The Bagmati originates where three headwater streams converge at Bāghdwār Falls (Nepali: बाघद्वार, lit. ’Tiger Gate’), where the water flows out through a gargoyle shaped like a tiger’s mouth, situated in Shivpuri Nagarjun National Park near Sundarijal in Nepal . This lies above the southern edge of the Shivapuri Hills, about 15 kilometers (9 mi) northeast of Kathmandu. Here the Bagmati is wide and swift with a high load of suspended solids, giving it a grey appearance. The river flows southwest about 10 km (6 mi) through terraced rice fields in the Kathmandu Valley.