Jumpa River
The Jumpa River is considered one of the great rivers of the world—at least by those who have seen it. Starting in the heights of the Katakoro Shan, it flows down the front of this range, past the A-Ling Shan, and through the Great Pass of the Yehimal where it joins the Gaya, the River of Life.
What makes the Jumpa impressive is both the volume of water it carries and the great chasm it has cut. The Jumpa is the major drainage river of the whole western face of the mountains. Each year it swells to a tremendous crest as it carries the spring run-off from the lower slopes. The roaring water tears and grinds away almost anything in its path and has done so for centuries. As a result, the river now rushes through a broad, steep-sided chasm. This gorge averages 1,000 feet in depth, the sides of crumbling, mist-coated rock.
This chasm, which starts at the northern tip of Ra-Khati, makes the Jumpa a formidable barrier. Between the start of the chasm and the Great Gap, there is only one crossing point, the Great Chain Bridge of Ra-Khati. This bridge, broken for many years, has been recently rebuilt. The iron chains supporting the wood and hemp structure are as thick as a man’s waist and crusted in rust. The bridge continually sways and rumbles to the pounding rhythm of the water below. Because of its impressive features and its connection to the Gaya, the Jumpa is one of the sacred rivers visited by pilgrims from the south. From it, some pilgrims follow the Gogrus River to its source while others go to any one of the hundreds of other sacred sources of the Gaya.
