Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of 6,387 metres on the south western slopes of Banderpooch peaks in the uppermost region of the Lower Himalayas in Uttarakhand, it travels a total length of and has a drainage system of , 40.2% of the entire Ganges Basin, before merging with the Ganges at Triveni Sangam, Allahabad, the site for the Kumbha Mela every twelve years .
Nace a una altura de 6.387 m, en el glaciar Yamunotri, en las laderas suroccidentales de los picos Banderpooch, en el Himalaya inferior, y recorre una longitud total de 1.376 km, antes de desaguar en Triveni Sangam, Allahabad, lugar cada doce años de la peregrinación Kumbha Mela.