Qualla: Manas River

Manas River: Introduction

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dr. Blofeld, Public domain. The golden langur has no hair on its black face, but its body glows with a ruff the color of ripe wheat. It lives in the dense forests flanking the Manas River, swinging between Bhutan and India through canopy so thick that sunlight barely reaches the forest floor. The monkey is one of the rarest primates on Earth -- roughly 1,200 in Bhutan, about 180 in India -- and its survival depends entirely on the corridor of protected wilderness that the Manas River has made possible. This is not merely a river. It is the spine of one of Asia's great ecological sanctuaries.

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Image: Dr. Blofeld | Public domain

Manas River: Three Nations, One Current

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kmusser, CC BY-SA 3.0. Known as the Drangme Chhu in Bhutan, the Manas River begins its 400-kilometer journey in southern Tibet at an altitude of 4,500 meters. It enters India briefly in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh before plunging south through Bhutan, where three major branches -- the Dran...

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Image: Kmusser | CC BY-SA 3.0

Manas River: The Duars: Gates to the Plains

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit daimalu, CC BY 2.0. Where the Manas spills out of the Himalayan foothills, the valley widens into alluvial plains marked by swamps, marshes, and rich sediment deposits. These lowlands are called the Duars -- from the Sanskrit for "passes" or "gates" -- a 15-kilometer strip of outermost foothills whe...

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Image: daimalu | CC BY 2.0

Manas River: A Sanctuary Under Siege

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Anushila Bharali, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Manas valley harbors two connected protected areas: Bhutan's Royal Manas National Park, established in 1966 across 43,854 hectares, and India's Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1985. Together they shelter Bengal tigers -- an estima...

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Image: Anushila Bharali | CC BY-SA 4.0

Manas River: The Dam That Never Was

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Anushila Bharali, CC BY-SA 4.0. In the 1970s, India and Bhutan proposed a multipurpose dam on the Manas for hydroelectric power, irrigation, and flood control. The project would have generated 2,800 megawatts and required a 100-kilometer canal connecting the Manas reservoir to the Sankosh River. There was one p...

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Image: Anushila Bharali | CC BY-SA 4.0