It is most important to the Indians for the part it plays in the Hindu religion. Hindus consider it the most sacred river in India. Each year, thousands of Hindu pilgrims visit such holy cities as Varanasi and Allahabad along the banks of the Ganges to bathe in the river and to take home some of its water.
Some pilgrims come to bathe in the water only to cleanse and purify themselves.
The sick and crippled come hoping that the touch of the water will cure their ailments. Others come to die in the river because the Hindus believe that those who die in the Ganges will be carried to Paradise. The river is an important trade area. Its valley is fertile and densely populated. Some of India's largest cities, such as Calcutta and Kanpur, stand on its banks.