Afghan Guide

Travel12 Mizan 14052 min read

Kabul in 3, 5 or 7 days

Gardens built for an emperor, the bird market in the old city, a lake where Kabul spends its Fridays and a potters' village in the hills: Kabul a day at a time, with what each day costs. Choose how long you have.

The route

  1. Kabul2 days
  2. Paghman1 day

Day-to-day spending, before hotels~9,000 AFN (140 USD)

Colourful bird cages in Kabul's bird market Photo: Mohammad Husaini
Day 1 · KabulThe old city and the riverBazaars, mosques and songbirds along the Kabul River.
4places
no traveltravel today
~1,500rough cost (AFN)(23 USD)
  1. Morning Pul-e Khishti mosque and Ka Faroshi

    Start at the big mosque by the river; behind it are the lanes of the bird sellers, with painted cages of partridges and nightingales. Friday morning is the busiest.

  2. Morning Shah-Do Shamshira mosque

    A yellow two-storey mosque with European-style windows on the river bank. See it from outside, and not at prayer time.

  3. Afternoon Mandawi bazaar and Sarai Shahzada

    Mandawi is all dried fruit, spices and rice. In Sarai Shahzada, the money market, the money changers set the dollar rate for the whole country.

  4. Evening Chainaki by the bird market

    Lamb, split peas and onion cooked slowly in clay teapots, with bread and green tea. It sells out by mid-afternoon, so go early.

Eat Chainaki in the old city; at night, kebab on Sulh Road in Shahr-e Naw.

Sleep Kabul: guest houses from 800 to 2,000 afghanis, mid-range hotels from 3,000.

The marble arches of Babur's Garden in Kabul Photo: Ninaras · CC BY 4.0
Day 2 · KabulBabur's Garden, the museum and Darul AmanAn emperor's garden, Afghanistan's treasures and a palace rebuilt.
4places
no traveltravel today
~3,000rough cost (AFN)(46 USD)
  1. Morning Babur's Garden350 AFN

    The Mughal emperor's terraced garden, with a view over the city. Babur's own tomb was padlocked in 2026.

  2. Afternoon The National Museum100 AFN

    Buddhist sculpture, the Begram ivories and the story of Afghanistan in objects. Photos, even with a phone, cost 200 afghanis extra.

  3. Afternoon Darul Aman Palace500 AFN

    The 1920s palace at the end of the long avenue, restored. You usually go in with a local guide.

  4. Evening Bibi Mahru hill

    Sunset over Kabul. Do not photograph the embassies or guards below.

Eat Lunch near Darul Aman; at night, Kabuli palaw at Bukhara or Andkhoy Bastan.

Qargha lake at sunset Photo: Jawid Rezaie · CC BY-SA 4.0
Day 3 · PaghmanQargha and PaghmanThe lake and the valley where Kabul goes on Fridays.
3places
40 mintravel today
~4,500rough cost (AFN)(69 USD)

By road: West of Kabul by hired car with a driver.

  1. Morning Qargha lake

    A reservoir under the mountains, with boats and tea by the water. Free to enter.

  2. Afternoon Paghman gardens and the Arch of Victory500 AFN

    The palace gardens and the 1920s triumphal arch. The palace building itself is closed.

  3. Evening Rosh at Hamesha Bahar

    By the Paghman river: rosh, a stew of lamb and potato.

Eat Kebab and karahi in the tents at Qargha; rosh in Paghman.

Before you go

Permits

Foreign visitors need a travel permit naming every province they visit, Kabul included. Since September 2025 it is issued by Afghan Tour, the state tourism office on Shash Darak Road, Saturday to Wednesday until about 3 or 4 in the afternoon and Thursday until 1. It is reported at 1,000 afghanis a province. Istalif, Qargha and Paghman are covered by the Kabul permit; add Parwan and Panjshir for day 6.

Safety

Every Western government advises against travel to Afghanistan in 2026. Read the safety advice before you decide, go with a local guide, keep to daylight, and never photograph checkpoints, soldiers, officials or government buildings. Panjshir and the Salang have seen fighting as recently as August 2026: ask your guide the week you go.

Women

Afghan women are kept out of most parks, gardens and shrines; foreign women have been let into Babur's Garden, the museum and Bibi Mahru hill, but rules change: the Sakhi shrine has been closed to women since December 2025, and in June 2026 women visitors were turned back from Panjshir. Restaurants seat women and families apart.

Money

  • Car with a driver: about 2,000 to 4,000 afghanis a day; a guide about US$30 to 50.
  • Taxis in the city: 100 to 200 afghanis; from the airport 300 to 500.
  • Bring clean US dollars and change them at a sarraf: see today's rate.

The daily costs above are for entry fees, food and transport, not the hotel. Power and water in hotels can be cut for hours.

When to go

April to June and September to November. See Kabul's weather, the flights and the visa you need.

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