AFGHANISTAN – The Trip

Afghanistan is a landlocked country of mountains and valleys in the heart of Asia.
Afghanistan has been the centre of many powerful empires for the past 2,000 years. However, in the last 40 years the country has been in chaos due to major wars—from the Soviet invasion of 1979 to their withdrawal in 1989 and from warlordism to the removal of the Taliban in 2001 and the ensuing US/NATO invasion. Economically, Afghanistan is considered poor compared to many other nations of the world. The country is going through a nationwide rebuilding process.
Afghanistan has been in the news since the late 1970s for all the wrong reasons. While visiting has not been advisable for several years, it has much to offer the intrepid traveller. But even the more adventurous should consider looking elsewhere for thrill-seeking.
Tourism is a small industry in Afghanistan due to security issues. 20,000 foreign tourists visited annually as of 2016. In particular an important region for domestic and international tourism is the picturesque Bamyan Valley, which includes lakes, canyons and historical sites, helped by the fact it is in a safe area away from insurgent activity. The Taliban destroyed most of the ancient 6th century Buddhist sculptures of Bamiyan in a cultural crime that outraged the world. Today, what remains in the Bamiyan valley is the silencing and still worthwhile sight of the empty niches. The salvaged pieces of what were once the largest statues of their kind in the world continue to provide a fascinating insight in the history of this place.
Smaller numbers visit and trek in regions such as the Wakhan Valley, which is also one of the world’s most remote communities. Ghazni, Bamyan, Herat, Kandahar, Balkh, and Zaranj are all very historic.
Band-e Amir National Park, with its six interlinked lakes, is perhaps the finest natural attraction. At an altitude of 2900 meters, the blue waters and sandy mountain sides. Near Bamiyan.
Excellent mosques are to be found all around, with particularly grand examples in Mazar-i-Sharif and in the rapidly developing Herat.
The Minaret of Jam, a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the Hari River valley, it is well off the beaten path – possible as a roundtrip from Herat or when traversing the Central Route from Herat to Kabul.
Since the Taliban took control in 2022, Afghanistan is now safer than ever. Travellers are travelling solo with no guides and going to places previously off-limits. You can cross the border from Tajikistan, Iran and Pakistan by land – Peshawar-Jalalabad (Torkham border), Tajikistan to Afghanistan (Sheer Khan Bander border), and Mashhad-Herat (Dogharon border). You can enter by flight from Iran (Tehran, Mashad), Turkey (Istanbul) and Dubai. You can get a visa in all those places, some require an invitation letter while some do not. There is not any restrictions or discrimination for any type of passport holders

Capital. Kabul 34°31′N 69°11′E
Languages. Pashto, Dari
Ethnic groups. 42% Pashtun, 27% Tajik, 9% Hazara, 9% Uzbek, 4% Aimaq, 3% Turkmen, 2% Baloch, 4% Others
Currency. Afghan afghani (AFN)
Population. 36.6 million (2020)
Country Code. +93
Ethnic Groups. 42% Pashtun, 27% Tajik, 9% Hazara, 9% Uzbek, 4% Aimaq, 3% Turkmen, 2% Baloch, 4% others.
Religion. 99% Islam (official), 1% other
Area. 652,867 km² (252,073 sq mi) (40th)
Population. 652,867^[19] km² (252,073 sq mi) (40th). Density 48.08/km² (124.5/sq mi)
GDP (PPP). $81.007 billion. Per capita $2,459
GDP ( Nominal). $20.136 billion. Per capita $611
HDI. 0.478 low · 180th
Driving side. Right
Calling code. +63

English spellings of Afghan place names vary. For example, Q may replace K as in Qandahar or Qunduz. Kunduz will be seen spelled as Konduz, Qunduz, Qundoz, Qundoze and variations on these. Bamiyan is often spelled as Bamian or Bamyan. Khowst may be spelt as Khost.

SIM Roshan or Afghan Wireless. 
Climate. Temperatures in the central highlands are below freezing for most of the winter, and snow is common at higher elevations. Summertime highs in lower elevations (such as Jalalabad or Mazar-e Sharif) can exceed 50°C/120°F. In higher areas such as Kabul, summer temperatures can be 30°C/90°F and winter around 0°C/30°F. The most pleasant weather in Kabul is during April, May and September.
Terrain. Mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest. The Hindu Kush mountains run northeast to southwest, dividing the northern provinces from the rest of the country, with the highest peaks found in the northern Wakhan Corridor. South of Kandahar is desert.
The lowest point is Amu Darya at 258 m, and the highest is Nowshak at 7,485 m.
Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan to the south and east, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to the north. There is a short border with China to the far northeast, but in extremely inaccessible terrain.

INFORMATION
Do your research and know the risks involved. Study the history. Read about the geopolitical situation. Make sure your money goes directly to the local people. It is a very difficult country to travel to. Many moments of boredom. Embrace that too. Afghans are used to this.
No women in photos. Since the TLB took over, many of their individual rights to employment, education, and public spaces were removed. Women in Afghanistan are supposed to stay home unless they are out with their husbands or with family or go to the bazaar. Sadly, the only ones encountered are beggars on the street in the remoter areas. Except for those who work at the airport, Afghan women are not allowed to speak to strangers or be photographed. It’s a male-dominated society and many tourists do not interact with a single woman during their entire trip.
Most tourists have no issues with the TLB but make sure have the proper documentation in order, are always with a guide, and never go anywhere where your security would be at risk. Respect their religion and traditions – very conservative and once in Pashtun areas such as Helmand and Kandahar multiply that by ten. Keep political opinions to yourself, keep a very low profile, dress like a local, and asked for permission before taking photos.  Whatever you do, don’t lose your passport!

VISA
Note the visa application process changed on May 27, 2024. You now need to go to the Afghan visa site: econsulate.mfa.gov.af., fill out the simple application and print it to take to the embassy. Need a passport photo. 
Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. 100 USD (they give change) + $50 for a same-day rush fee. Americans 210 US$. First thing in the morning, one easily gets an interview with the consul. Speak to the security guard, say you are a foreigner applying for a visa, and you will be escorted downstairs directly to the Consul’s office. You do not need a fixer. Visa two days later (or in the past 4-5 days), or same day if you show your flight is the same day. 2 passport photos. Show passport and flight ticket prior to entering the embassy. Make sure to check your passport number as they have been known to put the wrong one on the visa.
Mr. Saddam Hussein (+92 317 5031284) works at the embassy and will meet you at the front and walk you through the process. It takes 3.5 hours even when arriving at the opening time of 9 am. Phones are not allowed inside.
Peshawar: I applied on May 29 and it took a whole day with several taxis to sort it all out. With the proper form, the process in Peshawar can be fast.
After checking your phone at the guard house, walk about 300 m past the long line of locals and enter the compound. I was put into the air conditioned room of the boss, paid US$100, waited for their break to end (12:30-2 pm) and got the full-page visa. You don’t need a guide.

