Kali Gandaki River

The river is called Sapta Gandaki for its seven tributaries rising in the Himalaya or to the north along the main Ganges-Brahmaputra divide. These are called Daraudi, Seti, Madi, Kali, Marsyandi, Budhi and Trisuli. The Kali Gandaki rises along the. border with Tibet at an altitude of 3,900 m (12,795 ft) in the Mustang region of Nepal. The two headwaters Nup Chhu and Shar Chhu ("West River" and "East River") meet near Mustang's ancient captial Lo Manthang. The river then flows southwest with the name of Mustang Khola. In Kagbeni a major tributary Kak Khola descends from Muktinath and from this point the river is called the Kali Gandaki. The river then flows southward through a steep gorge known as the Kali Gandaki Gorge, or Andha Galchi, between the mountains Dhaulagiri (8167 m) to the west and Annapurna (8091 m) 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, the Gorge is the world's deepest. The portion of the river between the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna massifs is at an elevation of between 1300 metres and 2600 metres, 5500 to 6800 metres lower than the two peaks. The river is older than the Himalayas. As tectonic activity forces the mountains higher, the river has cut through the uplift.