What Edmond Hillary could not accomplish, they have. An expedition on the Ganga, or Ganges, led by Swiss adventurer and CEO of Rib Expedition & Adventure Andy Leemann has covered Ganga from its source at Gangotri to the Bay of Bengal at a stretch in 35 days. Hillary in 1977 had gone upstream, from the ocean to Gangotri on jet boats, but his team would leave the river when it became impassable and climb to the summit of the mountain.

Leemann has undertaken various other river expeditions on Amazon, Orinoco, Mekong and Zambezi. ?I was just 12 when I learnt of the Ganges in school as the only holy river in the world and ever since dreamt of coming here,? says the 55-yr-old Leemann.

What made the expedition a reality was the chance meeting of Indian cameraman Apal Singh and Leemann in Africa last year. ?I was shooting for BBC and Andy was on the Zambezi expedition. We spoke about the Ganga and I invited him to India and he was here in the next four months,? Singh informs.

A team of nine core members and some international journalists began their journey on September 14 with a trek to Gomukh. After river rafting to Devprayag, they boarded three 4.3 mt long rigid inflatable boats (Rib), which had detachable 40hp Yamaha two-stroke engines. This was the first time Ribs were used for a Ganges expedition, according to Leemann. Since the engines could be detached, the team could take the boats out of the water easily and even carry them on cars when the dams blocked their way. Most rivers come down in steps but the Ganga, after the first 500 km, is a steep fall. That was a challenge for us, says Leemann.

They covered 2,521 km, spent nights in tents on the river banks, mingled with locals, whom they call the river people, came across many ancient monuments, thousands of dolphins and birds, some turtles and a few floating dead bodies. The journey ended last week in Kolkata.

In Europe they say the Ganga is dying. It is not dying but is definitely sick, says Leemann, who finds it difficult to understand how can people not take care of the river they love and respect. Says Leemann: ?Sharing its water properly and getting rid of the plastic should be priorities. People are throwing dead bodies in the river. The government should provide subsidised wood to the poor for burning the bodies. Or, at least, the river should have animals that can feed on them, but the number of crocs and turtles is going down drastically. We did not see a single croc during our journey. The water level is also very low in the upper parts which, given the monsoon season, was alarming.?

Leemann has a lot of ideas to share as well. ?You should promote Ganga tourism?organise trips for 500-600 km. You will discover a new India from the Ganga-the lovely ghats, the people, monuments, dolphins, everything. And it will give the river people employment,? he says adding ?use your rivers, they are natural roads with no wear and tear. Water ambulances can reach the remote areas faster on the river.? Concerns apart, there are memories to be cherished as well. In one of the remote areas, the locals actually requested them to stay a little longer so that they could stare at them to their heart?s content. ?I have been deep into Africa and Amazon but even there people are aware of whites, so this was a big surprise. They surrounded us from all sides and just would not let go,? Leemann says with nostalgia. And what?s next? ?An expedition on the Brahmaputra, possibly in 2010 or 2011. But only after the Congo Expedition in April next year.?