TOURIST PERMITS
Ministry and Culture and Information in Kabul to secure permits (look up “Deh afghanan,zirzameni, ده افغانان، زیرزمینی” on Google maps.
Permits in the past could be obtained before arrival in the country by sending the guide a copy of your passport and Afghan visa (often just a day before arrival), so when you arrive in Kabul, all permits for the cities you plan to visit are done and you do not have to make any personal appearance. But this is no longer possible. According to Afghan Tour, all tourists now need to make a personal appearance at their offices.
They won’t issue a permit if you don’t have a guide. If you show up at Afghan Tour without a guide, they will ask you a lot of questions (why? etc.) and will put one of their guide’s names on the permit which you probably have to hire so it is best to bring your own.
If doing on your own, go to Afghan Tour, the department under the Ministry responsible for issuing all permits. Need a separate permit to visit every region in Afghanistan (except for Kabul). All permits cost 1000 AFS (US$ 12). For 5 different regions, 6000 AFS. The process is bureaucratic, so make sure you have a translator or a guide with you when you show up at Afghan Tour. Staff barely speak English. Guide does all the work while you wait – drafting the request for permit, stops in many offices, getting signatures, paying at the bank (they don’t accept cash at the ministry).
The permits need to have the name of your guide. If you are using a different guide for every city (which is highly recommended), it’s not a problem. You can initially put the name of the Kabul guide on all the permits and change the name when you arrive in a new city.
How long it will take to get the permits varies. You may have to go twice (once in the beginning of the trip, and another towards the end for a new permit for Bamiyan). The first time took a whole day (the head of Afghan Tour may want to interview you before giving the permits) and the second time it took three hours. Regardless, make sure you show up first thing in the morning. They are closed on Fridays.

REGISTRATION. Once you arrive in a new city (Kabul, Mazar, Bamyan, Herat, Kandahar), you have to register at the local Ministry of Culture and Information office. Do not skip this step, as you will be given an entirely new permit with signatures and only then will you be able to go around the region as a tourist. If you don’t register, you will be detained and not able to move.
Your guide should accompany you to this. It’s straightforward but time-consuming – Mazar 15 minutes, Herat 45 minutes. Depends on how busy the person in charge is. If you are using a new guide upon arrival in a city, make sure he comes with you so they can change the name. Friday closed.

ITINERARY
Day 1 Thur May 30
Arrive from Peshawar.
Khyber Pass. The gateway to India, a historic route of invasion and trade. Since 2017, the border has been open and travellers can cross. This is easier in the Afghanistan > Pakistan direction, and in either direction requires significant planning.
Torkham border crossing from Peshwar. Open 7 days/week. Officially closes at 9 pm – the Pakistani side sometimes randomly closes a bit earlier.
I tried to get a shared taxi from Peshawar bus station (Haji Camp Adda is the main bus station). My taxi took me to a market and I was left with little alternative than to take a single taxi for 2000 PR. He made no attempt to find other passengers. We stopped at a checkpoint where the soldier said it was very dangerous. He consulted his captain and finally let me through. Getting to the border seems much longer than the 48 km advertised. I was in a nice air-conditioned car. Instead of the advertised 2000A, he held up four fingers. So I gave him 4000 and he still wanted more because there were no other passengers.
Whoever wrote all the EPS reports I used to research Afghanistan lived in a different world than what I experienced. Jump the fence!!!!!! What a crazy idea. I did get adopted by a guy who helped quite a bit, especially getting the immigration stamp where we bypassed the line. Here are the things I had to show and do: 1. Show your Pakistan visa at least three times. 2. Declare your money. I got the idea that more than US$1,000 was not allowed. I showed them one wallet where I had about $700 but I had much more hidden in my pack. I had to take a photo of the declaration. 3. Immigration. They recorded all the details of my Pakistan visa. 4. Intelligence. He repeated everything again. 5. Filled out a long form and had to provide 2 passport photos. 6. Polio vaccination. My vaccine certification was deep in my pack so I got a booster for polio.
To get to this point was a long walk through a corridor fenced with wire. We pushed our way past hundreds of others – guys pushing big carts full of sacks of rice, luggage and you name it, and many people in wheelchairs (mostly women with kids and older men). This took about two hours. It was shaded but still very hot and long.
After that, my experience improved. I had met Abdullah in the visa office in Peshawar. Born in Dubai of Afghan parents, he had lived in Germany for several years and was a successful businessman. He did not look Afghani. By luck, we met again at immigration and we navigated the gauntlet together. He was being met at the border by his brother and two cousins and they generously gave me a ride to Jalalabad. The AC in the car didn’t work but no big problem. After a month in hot climates, I was quite acclimatized. I have no idea about getting a share taxi to Kabul.
They were all great guys who spoke fair English. We talked a lot about sex and having 4 wives. I was given the formula for penis improvement – boil milk for at least 5 minutes with saffron, crushed dates and nuts (almond, walnuts, peanuts) and let it sit for two weeks. Abdullah’s brother who was 44 and had 8 kids swore by it.
They all wanted to come to Canada but had completely no understanding of how difficult it was. They don’t understand that it doesn’t have much to do with who you know but is more merit-based. One wanted to find a Canadian woman but again had no idea of how liberated most Western women are.

Abdullah and his relatives dropped me off at a market in Jalalabad where I then got a share taxi for 400 but only to the outskirts of Kabul. There were four of us and one guy spoke very good English. It was a great conversation about everything, especially women and freedom. They were all very happy with Taliban rule but mostly because they have peace. From all my travels through countries that have been at war, this factor counts the most.
They think that women should have more access to education and that is one they have given up. Women are also not allowed to have female friends outside the family?? But they all believed that women’s place is in the home and is not allowed to have any male friends. Women on the edge of the country (Mazr, Herat) have more freedom. None wanted more than one wife. The Taliban has enforced the support of women and children if there is a divorce, as it says to do in the Quarin. Do you want to have more than one wife? One was not married, two had one wife (and only wanted one) and the driver (who also owned this Toyota car) had two wives (he liked sex too much to have only one).
I admitted that this is a very personal question “Do Afghani men like to satisfy their women sexually (ie have orgasms)”, and he wouldn’t answer.

The road followed the Kabul River the whole way – through a wide valley and a large river, then into a canyon that got progressively narrower. We passed a dam pouring a lot of water and then the reservoir it formed. We climbed over a high pass, stopped at a town and then a narrower canyon with a much smaller river. Then there was a climb up many switchbacks and tunnels on a road constructed out of the cliff.
Just before the main city of Kabul, there was a major checkpoint. I couldn’t find the entrance stamp after several good looks. I am sure that I got a stamp at Afghan immigration in Torkham. He brought the boss and they went to a higher boss. The threat was that I would have to return to Torkham, 5 hours back with a good car. After pleading my case, they finally let me go “Don’t do that again.” Crazy – this is the first time that has ever happened (except at the Bulgarian / Turkey border but that is another story).
Everyone else got out and I continued into Kabul for another 300A
ON Kyber Hotel.1500

Day 2 Fri May 31
It was Friday and everything was closed. I stayed in my room, finally got a new version of Word (after several hours on Microsoft chat) and worked on my website.

