Where to go and what to do

When to go

Best: April to June and September to November.
Summer is pleasant in Kabul and Bamyan but very hot in Herat, Kandahar and Mazar-i-Sharif.
Winter closes the high roads, and Band-e-Amir partly freezes.
The Wakhan is open only from June to September.

Kabul

Babur's Garden: the Mughal emperor Babur's terraced garden and tomb. About 350 afghanis, daily 8:00 to 16:00. Afghan women are restricted; foreign women have been allowed in.
The National Museum: 100 afghanis, plus 200 to take photographs. Saturday to Thursday from 8:00; Thursday mornings only.
Darul Aman Palace: the restored 1920s palace at the end of the long avenue. About 500 afghanis, with a local guide.
The OMAR mine museum: the history of landmines in Afghanistan, and of clearing them. About 500 afghanis.
Ka Faroshi, the bird market in the old city, and a pot of chainaki nearby. See Kabul's restaurants.
Bibi Mahru hill for a view over the city.
Qargha and Paghman, the lake and the valley where Kabul goes on Fridays. Access for women has been restricted at times.

The National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul — The National Museum of Afghanistan

Bamyan

Four to five hours west of Kabul by road, at 2,500 metres. One ticket, reported at 300 to 500 afghanis, covers the niches of the Buddhas destroyed in 2001, Shahr-e Gholghola, the "city of screams", and Shahr-e Zohak, the red city. In May 2024 gunmen killed three Spanish tourists and three Afghans here.

A Buddha niche in the snowy cliffs of Bamyan — A Buddha niche in the cliffs

Band-e-Amir, Afghanistan's first national park, is an hour and a half further: a chain of deep-blue lakes behind natural dams of white travertine. Entry is reported at about 500 afghanis. Afghan women have been barred since August 2023; ask whether foreign women are being admitted before you go.

The blue water of Band-e-Amir between its cliffs — Band-e-Amir

Herat

The Great Mosque, covered in blue tilework, which non-Muslims can visit outside prayer times; the citadel of Qala-e Ikhtiyaruddin above the old city; and the Musalla minarets, free to see. Herat is also the home of Afghan saffron. Tour groups visited in 2026, including thirty Malaysian tourists in September.

Mazar-i-Sharif

The Blue Mosque, the shrine of Hazrat Ali, with its white pigeons: about 350 afghanis to enter the grounds; non-Muslims may not go inside. In winter and early spring, look for buzkashi, the horseback game played with a goat's carcass; a visitor paid 30 afghanis to watch a match in 2025.

Panjshir and the Salang

A green river valley about two hours north of Kabul, best from spring to autumn, with mulberries in summer. You need local permission as well as the Kabul permit, and there are several checkpoints on the way in. The road north to Mazar crosses the Salang Pass, at over 3,000 metres.

Far places

The Minaret of Jam, a 12th-century tower in a remote gorge in Ghor: a 4x4 and at least three days, best in September and October. Floods in 2024 damaged bridges on the way.
The Wakhan, the narrow valley between Tajikistan and Pakistan: June to September only, reached through Faizabad, with extra permits in Ishkashim. Treks take two weeks or more.

The Minaret of Jam in its gorge in Ghor — The Minaret of Jam

Eat

Kabuli palaw, mantu, chapli kebab in Jalalabad, saffron ice cream in Herat, pomegranates in Kandahar. Start with fourteen Afghan dishes everyone should know and famous food across Afghanistan.