Nepal The Kali Gandaki
river source is at the border with
Tibet at an elevation of at the Nhubine Himal Glacier in the
Mustang region of Nepal. The headwater stream on some maps is named the Chhuama Khola and then, nearing
Lo Manthang, the Nhichung Khola or Choro Khola. The Kali Gandaki then flows southwest (with the name of
Mustang Khola on old, outdated maps) through a sheer-sided, deep canyon before widening at the steel footbridge at Chele, where part of its flow funnels through a rock tunnel, and from this point the now wide river is called the Kali Gandaki on all maps. In
Kagbeni a major tributary named Johng Khola, Kak Khola or Krishnaa descends from
Muktinath. The river then flows southward through a steep gorge known as the
Kali Gandaki Gorge, or
Andha Galchi, between the mountains
Dhaulagiri, elevation to the west and
Annapurna, elevation to the east. If one measures the depth of a canyon by the difference between the river height and the heights of the highest peaks on either side, this gorge is the world's second deepest after the
Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon (ca. 6000 m). The portion of the river directly between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna I, downstream from
Tukuche), is at an elevation of , which is lower than Annapurna I. The river is older than the Himalayas. As tectonic activity forces the mountains higher, the river has cut through the uplift. South of the gorge, the river is joined by
Rahughat Khola at Galeshwor, Myagdi Khola at
Beni, Modi Khola near
Kushma and Badigaad at Rudrabeni above Ridi Bazaar. The river then turns east to run along the northern edge of the
Mahabharat Range. One of the largest
hydroelectricity project in Nepal is located along this stretch of the river. Turning south again and breaking through the Mahabharats, Kali Gandaki is then joined by a major tributary, the
Trishuli, at
Devghat, which is larger than the Kali Gandaki. Gandaki is then joined by the
East Rapti River draining the
Inner Terai valley known as
Chitwan. The Gandaki then crosses the
Sivalik Hills into the Terai plains of Nepal. From Devghat, the river flows southwest of
Gaindakot town. The river later curves back towards the southeast as it enters India where it is called the Gandak. Below Gaindakot the river is known as the
Narayani or
Sapt Gandaki (Seven Gandakis), for seven tributaries rising in the Himalaya or further north along the main
Ganges-
Brahmaputra divide. These are the Kali Gandaki, the Trishuli River, and the five main tributaries of the Trishuli known as the Daraudi,
Seti, Madi,
Marsyandi and
Budhi Gandaki.
India The entry point of the river at the Indo–Nepal border is also the confluence called Triveni with the rivers
Pachnad and
Sonha descending from
Nepal.
Pandai river flows into
Bihar from
Nepal in the eastern end of the
Valmiki Sanctuary and meets Masan. The
Gandak enters
India at first in
Maharajganj District of
Uttar Pradesh for around ; it also passes through
Kushinagar District before entering
Bihar. The
Gandak flows southeast across the
Gangetic plain of
Bihar state through
West Champaran,
Gopalganj,
East Champaran,
Saran,
Muzaffarpur and
Vaishali districts. From its exit from the outermost
Siwaliks foothills to the
Ganga, the
Gandak has built an immense
megafan comprising Eastern
Uttar Pradesh and North Western
Bihar in the Middle
Gangetic Plains. ==Glaciers, glacial lakes and glacial lake outburst floods==