KABUL
Kabul has been the capital of Afghanistan since about 1776. The city was badly damaged during the various 1979–2001 wars, particularly its western parts. For a few years, Kabul has been going through a period of reconstruction and development, with some modern-style tower blocks and a handful of glitzy shopping malls appearing. Many roads, particularly the main feeder routes, have been reconstructed and upgraded. However, in outlying areas, roads and other infrastructure remain in poor condition. Electricity supplies in Kabul are now quite reliable.
Seeing downtown Kabul is relatively compact and walkable – a good option in the spring and fall – summers bring intolerable heat and dust, whilst winters bring snow and mud. Pavements are few, and you need to keep your wits about you when crossing roads.
Wazar Akbar Khan and Taimani (to a restaurant, etc.) is fine day or night. Central Kabul at night is walkable but be sure you know where you are going, and how to get back to your guesthouse. Given the volatile security situation always be aware of any demonstrations, gathering crowds, etc., which could spiral out of control quickly. Keep a low profile, wear simple clothes and (for women), cover your hair with a scarf or shawl. It is also wise to vary your routes frequently to reduce the threat of kidnapping. People are generally helpful and polite if you ask for directions.
Be wary walking around traditional residential areas (e.g., near the city wall). Conservative Afghans are suspicious of anyone snooping around their house, and children may throw stones or set their dog on you.
Kabul Airport (KBL)

Day 3 Sat June 1
SIM card in am (Afghan Wireless was recommended), Permits, Book flights,
See some of Kabul
Bagh-e Babur. Tentative WHS (02/11/2009). (Garden of Babur) is a historic park in Kabul and the final resting place of the first Mughal emperor Babur. The garden is thought to have been developed around 1528 AD (935 AH) when Babur gave orders for the construction of an “avenue garden” in Kabul, described in some detail in his memoirs, the Baburnama.
It was the tradition of Mughal princes to develop sites for recreation and pleasure. In 1607 AD, all gardens in Kabul had walls. A prayer platform was laid in front of Babur’s grave, and an inscribed headstone was placed at its head. Shah Jahan in 1638 built a mosque and a stone water channel that ran between an avenue of trees from the terrace below the mosque, with pools at certain intervals.
Historically, the gardens have been visited by Afghans for picnics and lazy afternoons. There is a swimming pool, a small mosque for prayers and a small museum.
National Museum of Afghanistan. (Several miles from the city centre, across from Darulaman Palace). It once housed one of the greatest collections of Central Asian artifacts in the world. A large percentage was looted in the 1990s during Taliban rule after the upper floors of the museum were bombed. Many of the early Buddhist treasures were destroyed by the Taliban at the same time as the Bamiyan Buddhas. Looted items still turn up around the world at auctions. The museum is open once again, with far more modest, but still impressive, displays of early Buddhist and Islamic artifacts.
A beautiful gallery in a charming old Kabul house that has been carefully restored. The collection used to have 820 paintings and portraits but 50% have been looted or destroyed; the director said the Taliban destroyed 210 portraits. Most of the collection is of European and Afghan landscapes portraits of famous Afghan writers and kings and a portrait of the French writer Victor Hugo. Well worth making the effort to see. The Sultani Gallery is attached.
OMAR Mine Museum. 
Darul Aman Palace (at the end of Daral Aman Rd, south of the city, next to the Kabul Museum). Built as King Amanullah’s Palace in the 1920s, it has been destroyed and rebuilt a few times over. By 2019, restoration works had been largely completed on the palace, which suffered massive damage during the 1990s civil war.
Tajbeg Palace. Not to be confused with Darul Aman, this palace was also built in 1920 to house the Royal family. 
Abdul Rahman Mosque
Shah-e Doh Shamshira Mosque
Kabul Zoo. Very popular with Afghans, with over 100 animals in relatively poor condition. China was once one of the main donors of animals in the zoo, but after the death of a few animals to disease and malnutrition, China has announced that there will be no donations until living conditions improve. 
Bacha Broot. Kabul’s oldest restaurant serves delicious chainaki — traditional lamb stew — for over 70 years. Named after the original owner who had peculiar facial hair, is from the Dari, meaning “boy with a mustache.” Very little has changed inside. The claustrophobic stairs, the sparse interior, the tiny door easily missed in the maze-like bazaar. Chainaki — lamb on the bone, split peas, and onions cooked for four hours in tiny teapots.
To get to Bacha Broot, one must first walk past the old Pul e Khishti mosque. After the mosque, the bird cages appear. Take a right by the man selling roosters the size of a four-year-old child, step into a narrow lane, and enter a different world. The bazaar is an assault on all five senses and is packed at any time of the day. After the carpet shops, there is a tiny blue doorway, with a sign reading: “The best chainaki from goat meat.” Climb stairs, two rooms: one for women and one for men. Faridoon Bacha Broot, 37, one of the three brothers now in charge of their father’s business.
We make about two hundred servings of chainaki every day,” Wahidullah says. “We cut the meat, cook it, and distribute it in these teapots, naan, a traditional flatbread, and doogh, a savory yogurt drink.
Ka Faroshi Bird Market – Where Bacha Broot is. 
Pul-e Khishti Bazaar – there are many markets near the mosque – Bird Market, Kabul Market and Pashtun Market.
Chicken Street. The one street that’s a must-see – only two blocks long, this shabby lane full of competing aromas, lined with shops selling jewelry, antiques, knickknacks, artworks and, especially, Oriental rugs, has been a magnet for generations of foreign visitors looking for Afghan exotica. For decades, the only thing missing has been chickens.
Now it is also missing foreigners. Customers of any sort are thin on the ground. On some days it’s so bad, that even the beggars don’t bother to come to work, and the touts scarcely stir from their stoops. As with so much in Kabul today, the security situation is to blame. A steady spate of ever-worsening suicide bombings, a lack of faith in a corrupt police force, kidnappers, and rampant crime have done to Chicken Street what a Russian invasion, decades of civil war and even urban combat could not do — driven shoppers away.
Most foreign employers have banned their employees from shopping there. Security issues are causing many businesses to close. The range of merchandise remains eclectic and sometimes disturbing. Snow leopard pelt, flintlock rifles, camel saddlebags, kilims, suzanis, chain mail shirts and Tartar helmets. Almost anything can be found carved from lapis lazuli, a semiprecious, deep blue gemstone native to Afghanistan.
Outside, the mouthwatering smell of kebabs grilling mingles with the odour of raw waste running down open sewers. Chicken Street’s boom occurred right after the American-led invasion in 2001 and many tiny shops were replaced with multistoried emporiums, homes to dozens of shops each. But they didn’t build new sewers.

