The Ganges River in India is the most revered and reviled in the world, worshipped by a billion Hindus and reviled by millions because if its horrific pollution. Follow the river 1,600 miles, source-to-sea, in this photo essay.

Bacteriologist Ernest Hanbury Hankin discovered bacteriophage in the Ganges River in 1895, and his discovery is being used to treat super bugs today.

The Gaanges River in India is both revered and reviled: it's worshipped as an incarnation of the divine by nearly a billion Hindus, and is also one of the most polluted rivers in the world.