Amu Darya is a legendary river running through Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It has been mentioned in history for already thousands of years and was know for a long time by the name of Oxus among several other names and the area north of the river was referred to as Transoxiana during the times of the Sogdian empire. Amu Darya waters originate mostly from the glaciers of the Tajik Pamir mountains and is formed by the confluence of the Vaksh and Panj rivers. It is also marking the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan as well as a long portion of the Uzbekistan Turkmenistan border. 

Amu Darya is one of the two major rivers (darya) of Central Asia that feed the waters to the shrinking Aral Sea, together with the Syr Darya which is located quite a lot further north from Amu Darya and originates from the Kyrgyz Tien Shan mountains. On its way to the Aral Sea, Amu Darya crosses many cities but is mostly flowing through desert and divides the Karakum and Kyzylkum deserts that together form the Southern Central Asian desert. During the river’s long journey, most of its water is being diverted for the irrigation of the vast farmlands that can be seen from space as a green belt on both sides of the river and in some locations like around Khiva, there is a whole green region irrigated by the Amu Darya river waters. Amu Darya can be seen in many occasions during our Central Asia Tours.