Marsyangdi

The Marsyangdi forms at about 3,600 m near Manang village, where the Khangsar Khola and Jharsang Khola meet north-west of the Annapurna massif. It first flows east through Manang's arid trans-Himalayan valley in the rain shadow of the Annapurnas, then bends sharply south through Lamjung, dropping fast through a deep green gorge to join the Trishuli near Mugling after about 150 km.

It is the river of the Annapurna Circuit: the classic trek begins at Besisahar in the Marsyangdi valley and climbs the river's full length toward the Thorong La pass (5,416 m) before descending into the Kali Gandaki — a route long voted among the world's best long-distance walks.

That same relentless gradient, fed by reliable snow- and glacier-melt, has made the Marsyangdi one of Nepal's busiest hydropower corridors. The state-built Marsyangdi (69 MW), Middle Marsyangdi (70 MW) and Upper Marsyangdi A (50 MW) stations stand in a cascade on the main stem, with a swarm of private run-of-river plants on its Nyadi, Khudi, Dordi and Chepe tributaries. Below Besisahar the river is also a celebrated advanced whitewater run.