Norak Reservoir

The Norak Reservoir lies about 75 kilometers east of Dushanbe in the Vakhsh River gorge, created by the massive Norak Dam. The drive from the capital passes through increasingly dramatic mountain scenery, climbing into the Hissar Range before descending to the reservoir's blue water in the dry rock landscape. The contrast between the water and the arid cliffs is striking.

The reservoir is popular with Tajik families for swimming and picnicking in summer, and small teahouses operate at the waterside. Getting there requires either a private car or a shared taxi from the Kalon Bolo station in Dushanbe; the journey takes about two hours each way.

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A story
The Norak Dam, completed in 1980, was the tallest dam in the world at 300 meters — a record it held until 2013. Built entirely with Soviet labor in one of the most remote valleys of Central Asia, the dam supplies most of Tajikistan's electricity and created a reservoir 70 kilometers long. The engineers who built it nicknamed the project "the wall of the century."

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