The Girna originates at Kem Peak in the Western Ghats mountain range and flows east across Nashik District—where it is joined by the Mausam River—and into Malegaon.

[1] The river basin lies on the Deccan Plateau, and its valley has fertile soil that is intensively farmed.

The Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency described the course of the river as follows:[2] Rising in the western hills of the Kalvan sub-division of Nasik, and fed by streams from the northern slopes of the Chandor or Saptashring range, after a course of about 150 miles, falls into the Tapti near Palsod(Rameshwar Temple).

Passing through Nasik almost in a straight line eastwards, in Khandesh its course changes to north-east, till, near Jalgaon, it bends north and then north-west flowing for several miles with many windings almost parallel to the Tapti.

In Khandesh, except in one or two places where it is hemmed in by rocky hills, the Girna, over a broad sandy bed, flows through a well tilled valley gradually spreading into the great central plain.