Ganges River

The Ganges River runs from the Himalayas in Northern India through the Gangetic Plain and partly via Bangladesh into the Bay of Bengal. It drains about 25% of India's territory and it is sacred to Hindus. The river's waters support some 300 million people. The fertile basin around the Ganges is often referred to as the cow belt and consists of one of India's flattest and most featureless landscapes. The innumerable mouths of the Ganges form the world's largest delta. Large parts of this are are covered by huge mangrove swamps. 2585 km² of these swams are part of the Sunderbans Wildlife Sanctuary.

Numerous cities lie on the river's banks, of which the most intersting ones include Varanasi, Kolkata (Calcutta) and Dhaka (in Bangladesh).

The area is best accessed via Delhi and Kolkata (Calcutta). Lucknow and Varanasi are the main transportation hubs.