The waterways of Kathmandu hold immense religious, cultural, and ecological significance, though they face severe environmental challenges.
- **Bagmati River:** The most sacred river in the valley, flowing past the Pashupatinath Temple where open-air cremations take place. Efforts are ongoing to clean and restore the river from heavy urban pollution. - **Bishnumati River:** A major tributary of the Bagmati, also holding religious importance and flowing past several historical temples. - **Dhobi Khola & Tukucha:** Smaller streams that weave through the dense urban fabric of the city. - **Taudaha Lake:** A small, culturally significant lake on the outskirts of the city, believed in mythology to be the remnant of the massive lake that once covered the Kathmandu Valley.