398"},"modified":"2020-10-01T21:17:53","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T15:47:53","slug":"journey-down-karnali-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/journey-down-karnali-river\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith to reality: A journey down the Karnali River from Tibet to India"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

Mount Kailash<\/a> in southwestern Tibet is the source of some of the largest rivers in Asia: the Brahmaputra<\/a>, the Sutlej<\/a>, the Indus and the Karnali.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Revered as one of the most holy places by Hindus, Buddhists, Bons and Jains, Kailash is a place many millions desire to visit before they die but only thousands make it every year due to its inaccessibility.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Mount
Mount Kailash in Tibet, source of the Karnali and three other large rivers of Asia [image by Nabin Baral]<\/figcaption><\/figure>The Karnali is the longest river of Nepal, flowing from the north to south through deep gorges to the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where it meets the Ganga<\/a>. It is called the Ghaghara<\/a> in India\u2014the largest tributary of the Ganga<\/a> by volume.<\/em><\/p>\n

In Tibet, the spiritual source of the Karnali is called Mapcha Khambab<\/a>, which means the river that originates from the Peacock\u2019s mouth. Little is known about the exact source of the Karnali.<\/em><\/p>\n

thethirdpole.net\u2019s<\/a> Nepal Editor Ramesh Bhushal and photographer Nabin Baral travelled with a team of scientists to locate the river\u2019s source and follow it from Tibet to its confluence with the Ganga in India. As part of the first scientific expedition of its kind, they travelled 1,000 kilometres over six weeks by jeep, raft and on foot through some of the most remote areas of the Himalayas.<\/em><\/p>\n