During one of my posts, here, on the (historical) topic of "Flying the Hump" operation (which refers to the critical airlift of supplies from India to China, in 1942, across the eastern Himalayan Range), I'd come across the Brahmaputra River in Assam Valley of India, which was the western terminus of the above operation.

Brahmaputra River may not be as well-known as other major rivers of the world, but it is the 9th largest river in the world, and what makes it special is that it originates from the glaciers near the very high altitude (glacial) Manasarovar Lake region, on the northern side of the Himalayas at a height of nearly 18,000 ft. From its source, blocked ahead by the skyscraping Himalayan peaks, it cannot flow directly south, and is therefore forced to flow completely eastward (following the path of least resistance) for nearly 700 miles before it can turn south, and surprisingly (opposite to normal sense) it actually flows northward back at some parts. In the downward journey, it drops a mind-boggling 18,000 ft of elevation, picking up speed, while cutting through an endless series of high and narrow Himalayan gorges (see pics below), some of the sidewalls of which are higher than 16,000 ft... 

It then makes a rapid final descent through the Tibetan mountains and gushes out into the plains of India (what a relief it must feel...🙂...with no more mountains to face...). On the Assam valley, it becomes, gleefully, a remarkable 12 miles wide, and breaks into multiple braids. Then, it would run through 3 countries, going by 4 different names, and would flow another 1,800 miles on the plains, before ultimately emptying into Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean...bringing an end to its most exciting and adventurous journey...

For this post, what I've done, is to get a glimpse of its journey...I lift off from Assam's Dibrugarh Airport (VEMN), the river seen right after lift-off, and head for the high mountains, tracking this River, for about 100 miles, in the upstream (backward) direction (see Garmin PFD/Map of its blue-ribbon course). From my pictures, it is visualized how the mountainous passage becomes progressively harder, narrower, and higher as the river is making its way, painstakingly, through these high Himalayan passes. I've stopped my journey, when I caught sight of the first snow and ice on the mountain tops (see my last 2 screenshots) with the river flowing underneath...still a very long and arduous way left to the source of the river... (leaving that part to your imagination) ...

Hope you enjoy these images of this partial journey of this amazing river, hardly a true representation of the actual force and fury of it... (Brahmaputra is, in fact, known to be one of the world's most severe flood-causing rivers, often changing course in the plains and creating destruction and devastation, when fed by the (seasonal) melting glaciers of Himalayas and the torrential rains of the monsoon weather...) ... 

This is surely no Little Tennessee River...🙂...Thanks for viewing.

Edited January 21, 20242 yr by P_7878

Educational and thrilling at the same time. Great post!

Great shots and scenery! 😉 

Another great set and Trip P-7878 !

cheers 😉

Absolutely fascinating stuff, P. I'm not a big fan of mountains, generally, but I will definitely go and explore this river after your post. And great pix, as ever (it sure ain't Lubbock!)

Folks:

Thanks for the invigorating comments....🙂 .... Glad we all, me included, learned a bit about this interesting river...It's one thing just to read the Wiki etc., but certainly more is perceived by following it (even) in the SIM's virtual world...As real as it would ever get for most of us...

 

14 hours ago, andy1252 said:

Absolutely fascinating stuff, P. I'm not a big fan of mountains, generally, but I will definitely go and explore this river after your post. And great pix, as ever (it sure ain't Lubbock!)

Andy, BTW, just now, I backtracked the river's path all the way to the source, not by flying, of course, but on my phone, by zooming into the Google Map (Google Earth not necessary), and following the marking "Brahmaputra" (called “Yarlung” in Tibet) on the ribbon of the flow...It took a little bit of time to reach Lake Mansarovar (Google Map marks the Lake by the Tibetan local name "Mapam Yumtso") ...once I saw that blue patch, I knew I have reached the source...🙂 ...though the actual source is the "Angsi Glacier" about 60 miles SE of this Lake and a few thousand feet higher...Yes, fascinating stuff indeed ...

Here, below, are 3 more (sequential) pictures, from the SIM, of how the massive river, after emerging through the last of the Himalayan mountains, is rapidly widening (up to 12 miles wide) into the plains of Assam Valley...

Cheers all...!

Edited January 23, 20242 yr by P_7878