The Teesta River flows through Sikkim and West Bengal in India before entering Bangladesh.
The river rises in the eastern Himalayas, near Tso Lhamo Lake in northern Sikkim, and travels southward through steep mountain valleys. It eventually joins the Brahmaputra system in Bangladesh, where it is known as the Tista.
The Teesta is important for irrigation, hydropower and regional water-sharing discussions. It is sometimes mistaken for a tributary that flows directly into the Ganges, but its lower course joins the Jamuna, the Bangladeshi name for the Brahmaputra. The river’s flow varies sharply between the summer monsoon and the dry season.