Life on the river Ganges

A Bengal tiger at the point where the Ganges meets the sea. Photograph: Lucasseck/ARCO/BBC

A spear fisherman in the Ganges. Photograph: Tom Hugh Jones/BBC

The Valley of Flowers in the Himalayas, where the Ganges has its source. Photograph: John Brown/BBC

A ceremony on the banks at Haridwar. Photograph: Tom Clarke/BBC

A boy jumps into the water in Bangladesh. Photograph: Dan Rees/BBC

A gharial. Most of these crocodile-like reptiles have all but disappeared and now only survive in remote stretches of the river. Photograph: Adam White/BBC

An elephant at the Sonepur Mela. Photograph: Tom Hugh Jones/BBC

Bathers at the city of Varanisi, on the river's banks. Hindus believe that bathing in the river will absolve sins. Photograph: Toby Sinclair/BBC