Bartang
The Bartang is a river of Central Asia, and is a tributary to the Panj which itself is a tributary to the Amu Darya. In its middle and upper reaches, it is respectively known as the Murghab and Aksu; it flows through the Wakhan District of Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan, then through the Rushon District of the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region, Tajikistan. The river is long and has a basin area of.
Course
The river rises from Chaqmaqtin Lake, which is located near Bazai Gumbad in the Wakhan District of Afghanistan, where it is known as the Aksu or Oksu. It then flows east and crosses into Tajikistan, then turns north to the city of Murghab passing the village of Shaimak.Below the city of Murghab the river is called the Murghab.
. A few kilometres below Murghab is Sarez Lake, formed by a landslide during the 1911 Sarez earthquake, which created the world's highest natural dam, Usoi Dam.
The river is joined by the Ghudara river just below Sarez Lake. From the junction the river is known as the Bartang. The Bartang traces a route down the western Pamir Mountains, flowing before becoming a tributary to the Panj at the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border. Much of the river lies within the boundaries of the Tajik National Park. The Bartang is fed mostly by glacier and snow melt. It is the only river to cross Gorno-Badakhshan from east to west.
The Bartang enters the Panj just upstream from the town of Rushon.
Access
'Bartang' means 'narrow passage' in Persian language. Before the 20th century travel required fords, ladders and platforms set into the sides of cliffs. There were three paths, one along the river, usable only in autumn when the water was low, the second along the cliffs and the third, much longer, where pack animals could be led along the mountain ridges. The modern road can become impassable beyond Basid due to rockslides. Above Basid is the large village of Roshov. Above that the Ghudara River and the Murghab Rivers join to form the Bartang. The road follows the Ghudata northeast to its junction with the Tanimas which leads west to the Fedchenko Glacier. A road of sorts continues east to lake Karakul.The Murghab is generally not passable except as an adventure. There is a dirt road for the last to Murghab town. Above Murghab a jeep road, of decreasing quality, follows the river southeast to Tokhtamish and Shaimak.