Amazing Sunset at Saptakoshi River, Nepal | Brief Introduction of Saptakoshi River

Hi Steemians! Travelling is fun and sometimes you get to see amazing thing, places and people. This time I was travelling from Kathmandu to my hometown and had to cross Saptakoshi River. I guess I happend to be there at the right time to click the above picture. I took time to rest there and appreciate the beauty and peaceful surrounding the place provided.

A brief introduction to Saptakoshi would be from its meaning as it means Seven Rivers. The confluence of seven tributaries of in upper region of eastern Nepal. The three tributaries Tammar, Arun, Sunkoshi confluence at Triveni which means confluence of three. The other four tributaries Dudh Koshi, Tama Koshi, Bhote Koshi and Indrawati join Sunkoshi further north.

Saptakoshi River from place called Terahatti

Saptakoshi is the largest river of Nepal flowing towards India through Bihar State which later joins the Ganga River which meets the sea at Bay of Bengal. The river is also known as "Sorrow of Bihar" due to the floods during monsoon rain which causes a lot of damage to fertile lands.

To contain the damage by floods, the brigde you see on the photo is a barrage with 52 doors to control the water level and flow. The barrage is called Koshi Barrage and Bhimnagar in local language. Construction of barrage statted at 1959 A.D. and was completed on 1963 A.D and was built under bilateral agreement between Nepal and India to lower the damage by floods, irrigation projects and hydropower. In 2008, a major flood caused by direction change by the river caused huge damage to lives of people and agricultural land in both Nepal and India. The incident showed that Nature just can't be controlled by man made objects.

Sunkoshi River around place called Khurkot

Nepal has a huge capacity for hydropower totalling about 83K MW out of which 42K MW potential is economically exploitable and Koshi and its tributaries alone contribute about 22K MW of the potential. These numbers are just capacity, actual production is about 1K MW now due to recent developments in hydropower and policies regarding it. But due to red tapes, political uncertainity, bureaucratic hurdles and corruption Nepalese people still suffer long power outages in Winter months when the run of river is low.

Tammar River at place called Mulghat

Now to cherish and getaway from the sad happenings, the Saptakoshi River has made many islands like Srilanka Tappu and the area is conserved as a wildlife reserve. The place is a haven for bird watchers. We can see a lot of wild buffalows in the area. Research shows that gangetic dolphins, gharial crocodiles and other exotic animals and fishes have been found to live in the area. I haven't had a chance until now but hope someday I will.

Adventure sports like white water rafting and canyoning are conducted at various tributaries like Bhote Koshi, Sunkoshi and Tammar. Bungee Jumps and Swings are conducted at gorge of Bhote Koshi.

Bungee Jump at The Last Resort, Bhotekoshi River

When starting I only intended to write about the sunset however I just couldn't stop describing abot the river and bridge. Hope you guys liked it.