Ravi River, Transboundary river in Punjab, India and Pakistan
The Ravi begins in Himachal Pradesh and flows 720 kilometers through Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab before merging with the Chenab. Its course divides between India and Pakistan, passing through cities like Chamba and Lahore while watering fertile plains.
Greeks in antiquity called the waterway Hydraotes and Alexander crossed it during his campaign into India. Later the Battle of Ten Kings from the Rigveda brought the river into the earliest Hindu texts.
Old villages and fields line both banks, where farmers have relied on the flow for rice and wheat cultivation across generations. The river connects communities beyond borders through shared planting seasons and agricultural rhythms that shape daily life in Punjab.
Visiting the bank areas near Madhopur shows the canal system laid out in 1879 for irrigation. Water levels change greatly, so a visit after monsoon season is safest when paths are less slippery.
The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 gave India primary rights to this river while Pakistan received the western tributaries. This division still shapes irrigation and use in both countries today.
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