Rivers of Monsoon Asia, From the Punjab to the Pearl River

The Jhelum rises in Indian-administered Kashmir and runs through the Kashmir Valley, passing Srinagar, before entering Pakistan to join the Chenab. The atlas page notes that its course through the city has made it central to the region's history and culture.

The Chenab forms in Himachal Pradesh and flows through the disputed Kashmir region into Pakistan's Punjab province. The atlas page calls it one of the largest tributaries of the Indus by volume, so it is the next step down from the Jhelum.

The Sutlej is the easternmost of the five rivers that give Punjab its name. It rises in Tibet, crosses India and Pakistan, and its waters are heavily allocated for irrigation under the Indus Waters Treaty between the two countries.

The Yamuna leaves the Indus system behind and joins the Ganges. It rises in the Indian Himalayas, passes Delhi and Agra, where the Taj Mahal stands on its banks, and meets the Ganges at Allahabad. It is sacred in Hindu tradition and used for irrigation and drinking water across northern India.

The Godavari is the second-longest river in India after the Ganges. It rises in the Western Ghats and flows about 1,465 kilometers across the Deccan Plateau to the Bay of Bengal, draining one of the country's largest basins.

The Krishna also rises in the Western Ghats and flows east across the Deccan Plateau to the Bay of Bengal. Its basin is a major agricultural region for Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, making it a close companion to the Godavari.

Turning to Southeast Asia, the Irrawaddy is Myanmar's principal river and most important commercial waterway. It runs roughly 2,170 kilometers from the northern mountains south to the Andaman Sea through a broad delta, and has long been the country's main artery of trade and transport.

The Salween is one of the longest free-flowing rivers in Southeast Asia. It rises on the Tibetan Plateau and flows largely undammed through China, Myanmar and along the Thai border to the Andaman Sea, and its undeveloped course supports exceptional biodiversity.

The Chao Phraya is Thailand's principal river, formed where several northern tributaries meet. It flows south through Bangkok to the Gulf of Thailand, and its fertile floodplain has long been the agricultural and demographic heart of the country.

The trail ends in southern China with the Xi River, the main stem of the West River system and the country's third-longest river. It flows east from Yunnan through Guangxi and Guangdong to the Pearl River Delta near Guangzhou.