NORTH AFGHANISTAN (Mazar, Faryab, Kunduz, Baghlan, Samangan)
Day 4 Sun June 2
Drive to Mazar e Sharif, the largest city in north Afghanistan
Salang Tunnel. A 2.67-kilometre-long (1.66 mi) tunnel located at the Salang Pass in the Hindu Kush mountains, between the Parwan and Baghlan provinces of Afghanistan, about 60 miles north of Kabul. It was completed by the Soviet Union in 1964 and has been used to connect northern Afghanistan with the capital, Kabul, and southern parts of the country. The Salang Tunnel is the only pass going in a north–south direction to remain in use throughout the year. It often gets closed during the cold winters due to excess snowfall.
Starting in 1989 the tunnel fell out of maintenance, and it was almost destroyed amid the Afghan civil war in 1998. After the overthrow of the Taliban, the NATO-led coalition and Russia helped repair the tunnel. Between seven and ten thousand vehicles currently pass through the tunnel each day.
It is known for a deadly fire which occurred in November 1982, and several avalanche incidents. A series of avalanches led to the deaths of as many as 172 people in February 2010 either as a direct result of the avalanche or through being trapped.
ON Rahat: 1700 afs/night
Highland Hotel 900 Af/night

Day 5 Mon June 3
MAZAR-I-SHARIF  (pop 427,000). The fourth-largest city of Afghanistan and the capital of Balkh province, it is linked by highways with Kunduz in the east, Kabul in the southeast, Herat in the southwest and Termez in Uzbekistan in the north. It is about 55 km (34 mi) from the Uzbek border. The city also serves as one of the many tourist attractions because of its famous shrines and the Islamic and Hellenistic archeological sites. The ancient city of Balkh is also nearby.
The region around Mazar-i-Sharif has been historically part of Greater Khorasan and was controlled by the Tahirids followed by the Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Ilkhanates, Timurids, and Khanate of Bukhara until the mid-18th century when it became part of the Durrani Empire.
Mazar-i-Sharif is the regional hub of northern Afghanistan, located close to both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It is also home to an international airport. 357 metres (1,171 ft) above sea level. The city was spared of the devastation that occurred in the country’s other large cities during the Soviet–Afghan War and subsequent civil war and is today regarded as one of the safest cities in the country.
Mazar-i-Sharif Airport (MZR)
Qala-i-Jangi. Fort
Shrine of Ali (The Blue Mosque). The name Mazar-i-Sharif means “Tomb of the Prince”, a reference to the large, blue-tiled sanctuary and mosque in the center of the city known as the Shrine of Ali or the Blue Mosque. Some people believe that the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, is at this mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif after Ali’s remains were transferred to Mazar-i-Sharif as per the request of Ja’far as-Sadiq. This is however rejected by other Muslims, as the majority believe he is buried in Najaf, Iraq.

Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge. A road and rail bridge across the river Amu Darya, connecting the town of Hairatan in the northern Balkh province of Afghanistan with Termez Uzbekistan. The bridge was built by the Soviet Union and opened in 1982 to supply its forces who were based in Afghanistan at the time. It is used today for trade and travel purposes between the two countries.
It is the only fixed link across the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border, located some 75 km north of the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The nearest other bridge across the Amu Darya is some 120 kilometres (74.5 mi) to the west, a pipeline bridge crossing the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border from/to the Lebap Region.
The bridge was closed in May 1997 when Taliban forces attacked the city of Mazar-i-Sharif and reopened in 2001. The railway to Mazar-i-Sharif was completed in 2010.
Tajik-Afghan Friendship Bridge connects the two banks of the Darvaz region across the Panj River (further downstream known under the name Amu Darya) separating Tajikistan and Afghanistan, at the town of Qal’ai Khumb. It was opened in 2004. Built for USD $500,000 by the Aga Khan Development Network. The Amu Darya begins at the junction of the Panj River and the Vakhsh River.)
The 135-metre-long suspension bridge has a single track 3.5 meters wide and a carrying capacity of 25 metric tonnes. It carries both commercial and passenger traffic and represents a permanent overland link between the two countries.
Ajar Valley Nature Reserve

KUNDUZ (pop 269,000). A city in northern Afghanistan and the capital of Kunduz Province. Kunduz is located in the historical Tokharistan region of Bactria, near the confluence of the Kunduz River with the Khanabad River. Kunduz is linked by highways with Kabul to the south, Mazar-i-Sharif to the west, and Badakhshan to the east. Kunduz is also linked with Dushanbe in Tajikistan to the north, via the Afghan dry port of Sherkhan Bandar.

Day 6 Tue June 4
Flights.
Mazar-i-Sharif to Kabul @09:00-10:00.
Kabul to Herat @13:30-

WEST AFGHANISTAN (Herat, Farah, Badgis)
HERAT  (pop 575,000). The third-largest city of Afghanistan, it is situated in the fertile valley of the Hari River in the western part of the country. It is linked with Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif via Highway 1 or the ring road. It is further linked to the city of Mashhad in neighbouring Iran through the border town of Islam Qala, and to Mary in Turkmenistan to the north through the border town of Torghundi.
Herat dates back to Avestan times and was traditionally known for its wine. The city has a number of historic sites, including the Herat Citadel and the Musalla Complex. During the Middle Ages Herat became one of the important cities of Khorasan, as it was known as the Pearl of Khorasan. After the conquest of Tamerlane, the city became an important center of intellectual and artistic life in the Islamic world. Under the rule of Shah Rukh, the city served as the focal point of the Timurid Renaissance, whose glory matched Florence of the Italian Renaissance as the center of a cultural rebirth.
After the fall of the Timurid Empire, Herat has been governed by various Afghan rulers since the early 18th century.
Herat lies on the ancient trade routes of the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and today is a regional hub in western Afghanistan. The roads from Herat to Iran, Turkmenistan, and other parts of Afghanistan are still strategically important. As the gateway to Iran, it collects a high amount of customs revenue for Afghanistan. It also has an international airport (HEA). The city has high residential density clustered around the core of the city. Today the city is considered to be relatively safe.
City of Herat Tentative WHS: (17/08/2004). The city of Herat, currently the capital of western Afghanistan, has long been of strategic, commercial and cultural significance to the wider region. It is unique in that it has largely retained its historical footprint, and many significant Islamic monuments have survived.
Established around 500 BC as the ancient Persian town of Artacoana or Aria, in the fertile plain beside the Hari Rud river. Captured by Alexander the Great in 330 BC during his war against the Achaemenids, the town was developed and a citadel was built. The site retained its strategic importance, and was an important asset for the Seleucids, Parthians and Hephthalites, before becoming the western bastion of the Abbasid caliphate at the end of the 8th century AD. By the time of its capture by the Ghorids in 1175 AD, Herat had become renowned for the production of metalwork, especially decorated or inlaid bronze. After destruction at the hands of both the Mongols and Genghis Khan, Herat saw something of a renaissance in the late 14th century AD, under the rule of the son of Timur, Shah Rukh, who began an extensive programme of building. This was followed by extensive development ordered by Queen Gawharshad during the 15th century AD, which resulted in a remarkable and unique ensemble of monuments in the Timurid style.
The residential quarters of Herat were developed in a manner that responds to the specific climatic and social needs of the inhabitants. A complex network of alleys leads to fine houses built around open courtyards, or small gardens, or to the many mosques, synagogues, schools, public baths, or reservoirs that dot the urban fabric.
Apart from its architectural heritage, Herat has long been an important centre for the arts and sciences, with a rich tradition of music, calligraphy and painting, astronomy, mathematics and philosophy.

