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The
River Chandra is one of the two rivers which merge to form the
Chenab in the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh. It rises in the
snows lying at the base of the main Himalayan range in the
Lahaul and Spiti district. The beautiful Chandra Tal lake has
formed at its source. It flows for a extensive distance along
the base of this range in a southeasterly direction before
turning completely and taking a southwesterly course in the
Spiti Valley. It flows on to merge with the Bhaga River
downstream of Keylong.
The upper and middle catchments of this river are made up of a
topography that has been carved out by glacial action. The whole
area is a vast cold desert that receives little or no rain as it
lies in the rain-shadow of the Pir Panjal range lying towards
the south. Many small snow-fed tributaries join the Chandra at
different places.
Describing its course, Harcourt (1871) states, "the river
Chandra passes through a totally unproductive land where there
are no signs of life, the solemn mountains fully clad in undying
snow lying on its either flanks. No villages adorn its banks, no
attempts at cultivation, no human life is met with and nothing
greets the eye but the never ending tedious cliffs, which are
lapped by the violent stream as it rushes in wild fury against
its banks". Koksar is the only important human settlement along
this river.
The Chandra river originates from a huge snow, bed on the
south-eastern side of the Baralacha la and assumes a large size
very soon. During the summer, it becomes unaffordable within a
short distance, about two kilometers of its source, while the
rocky bed, the icy temperature of the water and the swiftness of
the current deter the boldest swimmer. Looking down the valley
from the pass, a view of grand peaks and glaciers, on the right
hand side, falling suddenly to the water's edge makes a
memorable impression on the visitor. On the left hand, the
slopes are bare the feet of which remain continuously covered
under heavy mass of fragments falling from above.
Lower
down, the Chandra Tal, a kilometre long and a half wide, lies in
a broad lush plain, the lake is placed between a low ridge and
the main Kunzam Range with an outlet into the river. Throughout
its course the river is fed by a number of glaciers the biggest
being the Shigri on its left bank, and the Samundari on the
right. The main tributaries of the Chandra below Shigri lie on
the right bank and they originate from the Sonapani glacier
opposite Khoksar and the Sissue glacier. The left bank is steep
and bare, but there is good grazing ground on the right bank
beyond Khoksar. There are several villages on the right bank as
far as Sissue, and from Sissue the valley becomes richer and
cultivable down to Gondhla. The villages grow larger as Gondhla
is approached, and the houses are seen to be better built,
enclosed by groves of poplar and willow. The northern mountains
take gentler slope, but on the south, opposite Gondhla, the
whole mountain side, from the peaks over 6,090 metres to the
river bed below. 3050 metres, is visible. Glaciers and
snowfields overhanging rocky steeps combine into grassy slopes
below. At one point the cliffs descend for some 1,210 metres and
form the grandest precipices in the world.
Bhaga river joins Chandra river in Tandi to form Chandrabhaga
and later Chenab which is one of the fastest flowing rivers of
India. It originates near Baralacha la at around 16000 feet
above sea level. From its source to its convergence with the
Bhaga at Tandi, the Chandra registers a fall of about 12.5
metres per kilometre. |
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