In winter, ducks and snipes migrate south across the high Himalayas, settling in large numbers in areas covered by water. The Ganges River is extremely important to the Indian population, as most people on its banks use it for their daily needs such as swimming and fishing. The river passes through 29 towns with more than 100,000 inhabitants, 23 towns with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants and around 48 villages. On the banks of the Ganges are India's largest pilgrimage sites like Rishikesh, Haridwar, Varanasi, Allahabad and Kolkata, which are visited by millions of people. from the four corners of the world to quench their thirst for knowledge and liberation. Along the Ganges and its tributaries are countless archaeological sites, national heritage sites and world heritage sites such as the Nanda Devi Wildlife Sanctuary, Valley of Flowers National Park and the Taj. Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. In Hinduism, the Ganges is the most sacred river and is revered as the goddess Ganga. Ritual bathing in the Ganges was and is an important part of the Hindu pilgrimage and cremated ashes. are often distributed on it