Day 7 Wed June 5
See the rest of Herat.
Jihad Museum
Herat Citadel. One of the oldest extant structures in the historic core of Herat is Qala e Ikhtyaruddin, built on the site of an ancient citadel thought to have been established by Alexander in around 330 BC. The layout of battlements and towers that survive is thought to date from the early 14th century AD when the Karts rebuilt a fortress that had been destroyed by the Mongols. Situated at the northern edge of the square-plan old city, the citadel was during the 15th and 16th centuries AD the seat of the Timurid rulers and was part of the architectural works undertaken by Shah Rukh, who commissioned the tilework that can still be seen on several towers. The citadel underwent conservation in the 1970s.
Musalla Complex. Built in the early 15th century under the direction of Queen Gawharshad, it is perhaps the largest historic architectural ensemble that survives in the region today.
The mausoleum complex of Khwaja Abdulla Ansari in Gozargah dates from the Timurid period and contains Ansari’s grave, a 16th-century structure that retains some fine Timurid tilework, and is where the unique black marble Haft Qalam sarcophagus, dating from the reign of Sultan Husain Baiqara (1468-1506) is situated. Other surviving parts of the complex are the late 15th century AD Zarnegar pavilion, whose interior has fine painted decoration on plaster, and a 17th century AD Namakdan, a decagonal building with vaulted balconies, overlooking the Timurid garden.
It is described as “the most beautiful example in colour in architecture ever devised by man to the glory of his God and himself” and was dynamited by the British Indian Army in 1885 to prevent their use as a fortress if the Russian army tried to invade. The tomb and minarets are still standing.
Today comprises a mosque, the mausoleum of Gawharshad, five minarets and the remains of the madrasa of Hussein Baiqara. Although damaged during fighting in the early 1990s, the mausoleum of Gawharshad retains its ribbed tiled dome, which is set above a high drum covered in tiled decoration, both with Koranic inscriptions and abstract patterns. The interior of the structure, where the tombstones of the Queen, her son Baisunghur and other members of the family survive, has important painted and stucco ornamentation. Only one minaret, which is badly damaged and is being stabilized, remains of the entrance to a madrasa complex that was associated with the musalla, which had a total of four minarets, and represents the zenith of Timurid architectural achievement.
The Masjid-e Jami dates from an original 10th-century AD Ghorid mosque, which has been extended and renovated through the ages. A unique Ghorid portal with tiled calligraphic and geometric decoration survives south of the existing main entrance of the mosque, which follows a typical four-iwan pattern, with a huge central courtyard. Fragments of both Timurid and Ghorid decorative work survive in the main iwan of the complex, but these are now under threat from ill-conceived “improvements”, as it the traditional earth-plastered roof, that has been recently replaced with a cement finish.
Herat bazaar
Soviet Tank Monument

Day 8 Thur June 6
Herat to Minaret of Jam
MINARET AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS OF JAM World Heritage Site. The 65m-tall Minaret of Jam is a graceful, soaring structure, dating back to the 12th century. Covered in elaborate brickwork with a blue tile inscription at the top, it is noteworthy for the quality of its architecture and decoration, which represent the culmination of an architectural and artistic tradition in this region. Its impact is heightened by its dramatic setting, a deep river valley between towering mountains in the heart of the Ghur province.

At 1,900 m above sea level and far from any town, the Minaret of Jam rises within a rugged valley along the Hari-rud River at its junction with the river Jam around 215 km east of Herat. Rising to 65m from a 9m diameter octagonal base, its four superimposed, tapering cylindrical shafts are constructed from fired bricks. The Minaret is completely covered with geometric decoration in relief enhanced with a Kufic inscription in turquoise tiles. Built-in 1194 by the great Ghurid Sultan Ghiyas-od-din (1153-1203), its emplacement probably marks the site of the ancient city of Firuzkuh, believed to have been the summer capital of the Ghurid dynasty. The Ghurids controlled Afghanistan, eastern Iran, Central Asia, northern India and parts of Pakistan. It is a victory tower declaring the power of Islam.
Surrounding remains include a group of stones with Hebrew inscriptions from the 11th to 12th centuries on the Kushkak hill, and vestiges of castles and towers of the Ghurid settlements on the banks of the Hari River as well as to the east of the Minaret.
ON near minaret.

Day 9 Fri June 7 Return to Herat.
ON Herat. Amiri Hotel – new, good 2,000 Af / night. T+93 79 256 1515; Bustan Hotel; Esteqlal Hotel; Tejarat: 3500 afs/night
Guide Herat: Ehsan Rahmatian (WhatsApp +93796626164) – speaks English and Persia

Day 10 Sat June 8
Flight. Herat to Kabul
Drive to Bamiyan

CENTRAL AFGHANISTAN (Bamiyan, Sari Pol, Ghor, Dai Kundy, Uruzgan, Wardak)
Bamiyan ethnic Hazara heartland and one of the most peaceful and progressive parts of the country. Enclosed between the high mountains of the Hindu Kush in the central highlands of Afghanistan, the Bamiyan Valley opens out into a large basin bordered to the north by a long, high stretch of rocky cliffs.
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE and ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS of the BAMIYAN VALLEY  World Heritage Site. From the 1st to the 13th centuries, the Gandhara school of Buddhist art developed in ancient Bakhtria with Indian, Hellenistic, Roman, Sasanian and Islamic influences. Carved into the Bamiyan Cliffs are the two niches of the giant Buddha statues (55m and 38m high) tragically destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, and numerous caves forming a large ensemble of Buddhist monasteries, chapels and sanctuaries along the foothills of the valley dating from the 3rd to the 5th century C.E. In several of the caves and niches, often linked by galleries, there are remains of wall paintings and seated Buddha figures. The caves of Qoul-i Akram and Lalai Ghami also contains decorative features.
Kakrak Valley Caves, some 3km south-east of the Bamiyan Cliffs among the more than one hundred caves dating from the 6th to 13th centuries are fragments of a 10m tall standing Buddha figure and a sanctuary with painted decorations from the Sasanian period..
Fortified edifices from the Islamic period also exist along the Fuladi valley around 2km southwest of the Bamiyan Cliffs are Shahr-i Ghulghulah in the centre of the valley basin to the south of the great cliff are the remains of this fortress. Dating from the 6th to 10th centuries CE, this marks the original settlement of Bamiyan as a stopping place on the branch of the Silk Route, which linked China and India via ancient Bactria.
Further to the east along the Bamiyan Valley are the remains of fortification walls and settlements, dating from the 6th to 8th centuries at Qallai Kaphari A and B
Further east still (around 15km east of the Bamiyan Cliffs) at Shahr-i Zuhak, where the earlier remains are overlaid by developments of the 10th to 13th centuries under the rule of the Islamic Ghaznavid and Ghorid dynasties.
City of Screams – 13^th century conquered by Genghis Khan after months of resistance.
Darre Ajdaha Dragon Valley. Bamyan bazaar.
ON Bamyan Noor Band Qala hotel. Decent. 1,500 Af/night (across the river 5-minute walk from the bus station
Highland Hotel 900 Af/night

