Counted amongst one of the largest tributaries of the river Ganga, the Ghaghara River has been tagged with various names, like Gogra, Ghagra, Nepali Kauriala, Manchu and Karnali. Each name has its own meaning. For instance, Karnali is referred in Chinese as K'ung-ch'iao Ho. It is also called Turquoise River by some.

The Ghaghara River provides water to various towns in Uttar Pradesh like Ayodhya, Akabarpur, Gorakhpur, Faizabad, Barabanki, Dohrighat, Basti, Bahraich, Deoria, Gonda, Khaililabad, Siddharthnagar, Sitapur, Saint Kabirnagar and Tanda. There are many national parks that have been constructed alongside the Ghaghara River.
White water-rafting is significantly done by many tourists and other people on this river. It is quite a thrilling and adventurous activity. The river has helped in irrigation activities, but has also been a threat of floods in case of heavy rains.

Course

The Ghaghara River begins its course straight from the Himalayas. With an altitude of 3962 meters, it flows through the south side of Himalayas in Tibet. Known as Karnali River in Nepal, it crosses one of the most secluded places of Nepal which has been least explored by the people. The Karnali River is joined by the Seti River in the Doti District located in the north of Dundras hill. This 202 kilometer long river pumps out water for the western part of the catchment basin. Another 264 km stream called Bheri River, which originates from the western part of Dhaulagiri Himalaya, meets Karnali in the vicinity of Kuineghat, Surkhet. This river rolls out water for the eastern part of the catchment basin.

The Karnali River cuts transversely the Siwalik Hills from the south route and gets divided into two parts: on the left is Geruwa River and on the right is Kauriala close to Chisapani to again join the south of Indian border and structure the proper Ghaghara River. The other streams of Ghaghara River rising in Nepal are the little Gandak, the Kali (Mahakali) and the West Rapti.

The important tributary of Ghaghara River in India is the Sarayu River located on the left of Ayodhya, a city in Uttar Pradesh. The city is quite famous for its link with the epics. Tagged as the modern Ghaghara River, the Sarayu River runs south-east in the course of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to meet the downstream of Ganga near Chhapra. The total distance covered by the Ghaghara River till it meets the Ganges is 1080 km.

Tributaries

The three major tributaries of the Ghaghara River are as follows:

The Little Gandak

This river originates through ground-water. It is located close to Dhesopool, Maharajganj district, Uttar Pradesh. With a total length of 250 km, it meets Ghaghara next to Gothani, Siwan district, Bihar. The site of this river is amid 26°00' to 27°20' N latitude and 83°30' to 84°15' E longitude.

The Seti River

An important branch of the Karnali River, the Seti River provides water to the western Nepal. It rises roughly around the identical peaks of Api and Nampa located in the south in front of the Himalayas. This area is located near Nepal, China (Tibet) and India (Kumaon, Uttarakhand).

The Bheri River

Apart from being an important stream, the Bheri River supplies water to the western side of the Dhaulagiri range in western Nepal.