The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c15.142

v1.c15.142

The Indus river rises, like the Brahmaputra, high on the plateau of Tibet to the north of Benares, and flows north-westward through the elevated valley of Leh until it reaches the 36th parallel of latitude. There it turns south-westward and cleaves its way through the Himālayas by the grandest gorge in the world. You may stand on the right bank of the Indus and look across the river to where the summit of Nanga Parbat descends by a single slope of four miles—measured vertically—to the river bank, every yard of the drop being visible.