Day 11 Sun June 8
See Bamiyan Niches and go to:
Band-E-Amir National Park. Tentative WHS: (08/09/2004). It is the first national park of Afghanistan. It is a stunning group of five turquoise lakes separated by natural dams made of travertine. You can walk around the lakes, hike up to several viewpoints, boat, and shisha lounges.
They are high in the Hindu Kush at an altitude of 2900m, and about 6,000 local tourists visit the site each year. Very remote and desolate, they are most easily visited from Bamiyan.
Get there. Shared minivans leave in the high season on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning and cost 150 Af. Otherwise, take a minivan towards Yakawlang (200 Af) and get off at the turn-off to the lakes. From there it’s a 3-hour hot walk… bring some water.
Private hire minivans are also available (3 hours) and should cost 2000-2500 Af, but you will have to bargain very hard for this price. You could also negotiate an overnight stay into the price for a little extra. he scenery is stunning.
See. All services at the lakes close up around mid-November and reopen around March. Walking is pretty much the only way to get around the area once you arrive
If staying overnight, try to be up on the road at the top of Band-e Haibat at sunrise (in October the ideal time was 06:00) for some great views and, if the water is calm, some gorgeous reflections of the surrounding mountains in the lake. A trail from behind Hotel de Reves leads up the hill, and a 20-minute walk brings you to some stunning views of 2 more of the lakes.
The small mosque-like tomb of Amir looks over Band-e Haibat, and unfortunately, there are 5 tacky swans, peddle boats available for rent here… a good opportunity to ruin the beautiful reflections in the lake.
Behind the tomb of Amir is a women’s beach, with a hut built half into the water, allowing women to enjoy a bath in the lake covered by curious views. Taking a bath in the lake is said to cure diseases (though a lot of rubbish in and around the lake may lead one to fear the opposite).
Hotel de Reves (dream hotel). ambitiously named, has 3 very basic dirty rooms. A more private room is also just mats on the floor, most people prefer the much warmer main room at Dir.
Land mines used to be prevalent around this area, especially along the road that leads in from Bamiyan. Most have been cleared, but to be safe anyway, stick to well-worn paths, and don’t stray more than a couple of feet from the main access road.
ON Band-e-mir
Guide Mazar/Bamiyan: Obaid Ullah Salar (WhatsApp +93778426816) – speaks English, Pashto and Persian

Day 12 Mon June 9
Return to Kabul. See what was missed.
ON Kyber Hotel

From Herat, I had the option of driving to Kandahar. Drive south through the western desert, a Pashtun belt, through Nimroz and Farah provinces. Completely paved. See nomadic Kuchi settlements. 7-8 hours. The next day would be the drive from Kandahar to Kabul but it is an awful road. I decided to skip this part of the country. 

SOUTH – PASHTUN HEARTLANDS
KANDAHAR  (pop 615,000, elevation 3,310′). Located in the south on the Arghandab River, it is Afghanistan’s second-largest city after Kabul. In 1709, Mirwais Hotak made the region an independent kingdom and turned Kandahar into the capital of the Hotak dynasty. In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the Durrani dynasty, made Kandahar the capital of the Afghan Empire.
Kandahar is one of the most culturally significant cities of the Pashtuns and has been their traditional seat of power for more than 300 years. It is a major trading centre for sheep, wool, cotton, silk, felt, food grains, fresh and dried fruit, and tobacco. The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruit, and is a major source of marijuana and hashish.
The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements. A major fortified city existed at the site of Kandahar, probably as early as c. 1000–750 BC, and it became an important outpost of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire in the 6th century BC. Alexander the Great had laid out the foundation of what is now Old Kandahar in the 4th century BC and gave it the Ancient Greek name (Alexandria of Arachosia). Many empires have long fought over the city due to its strategic location along the trade routes of southern, central and western Asia.
Second largest city. Cultural home of Pashtun and Taliban movement.
Kandahar Airport (KDH)
Kandahar Museum. Rarely seen art, Shrine of Baba Durrani, Sarphosa Bazar, Mosque of the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammad. Cloak worn by him on his famous night journey. Locked away since 1996.
Kandahar bazaar
Red Mosque
Tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani and Friday Mosque. The founder of modern Afghanistan (these two are sacred representing the power of Islam / Pashtun and Afghanistan.
Fly Kandahar / Kabul.
If you drive, pass through Zabol, Ghazni, and Maidan Wardak provinces. Ghazni great city with fort and 1000-year-old towers

SAFETY
The Taliban are calm and friendly with foreigners, but they do not like the West, even Canada. Safe but are terrorizing people and causing serious issues in an otherwise peaceful country. Taliban are very reserved when interacting with women. Taliban seem to make up the rules as they go – so you may run into the wrong guy.
The Taliban feel hate and lack of respect for women. Leave your political opinions at home. Hard if not impossible to go from province to province without a local.
The evolution of risk and security is following a very similar pattern as the one that was in place before the Taliban took over. There are numerous foreigners in detention at one time. Cities: relatively safe. Countryside: relatively unsafe.
Southern Afghanistan – being a Taliban stronghold it was unsafe before but relatively safe now (e.g. Helmand) and is the safest area in the country right now. Totally reversed compared to 2 years ago and the only major change. The south is problematic for other reasons (Taliban-mafia-type issues) so you can easily get detained for a while and held without reason. The remote mountain areas of Nangarhar is where IS-K is known to operate.
Eastern Afghanistan: Was not ok (Jalalabad itself is fine but Kunar and Nangarhar provinces are where ISIS was the most active. In early 2024, ISIS has been well controlled and most have left the country.
North Afghanistan: it depends The Hazarajat is fine, as is most of the north and west.
Dress code: Men: local outfit is required (kameez). Women: abaya and hijab

GET IN
Immigration on arrival in Kabul: Fill in an arrival card and need a single passport photo.
Departure out of Kabul – traffic in Kabul is terrible so start your journey to the airport in good time. 4-5 baggage scans and 2 temperature checks.
Flights. From Islamabad on KAM air and out to Dubai on KAM air. 300 US$ each way.

