The riv­er flow­ing along the bot­tom of Kali Gan­da­ki Gorge, and the gorge itself, are named after the Hin­du god­dess Kali. Kali per­son­i­fies nature’s pow­er­ful forces, so the name is quite apt. No one has accu­rate­ly mea­sured the pre­cise depth of the Kali Gan­da­ki Gorge, but esti­mates place it at 19,685 feet deep. The gorge is sur­round­ed by the equal­ly majes­tic Dhaula­giri and Anna­pur­na moun­tains. Every year, thou­sands of vis­i­tors trav­el to the gorge to see its snow-capped peaks. Since ancient times, indige­nous peo­ple in the area have con­sid­ered both the gorge and the moun­tains near­by to be sacred.