The
Mahabharata Range ( mahabharat shrinkhala) – also called the
Lesser Himalaya – is a major east-west mountain range with elevations 3,700 to 4,500 m (12,000 to 14,500 feet) along the crest, paralleling the much higher
Great Himalaya range from the
Indus River in
Pakistan across northern
India,
Nepal,
Sikkim and
Bhutan but then the two ranges become increasingly difficult to differentiate east of Bhutan as the ranges approach the
Brahmaputra River. The Mahabharat range also parallels the lower Shivalik or Churia Range (Outer Himalaya) to the south.