Hindu Kush

High mountains hem in the western Wakhan, where the Panj flows towards its great northward bend at Ishkashim. To the south rise the eastern spurs of the Hindu Kush, cut by steep valleys whose streams descend to the river. The narrow strip beside the Panj offers land for settlement and irrigated fields, while above it snow-covered peaks form a formidable barrier between the Oxus basin and the upper Indus lands.