Rippling along rough surfaces and the beautiful meadows, the numerous rivers that dot Indian mainland are central to our history as well as to Indian mythology. The main rivers of the Himalayas group are the Indus, the legendary Ganga and the Brahmaputra. These rivers are both snow-fed and rain-fed and therefore perennially flow throughout the year. Himalayan rivers discharge about 70% of their inflow into the sea. This includes about 5% from central Indian rivers. They join the Ganga and drain into the Bay of Bengal.

The very names of these rivers roll like music-Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. Their ancient names were more musical still: "Vitasta", "Askini", "Irawati", "Vipasha" and "Shatadru" ....

The Trans Himalayan Indus River rises near the Mansarovar Lake on the Tibetan plateau. It enters the Himalayas in southeastern Ladakh near its confluence with the River Gurtang at an elevation of 4,200m. Thereafter it follows a north by northwest course between the towering Ladakh range in the north and the Zanskar Range in the south. There are a number of human settlements that lie along the Indus River in Ladakh, namely Leh, Marol, Skardu and Bunji. ....

River Sutlej takes birth on the southern slopes of the holiest of mountains - Kailash, near the holiest of lakes Mansarovar. After a long run, parallel to the Himalayas, it finally penetrates these at Shipki pass. Later it cuts through the Zanskar range, makes a diagonal thrust through the Himalayas and blasts a deep gorge at the base of the Kinner Kailash massif. Within Kinnaur district, the Sutlej runs parallel to the Hindustan-Tibet Road. At Karcham, in Kinnaur, it is joined by the crystal clear, blue river Baspa that drains the Sangla valley .....

Chandra River is one of the two rivers; the other one is Bhaga, which merges to form the Chenab in the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh. It rises in the snows lying at the base of the main Himalayan range in the Lahaul and Spiti district. The picturesque lake of Chandra Tal forms at this rivers source site .....

The Beas forms the valleys of Kullu and Kangra, famed for their beauty. But ironically, its source is an insignificant looking igloo like structure near Rohtang Pass in Pir Panjal range to the north of Kullu. The main thrust of this river is southward to Larji and then to the west. Where it enters Mandi district and further still into Kangra......

There is something intrinsically romantic about the river Ravi. In divided Punjab used to ring with the haunting strains of love songs sung on the banks of the Ravi, which flowed past the elite city of Lahore. Now one only has to hear the outpourings of young hearts in Chamba celebrating the beauty of love and nature to know that the spirit of the Ravi is the same everywhere. Chamba town rests on a mountain shelf on the right bank of the river. As a settlement it is Indian to the core. Here, as in many ancient towns, flourished a civilisation that provided patronage to the arts so that the temple sculptures of Chamba are truly amazing.......

The Jhelum flows from the spring known as Verinag, 80-km south of Srinagar. This wide, swift flowing, muddy but picturesque river sweeps through Srinagar and is famed for its nine old bridges among many things else ......

The valley of Spiti derives its name from the Spiti River, which rises just below the 16,000 ft high Kunzum Pass. After flowing for about 60 miles, it joins the Sutlej River near the village of Namgiya in Kinnaur district ......

The holiest of all the rivers, Ganga or the Ganges is a perennial river, which is held in high regard by the Hindus. The Ganga river has an exalted position in the Hindu ethos. The Gangotri Glacier, a vast expanse of ice five miles by fifteen, at the foothills of the Himalayas (14,000 ft) in north Uttar Pradesh is the source of Bhagirathi, which joins with Alaknanda, to form Ganga at the craggy, canyon-carved town of Devprayag.

Yamuna, also called as "Jamuna", originates from the Bundar Poonch glaciers in district Uttarkashi of the state of Uttaranchal. It rises from Jamunotri, in the Himalayas. River Tons, which flows along the boundary of Himachal Pradesh, west of district Tehri Garhwal joins Yamuna River at Kalsi and thereafter joins the plains. From Kalsi, the river flows along the boundary of Himachal Pradesh. Yamuna flows in a southerly direction through the Himalayan foothills and onto the northern Indian plain, along the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana State border. The Eastern and Western Yamuna canals are fed from the river at that point.

One of the great rivers of Asia, the Brahmaputra commences its 3,000-km journey to the Bay of Bengal from the slopes of Kailash in western Tibet. As Tibet's great river, the Tsangpo, transverses east across the high-altitude Tibetan plateau north of the Great Himalayan Range, carving out myriad channels and sandbanks on its way. As it tumbles from the Himalayan heights towards the plains of the subcontinent it twists back on itself, cutting a deep and still unnavigated gorge, until finally turning south it emerges in Arunachal Pradesh as the Dihong. Just beyond Pasighat, it meets the Dibang and Lohit where it finally becomes the Brahmaputra.