The Ganges River, also called Ganga, is a river located in northern India that flows toward the border with Bangladesh. It is the longest river in India and flows for around 1,569 miles (2,525 km) from the Himalayan Mountains to the Bay of Bengal. The river has the second greatest water discharge in the world, and its basin is the most heavily populated in the world with over 400 million people living in it. The Ganges River is extremely important to the people of India as most of the people living on its banks use it for daily needs such as bathing and fishing. It is also significant to Hindus, as they consider it their most sacred river.