It plays a big part 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. The crippled and sick 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.
Some pilgrims come to bathe in the water only to cleanse and purify themselves.
The river plays a big part in India's trade affairs. Its valley provides for fertile land and is densely populated. Irrigation has drained much of its water and steamers can navigate only in the lower part of the river. Several tributary rivers add to the water of the Ganges River. The Brahmaputra River joins some branches of the Ganges near its mouth, and together the two rivers form a large delta.