The river begins in a rocky gorge in the eastern flank of the Khunkhadin Range, part of the southern section of the Verkhoyansk Range. It heads roughly north and northeast, leaving the Verkhoyansk mountains, and meandering slowly across a swampy area in the Yana Plateau with numerous lakes, including Lake Emanda (). The river gains speed again in its lower course at the feet of the southeastern side of the Nelgesin Range when it flows through a narrow mountain valley. Finally it joins the Adycha upstream from the Nelgese, the largest tributary.