GET AROUND
If you take local transport, they check the papers of everyone on board.
Planes. Daily flights from Herat, Kandahar and Mazar to Kabul with Kam Air and Ariana. Price doesn’t vary based on demand or time of booking, and tickets rarely seem to sell out. Book through tourist agencies.
Shared taxis (faster but more likely to get stopped at checkpoints)
Buses. If doing everything by road, the infrastructure is so bad (potholes; traffic, roadblocks, checkpoints, more potholes), and flights reasonably cheap, that flying domestically is often best. The bus from Herat to Kandahar takes almost nine hours; Mazar to Herat by road takes almost 24 hours due to bad roads. The Northwestern Ring highway, in particular, is very bad. It is very uncomfortable, and you arrive at your destination tired. You have less time to see things.
Use taxis and private car hire for Mazar. In Herat everything is walkable.

Money. No issues changing US$/EUR in the cities. Prefer new 100 US$ bills, but 50 US$ bills are OK, but the rate changes. Struggle with smaller denominations. Credit cards don’t work.
Costs. Depends on if using local flights or share taxis and buses. As little as 80 US$/day to 400US$/day with Untamed Borders.
Accommodation. Price and quality of hotels vary a lot, and the two aren’t necessarily correlated. A lot of hotels mentioned online are also impossible to find on Google Maps, don’t have contact details listed and/or have shut down.
Couchsurfing works well to find locals, check people’s references, many locals use Couchsurfing as a way to get themselves known not as a place to stay.
Food. Good in Kabul and Mazar. chicken kebab, vegetarian dishes. Coffee is hard to find so bring a jar of instant. On long drives, food is not always available to buy on the side of the road.
Juma (Friday). All governmental offices close. Plan your registration on a Wednesday in case something goes wrong as they close at 12 on Thursdays.
Cameras. No Cameras at the two main blue shrines in Kabul and Mazar. The Taliban hold cameras. Use a tiny camera so as not to attract attention, for example, a Fuji x100v.

GUIDES
1. Local Guides. To focus on food, photography, and conversations with locals, go with a different guide for every city – get expert knowledge of each place from someone who lives there and knows their city/province well. Save on costs because the guides do not need to fly around the country with you, and don’t need to pay for their accommodation. Not stuck with a horrible guide for the duration of your stay. A lot more interesting, since you forge a connection and money goes directly to the guide. Many guides are paid very little by tour companies or middlemen even if they are the ones doing all the work.
When planning your trip, speak to the guides directly. Get references. Speak to other travellers. Many people are scammed. Local guides will completely understand what you want, make everything easier, and become friends.
Travelling independently without a guide is not recommended – TLB checkpoints are everywhere, and absolutely no way you can communicate with the soldiers. Throughout the country, you will struggle to find anyone who speaks English. Hire a guide. This is a very poor country, and that money can go a long way for them, and you will have a more enriching experience. Some trips are best experienced with locals, and this is one of them.
The standard rate is US$50-75 per day plus you pay for their meals and transport and accommodation and flights (if you’re spending the night outside of their home base).
Mazar/Bamiyan: Obaid Ullah Salar (WhatsApp +93778426816) – speaks English, Pashto and Persian
Helmand/Kandahar: Ehsan Khan (WhatsApp +93706950059) – speaks English, Pashto and Urdu
Herat: Ehsan Rahmatian (WhatsApp +93796626164) – speaks English and Persian

2.. Kausar Hussain had excellent recommendations but his reputation has become tarnished. WA: +923176852226). Nawruz Q may do the guiding (WA: +93795541855).
3. Mzungu Expeditions and Safi Usmani to visit Wakhan. Safi lives in Ishkashim.
4. Sardar Samim from Let’s Be Friends Afghanistan. Good recommendations.
$2375 each, including all internal flights, hotels, and most meals.
5. Untamed Borders (Note; to be discouraged as they use a “middle man” that charges astronomical amounts – and then they quote $2,800-$4,200 for 10 days! Many of these guides are “owned” by those who don’t speak fluent Pashto and are themselves afraid of interacting with the Taliban. They may be unfamiliar with certain areas, especially Kandahar and Helmand. A photographer was charged over $4k and was then told after arriving he would only be allowed to use his phone to take photos.
a. Afghanistan In 9 Days $2800
A 9-day trip to the highlights of Afghanistan. Starting and finishing in Kabul this trip includes:
Bamian in the Central Highlands of Afghanistan, home of the remains of the destroyed Buddha niches and the lakes of Band e Amir.
North – the ancient city of Balkh and the new city of Mazar e Sharif with its impressive and photogenic blue shrine of Hazrat Ali – Witness the pilgrims at the shrine
Winter – try to watch Buzkashi, the Afghan sport played on horseback with a dead goat as a ball.
Cross Salang Sass back to Kabul. A great introduction to the country.
Start Point: Islamabad, Pakistan. End Point:  Kabul. Maximum number of people: 10
b. Afghanistan Central Route. $4500
An immersive exploration of Central and Southern Afghanistan. This 2000km road trip gives the visitor an insight into both the rural life of the Central highlands of Afghanistan and the rarely visited Pashtun heartlands of the south of the country.
Start in Kabul before taking the bone-jarring Central route to Herat. En route stop at Bamian to see the remains of the Buddhas, the lakes of Band e Amir and camp under the iconic Minaret of Jam. Pause in Herat, the most architecturally complete city in Afghanistan. Then we follow the southern road to explore the Pashtun heartlands of Ghazni, Kandahar and Helmand – stopping at the ancient city of Bost in Helmand, the ancient Afghan capital of Kandahar and the great city of Ghazni with its fort and 1000-year-old towers.
The majority of these regions have been impossible to visit for two decades due to security concerns.

INFORMATION
1. Emma Witters spent 2 months in total in Afghanistan on 3 separate trips from August to November 2022 and is now not sure how comfortable she would feel walking around Kabul alone as she did then. https://youtube.com/playlist…
2. https://www.afintl.com/en/202303072339
3. https://www.palladiummag.com/…/the-west-lives-on-in…/
The West Lives On in the Taliban’s Afghanistan
4. Arabnews.com https://www.arabnews.com/node/2265201/amp.
5. FB groups:

Experiences
Experience Buzkashi is a Central Asian sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. Similar games are known as kokpar, kupkari, and ulak tartysh in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and as kökbörü and gökbörü in Turkey, where it is played mainly by communities originally from Central Asia.
Jeshyn-Afghan Day, Afghanistan’s Independence Day is not a typical commemoration of freedom from a colonial power. Instead, this day is celebrated every year on August 19 to observe the Treaty of Rawalpindi which was signed in 1919 between Britain and Afghanistan. The treaty restored complete sovereignty to the country. The presidential address to the nation, the military parade, and a display of the country’s national costumes are some of the activities that mark the celebrations of Independence Day.
Play/hear rubab is a lute-like musical instrument originating from Afghanistan and a national musical instrument inhabited by the Pashtun and Baloch people. It proliferated throughout West, Central, South and Southeast Asia. It derives its name from the Arabicrebab ‘played with a bow’; in Central Asia, however, the instrument is plucked and is distinctly different in construction.

