The Alaknanda is a

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

n river in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

and one of the two

headstream The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

s of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

, the major river of

Northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

and the holy river of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. In

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...

, the Alaknanda is considered the source stream of the Ganges on account of its greater length and discharge; however, in Hindu tradition and culture, the other headstream, the

Bhagirathi The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/) is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In the Hind ...

, is considered the source stream.

Course

The Alaknanda rises at the confluence and foot of the

Satopanth Mount Satopanth (7084m) is one of the prominent peaks of the Garhwal range of Himalayas that fall in the Indian subcontinent and also the second highest peak in Gangotri National Park. Location glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s in Uttarakhand. From its origin, it travels to the village of

Mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...

, meets with the

Saraswati River The Sarasvati River () is a deified Rigvedic rivers, river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religion, appearing in all but the fourth bo ...

, a right bank tributary, and continues downstream through narrow valleys. It reaches the Badrinath valley, arrives at Hanumanchatti, and meets with the Ghrit Ganga, a right bank tributary. From Hanumanchatti, the river goes to Pandukeshwar and flows through wide valleys and steep terrains. At

Vishnuprayag Vishnuprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River, and lies at the confluence of Alaknanda River and Dhauliganga River, in Chamoli district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Vishnuprayag derives its name from Vi ...

it meets Dhauliganga, a left bank tributary, and travels west to the town of

Joshimath Joshimath, also known as Jyotirmath, is a city and a municipal board in Chamoli District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Located at a height of 6150 feet (1875 m), it is a gateway to several Himalayan mountain climbing expeditions, trekki ...

. From Joshimath, the Alaknanda crosses the

Main Central Thrust The Main Central Thrust is a major geological fault where the Indian Plate has pushed under the Eurasian Plate along the Himalaya. The fault slopes down to the north and is exposed on the surface in a NW-SE direction (strike). It is a thrust fault ...

near Helang. It then meets with Birahi Ganga, a left bank tributary at Birahi. The river reaches the town of

Nandprayag Nandaprayag is a town and a nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Nandaprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River and lies at the confluence of the Alaknanda River and Nandakini Riv ...

and joins with the Nandakini River, a left bank tributary. At

Karanprayag Karnaprayag is a town and municipal board in the Chamoli District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Karnaprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River, situated at the confluence of the Alaknanda and Pindar River. Dem ...

, the

Pindar River The Pindar River is a river located in Uttarakhand, India. Pindar originates from Pindari Glacier which is located in Bageshwar district of Kumaon region in Uttarakhand. The source of this river, the Pindar glacier is located at an altitude o ...

, a left bank tributary, meets with the Alaknanda River. At

Rudraprayag Rudraprayag is a town and a municipality in Rudraprayag district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Rudraprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River, the point of confluence of rivers Alaknanda and Mandakini. K ...

, it meets with the

Mandakini River The Mandakini River is a tributary of the Alaknanda River in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The river runs for approximately between the Rudraprayag and Sonprayag areas and emerges from the Chorabari Glacier. The river merges with river Song ...

, a right bank tributary. As the Alaknanda flows past Rudraprayag, it enters a wide valley near Srinagar, Garhwal. At

Devprayag Devprayag (Deva prayāga) is a town and a nagar panchayat, near New Tehri, New Tehri city in Tehri Garhwal district, Tehri Garhwal District in the state of Uttarakhand, India, and is the final one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alak ...

the Alaknanda River converges with the Bhagirathi River and travels onward as the Ganges River. The Alaknanda contributes a significantly larger portion to the flow of the Ganges than the Bhagirathi. The Alaknanda system drains parts of

Chamoli Chamoli district is a district of the Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by the Tibet region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar to the east, Almora to the south, Pauri Garhwal to the southwest, ...

Tehri New Tehri is a city and a municipal board in Tehri Garhwal District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of Tehri Garhwal District. This urban municipality area has 11 wards, from Vidhi Vihar to Vishwakarma P ...

, and Pauri districts.Singh Negi, Sharad (1995). ''Uttarakhand: Land and People'', page 6. MD Publications Pvt Ltd. .

Religious significance

The Alaknanda River is of special interest to the pilgrims who visit the important pilgrimage places in Uttarakhand. The Ganges as Alaknanda rises in the southern Himalayas on the Indian side of the

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

border. On the Satopanth Glacier up from Alaknanda's origin at its snout, the triangular Lake

Satopanth Mount Satopanth (7084m) is one of the prominent peaks of the Garhwal range of Himalayas that fall in the Indian subcontinent and also the second highest peak in Gangotri National Park. Location Hindu trinity The Trimūrti (; Sanskrit: त्रिमूर्ति ', "three forms" or "trinity") are the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation ex nihilo, creation, Conservation ...

, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

Badrinath Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. A Hindu holy place, it is one of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage and is also part of India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. ...

Rishi Ganga Rishiganga is a river in the Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India. It springs from the Uttari Nanda Devi Glacier on the Nanda Devi mountain. It is also fed from the Dakshini Nanda Devi Glacier. Continuing through the Nanda Devi National Park, ...

River meet Alaknanda Badrinath, one of the holy destinations for Hindus in India is located near to the bank of the Alaknanda River. This place is surrounded by two mountain ranges of Nar and Narayan on either sides and Neelkanth peak located at the back of Narayan range. #Govindgath :. LaxmanGanga meet Alaknanda

Panch Prayag Panch Prayag (Pañcha prayāga) is an expression in Hindu religious ethos, specifically used to connote the five sacred river confluences in the Garhwal Himalayas in the state of Uttarakhand, India. The five ''prayag''s - prayag meaning "place o ...

Several rivers in the Garhwal region merge with the Alaknanda at places called prayag or 'holy confluence of rivers'. These are:Kapadia, Harish (2001). ''Trekking and Climbing in the Indian Himalaya'', page 89. Stackpole Books. . #

, where the Alaknanda is met by the

Dhauliganga River The Dhauliganga is a turbulent Himalayan river which rises in the border regions of India and China and flows south into the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India. It joins the Alaknanda, the major source stream of the Ganges river. Course ...

Nandaprayag Nandaprayag is a town and a nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Nandaprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River and lies at the confluence of the Alaknanda River and Nandakini Rive ...

, where it is met by the

Nandakini Nandakini is a river and is one of the six main tributaries of the Ganges. Originating in the glaciers below Nanda Ghunti on the Nanda Devi Sanctuary The Nanda Devi National Park or Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, established in 1982 is a n ...

River #

Karnaprayag Karnaprayag is a town and municipal board in the Chamoli District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Karnaprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River, situated at the confluence of the Alaknanda and Pindar River. Dem ...

, where it is met by the

, where it meets the

Bhagirathi River The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/) is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In the Hindu fa ...

and officially becomes the

Recreation

The Alaknanda river is among the best for river

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

in the world due to its high rafting grade.

Dams

There are 37 hydroelectric

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

s in operation, under construction or planned to harness the energy of the Alaknanda river and its tributaries and generate electricity.Hydroelectric Projects on Alaknanda River Basin
by South Asia Network on Dams Rivers and People, www.sandrp.in There are 23 other proposed projects in the Alaknanda river basin through which the power-potential of the Alaknanda and its tributaries can be harnessed. The proposed 23 hydel-projects are as follows - # Alaknanda (

) (300 MW) # Bagoli (72 MW) # Bowla Nandprayag (132 MW) # Chuni Semi (60 MW) # Deodi (60 MW) # Devsari Dam (255 MW) #

Gaurikund Gauri Kund is a Hindu pilgrimage site and base camp for trek to Kedarnath Temple, in Uttarakhand, India.Page 224, Hill Resorts of U.P. Himalaya: A Geographical Study, By Nutan Tyagi, Published 1991 by Indus Publishing, It is situated at an alt ...

(18.6 MW) # Gohana Tal (60 MW) # Jelam Tamak (60 MW) # Karnaprayag (160 MW) # Lakshmanganga (4.4 MW) # Lata Tapovan (310 MW) # Maleri Jelam (55 MW) # Nandprayag Langasu (141 MW) # Padli Dam (27 MW) # Phata-Byung (10.8 MW) # Rambara (24 MW) #

Rishiganga Rishiganga is a river in the Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India. It springs from the Uttari Nanda Devi Glacier on the Nanda Devi mountain. It is also fed from the Dakshini Nanda Devi Glacier. Continuing through the Nanda Devi National Park, ...

I (70 MW) # Rishiganga II (35 MW) # Tamak Lata (280 MW) # Urgam II (3.8 MW) # Utyasu Dam (860 MW) # Vishnugad Pipalkoti (444 MW)

Towns along the Alaknanda River

As the river flows, the towns along its banks are

, Srinagar and

. At each town with suffix prayag, Alaknanda meets another river.

Photo gallery

Image: Rudraprayag - Confluence of Alaknanda and Mandakini.JPG,

- confluence of Alaknanda and Mandakini Image:Alaknanda near Srinagar.JPG, Alaknanda river near the town of Srinagar in Uttarakhand Image: Devprayag - Confluence of Bhagirathi and Alaknanda.JPG, Alaknanda joins

to form the

References

External links

Alaknanda River
'' Britannica.com''
Prayags
at ''GMVN'' {{Authority control Rivers of Uttarakhand Tributaries of the Ganges Geography of Chamoli district Rafting Adventure tourism in India Rudraprayag district Pauri Garhwal district Rivers of India