Babai River

The Babai River (Nepali) originates and drains in the Inner Terai Dang Valley of Mid-Western Nepal. The Dang Valley is an oval basin situated between the Mahabharat Range and the Siwalik Hills in Dang Deukhuri District. Historically inhabited by the Tharu people, the area later came under the rule of the House of Tulsipur, one of the Baise Rajya (Nepali), a confederation of twenty-two petty kingdoms in the Karnali (Ghagra) region. Around 1760, the Shah Dynasty annexed most of these kingdoms during the unification of Nepal, although Tulsipur’s territories south of the Siwalik Hills remained outside of their control. Owing to its higher elevation, cooler climate, and better drainage, the Dang Valley was less affected by malaria than other Inner Terai regions and was consequently settled by Shah and Rana courtiers, as well as other Pahari groups prior to the introduction of DDT for control of the Anopheles mosquito. Exiting Dang Valley and its district, the Babai enters Salyan District and flows between sub-ranges of the Siwalik Hills along their west-northwest axis. Sharada Khola drains about half of Salyan's larger Middle Hills region before cutting through the Mahabharat Range and joining the Babai from the right. About 20 kilometres (12 mi) beyond this confluence, the Babai crosses into Bardiya District and enters Bardiya National Park. The river continues another 30 kilometres (19 mi) west-northwest until the enclosing Siwalik hills fall away and the Outer Terai begins. At this point the river crosses Nepal's main east–west Mahendra Highway and exits the national park. On the Outer Terai the Babai bends left toward the main inclination of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The river flows south some 40 kilometres (25 mi) and enters India's Uttar Pradesh state. The Babai continues about 50 kilometres (31 mi) (straight line) south from the border before joining the much larger Ghaghara from the left at about 35 kilometres (22 mi) west-northwest of Bahraich. This confluence is about 10 kilometres (6 mi) upstream of the Sharda (Mahakali) confluence from the right. In Nepal the catchment of the Babai is bordered by that of the Rapti on the nort

Flows through: India.

River data from Wikidata (CC0); lengths normalised to a common unit.