River · Tajikistan
Panj
Panj is the longest river of Tajikistan, high in the mountains of Central Asia. After 921 kilometres it meets the Vakhsh, and together the two become the great Amu Darya.
Picture credit: Benoît Vicart (CC0) · Hans Birger Nilsen (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Ninara (CC BY 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Panj?
The river starts here: Pamir Mountains, at Lake Zorkul.
It ends in the joins the Vakhsh to form the Amu Darya.
Countries on the river: Tajikistan.
The story behind it
The Panj is born from snow and ice in the Pamir, mountains so high that people call them the Roof of the World. Its water is cold, grey with rock dust and very fast, and it has cut deep gorges where the road clings to the cliff. Almost the whole river is a frontier: one bank belongs to Tajikistan, the other to the neighbouring country, and villages on both sides can wave to each other across the noise of the water. Wild sheep with huge curved horns live in the heights, and eagles circle above the valley. Farmers use narrow channels to lead the water onto tiny terraced fields of wheat and apricots. In spring, when the snow melts, the Panj rises fast and can smash bridges, so people rebuild them again and again.
Questions children ask
How long is the Panj?
The Panj is about 921 kilometres long. Because different maps start counting at different mountain streams, you may find other numbers as well.
Which country does the Panj flow through?
The Panj is counted as the river of Tajikistan. For most of its course it also draws the national border, so the opposite bank lies in another state.
Where does the Panj end?
The Panj does not reach a sea. It joins the Vakhsh, and from that meeting point the river is called the Amu Darya, one of the biggest rivers of Central Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
Last checked: