The Kali Gandaki Gorge or Andha Galchi is the gorge of the Kali Gandaki (or Gandaki River) in the Himalayas in Nepal, by some measures the deepest gorge in the world.
The upper part of the gorge is also called Thak Khola after the local Thakali people who became prosperous from trans-himalayan trade.
The gorge separates major peaks Dhaulagiri (8167 m) to the west and Annapurna (8091 m) to the east. According to the difference between the river elevation and these peaks, this is the world's deepest gorge. The river runs at elevations between 1300 and 2600 metres[1], 5500 to 6800 metres lower than the peaks. The river is older than the Himalayas. As tectonic activity forced the mountains higher, the river cut down through the uplift.
The Kali Gandaki rises along the Tibet border and coincident Ganges-Brahmaputra divide and flows south through the ancient kingdom Mustang. The gorge begins at Kagbeni where Himalayan ranges begin to close in. The river continues southwards past Jomsom, Marpha and Tukuche to the deepest part of the gorge in the area of Lete. The gorge then broadens past Dana and Tatopani towards Beni.
The Kali Gandaki gorge has been used as a trade route between India and Tibet for centuries. Today, it is part of a popular trekking route from Pokhara to Muktinath, part of the Annapurna Circuit. The gorge is within the Annapurna Conservation Area[2].
References
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- ^ Annapurna (1:100,000 map), Nepal-Kartenwerk der Arbeitgemeinschaft für vergleichende Hochgebirgsforschung Nr. 9, Nelles Verlag, Munich, 1993. Also see Google Earth
- ^ Nepal Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation website
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