OTHER DESTINATIONS
NORTHEAST (Kabul, Nuristan, Badakhshan, Takhar, Parwan)
Wakhan Corridor Wakhan National Park, one of Afghanistan’s most isolated areas with soaring mountains and unique cultures, is the country’s second national park. It is spectacular especially the Kyrgyz people high in the mountains a highlight. 4×4 drive all the way to Lake Chaqmatin. The guide recommended is the ‘super pro’ for the Wakhan, Malang Darya from ‘Big and Little Parmir Travel’ (+93 79 476 6067). He is the first Afghan to climb the country’s highest mountain, he is hugely loved and respected in the area and travelling with him with no doubt opened doors. Bring all the cash you need as ATMs are rare. An absolute minimum is 8 days otherwise just drive back and forth and for acclimatization. If you need ‘basic comforts’, this may not be the right destination, for adventurers heaven on earth. The weather was perfect bright blue skies in the daytime, a bit of light snowfall here& there, and nights cool but not uncomfortably cold. we drove with
Panjshir Valley. XL. A beautiful trekking area, leading to the famous Anjuman Pass.
Tora Bora XL
Mes Aynak. (Vestiges of the Past). 40 km southeast of Kabul, this is Afghanistan’s largest copper deposit, plus an ancient settlement with over 400 Buddha statues, stupas and a 100-acre monastery complex. An older 5,000-year-old Bronze Age site beneath the Buddhist level includes an ancient copper smelter. The Silk Road yields a mixture of China and India. Afghanistan’s eagerness to unearth the copper below the site is leading to the site’s destruction
Surkh Kotal. (Vestiges of the Past). This ancient archaeological site about 18 km north of the city of Puli Khumri was built during the rule of the Kushans. Huge temples, statues of Kushan rulers and the Surkh Kotal and Rabatak inscriptions. Most were completely looted during the Afghan Civil War and artifacts are currently on display in the Afghan National Museum.
Tepe Narenj is the archaeological site for the remains of a 5th or 6th-century Buddhist monastery south of Kabul. The Buddhist monk Xuanzang visited the monastery while returning from India in the 7th century. Muslim armies destroyed the monastery in the ninth century and was forgotten until post-conflict excavations following the Soviet–Afghan War. Foundations for the site were discovered. The site lies along a hill and is 250 meters long. It is located south of Lake Koul-e Heshmatkhan and was discovered beneath a modern police station. The monastery consists of five small stupas for meditation and five chapels.

OTHER DESTINATIONS
Shahr-i-Zuhak. Vestiges of the Past. (Zuhak City or the Red City), is a historic city ruin (foundations dating back to the 6th century) in Bamyan which was once home to 3,000 people. This city used to be a primary defence for the basin. The citadel was destroyed by Genghis Khan. Built by the Ghorids, they stand on f. Genghis Khan’s grandson was killed here, bringing down his murderous fury on the whole Bamiyan valley as a result.
The imposing ruins guard the entrance to the Bamiyan valley, perched high on the cliffs at the confluence of the Bamiyan and Kalu rivers. The towers of the citadel are some of the most dramatic in Afghanistan. Made of mud-brick on stone foundations, they wrap around the side of the cliff, with geometric patterns built into their crenellations for decoration. The towers had no doors but were accessed by ladders that the defenders pulled up behind them. Passing the towers, a path leads up through a rock tunnel and the main gateway of the fortress, before switching back up the hill, past ruined barracks and storerooms. A rusting anti-aircraft gun and abandoned soldier’s post-market the summit. The views over the confluence of the two rivers are awesome, with their thin strips of cultivated green providing a stark contrast to the dry pink and tan of the mountains. The location’s strategic value is immediately apparent, and the heights are seemingly impregnable to all except Genghis.
Shahr-e Zohak is around 9km from Bamiyan. To get there take any westbound transport out of Bamiyan. As the confluence of the Bamiyan and Kalu rivers is where the roads from the Shibar and Hajigak Passes meet, any transport should be able to drop you there. Ask to be let out at Tupchi village (Afg40, 25 minutes) or the checkpoint at Shashpul half a kilometre after it, which is next to the confluence. The soldiers here will check you have a ticket from the Director of Information and Culture in Bamiyan. From here, walk about 1km following the Kalu, until you can see a simple wood-and-earth bridge, roughly level with the last of the citadel’s towers (if your vehicle is going in the Hajigak Pass direction – the nearest villages to ask for are Dahane Khushkak, Paymuri or Sawzaw – you can be dropped at this point). A short walk along the edge of a field brings you to a pass leading up to the towers.
Qarah Khaval: Bande Pitaw Wildlife Refuge
Bamyan province south ‘panhandle’ (Waras). M@P
Hazaras. Indigenous Peoples. Possibly of Mongol descent living primarily in mountainous central Afghanistan, with smaller numbers in neighbouring Iran and Pakistan. The exact number of Ḥazāra is unknown—estimates vary wildly—but likely exceeds several million.
Western Ḥazāra inhabits the northern foothills of the Sefīd Kūh (Paropamisus) Mountains and a group on the border of Iran—known as Ḥazāra in Iran and as Taimuri, or Timuri, in Afghanistan. The Western Ḥazāra are Sunni Muslims and speak dialects of Persian. Many of them were still nomadic or seminomadic in the late 20th century. Some spend their summers in felt-covered conical tents.
Eastern Ḥazāra, inhabit Hazārajāt with communities in Iran and Baluchistan (Pakistan). Although Ḥazārajāt is located in the heart of the country, its high mountains and poor communication facilities make it the most isolated part of Afghanistan.
They speak an eastern variety of Persian called Hazaragi with many Mongolian and Turkic words. Most of them are Shiʿi Muslims of the Twelver faith. They live in fortified villages of flat-roofed houses of stone or mud built wall-to-wall around a central courtyard, overlooking the narrow valleys in which they cultivate rotating crops of barley, wheat, and legumes as well as various fruits and cucumbers. The vast treeless mountains that dominate the landscape are used chiefly for pasturing sheep.
The Ḥazāra were largely autonomous until the 1890s when they were forcefully and brutally integrated into the Afghan state by the armies of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Khān. Since then they have faced significant marginalization, persecution, and displacement.
Because of the scarcity of land, however, many have migrated to other parts of the country.
The music of the Ḥazāras includes vocal effects produced by striking the throat while singing, causing a break in the sound, and Balochi music also features a broken-voice style.…

SOUTHEAST AFGHANISTAN (Kandahar, Helmand, Nimruz, Ghazni, Zabul, Khost)
Museum of Islamic Art, Ghazni.
Khost Mosque, Khost.