Dawn with pilgrims at the confluence

Leave Sauraha before dawn for the 45-minute drive. As the light grows, residents and pilgrims make their way down stone steps to the water's edge. Men wade in to their waists, women bathe in saris, and many pour water from small copper pots toward the sun while reciting prayers. Some bathers bring small offerings of flowers and rice, which they release onto the current.

Look across the confluence and you can often see the two rivers running side by side before they mix: the Kali Gandaki grey with silt from the high Himalaya, the Trishuli clearer and greener. Priests sit on the steps with small offerings, and the smell of incense and marigolds drifts across the water. In winter, mist often hangs over the water until the sun is well up.

Stay quietly at the edge, ask before taking photographs and do not enter the water yourself unless invited and with care; the current is strong. Afterwards, walk up through the lanes to a tea stall and watch the town wake up. Most visitors spend an hour at the river, then return to Sauraha for a late breakfast or continue to Bishazari Tal.