The
Teesta River (Pron:ti:ˈstə) or
Tista (,
Hindi टीस्ता,
Bengali তিস্তা) is said to be the lifeline of the
Indian state of
Sikkim, flowing for almost the entire length of the state and carving out verdant
Himalayan temperate and tropical river valleys. The river then forms the border between Sikkim and
West Bengal before joining the
Brahmaputra as a tributary in
Bangladesh. The total length of the river is . It drains an area of .