Shaligrams on the Kali Gandaki riverbed

Shaligrams are black stones that crack open to show the spiral of an ammonite, a sea creature from the Jurassic and Cretaceous. These rocks formed on the floor of the Tethys Sea and were pushed up as India pressed into Asia. Erosion releases them into the Kali Gandaki, and for Hindus this is the only river where true shaligrams are found. Geologists date many of these ammonites to the Jurassic, roughly 145–200 million years ago.

Each stone is read by its shape and markings; different patterns are linked to different forms of Vishnu, such as Narasimha or Vamana. Families keep a shaligram in the home shrine and offer tulsi leaves to it. On the road to Muktinath, many Indian and Nepali pilgrims stop on the riverbed near Jomsom or Kagbeni to search. Some stones are prized for a wheel-like mark, linked to Vishnu's discus, the Sudarshana Chakra. A good guide will show you how pilgrims hold and examine each stone before choosing.

We walk out on the gravel when the river is low, from October to May. The monsoon fills the bed and makes searching unsafe. Stones are also sold by local sellers in Jomsom and Kagbeni. Taking fossils out of Nepal in quantity can raise questions at customs, so keep it to one or two small stones for worship. Walk on the gravel bars only, never in moving water, and keep away from the main channel even when it looks shallow; the current is cold and strong.