Afghanistan in winter

Day 2 – Full day in Kabul

• In the morning, we will head to Old Kabul, where we will spend the morning walking slowly through all the different bazaars, including the worldwide famous bird market, a photogenic bazaar where they sell different types of birds as pets, one of the top tourist attractions in Kabul.
• After a hearty meal, we will travel west of Kabul to visit Sakhi Shrine, a mini version of the Blue Mosque in Mazar and also one of the most stunning mosques in Afghanistan.
• Our day will be finished in Bibi Mahro Hills, the highest point in all of Kabul, from where you get a 360º view of the city, and whose center features the tallest flag pole in the country, today this flag being a massive Taliban flag.
• This place is always busy with locals for sunset, so it will be a great chance to interact with them too.
• Overnight in Kabul.

Day 3 – Mazar-e-Sharif

• In the morning, we will catch a flight to Mazar-e-Sharif, a northern city close to the Uzbekistan border, so here you will find a large population of Uzbeks.
• From the airport, we will drive straight to Balkh, an ancient city once the center of Buddhism, Sufism, and Zoroastrianism. Among other landmarks, we will visit Bala Hisar – the ancient citadel built by Alexander the Great when he destroyed the Kurush (Persian empire) – and Parsa Mosque.
• Then, we will head back to Mazar to spend the entire afternoon in the Blue Mosque, one of the highlights in all Afghanistan, a huge shrine composed of mind-blowing turquoise patterns that comes to life with the thousands of worshippers that visit it every single day. It’s not a place to rush, so we will take our time there.
• Overnight in Mazar-e-Sharif

Day 4 – Drive to Bamyan

• This is an exciting day, for two different reasons.
• On the one hand, few travelers have done this journey by road, since the area between both destinations used to be extremely dangerous before the Taliban took over, but no longer.
• On the other hand, we will drive through the Hindu Kush range, witnessing amazing landscapes and passing through 5 different provinces: Bamyan, Parwan, Bghlan, Samangan and Balkh.
• We will arrive in Bamyan in the evening.
• Overnight in Bamyan.

Day 5 – Full day in Bamyan

• Bamyan, the heartland of Hazara people, and the only sort of tourist-friendly place in all Afghanistan.
• It’s located at the heart of the Hindu Kush, in a stunningly beautiful area surrounded by mountains and lush, green fields, but also a region rich in ancient history.
• The journey by road takes around 3.5 hours but for the most part, it’s a truly scenic enjoyable drive. After checking in the hotel, we will have lunch and then we will pay a visit to the giant Buddhas that were carved from the rocks back in the 6th century, but unfortunately destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
• The big Buddha-shaped holes they left behind are impressive though, and the views from the top even more.
• We will finish the day on top of Shahr-e Gholghola, an ancient fortress from where you get jaw-dropping views of all Bamyan and surrounding mountains.
• Overnight in Bamyan.

Day 6 – Band-e-Ameer National Park

• Band-e-Ameer is a UNESCO World Heritage and also the only National Park in all Afghanistan, a set of deep-blue lakes that are absolutely jaw-dropping.
• Overnight in Bamyan.

Day 7 – Bamyan to Ghazni

• The drive to Ghazni from Bamyan will go through an actual off the beaten path region in Afghanistan, passing by isolated villages in the middle of the desert.
• The drive will take 4 hours.
• Upon arrival in Ghazni, we will have lunch, and then we will visit the Ghaznavid minarets, two masterpieces of Islamic engineering from the 12th century.
• Overnight in Ghazni.

Day 8 – Drive to Kandahar

• At 7:30am, we’ll start driving towards Kandahar through some of the most isolated cities in Afghanistan.
• We will stop in an area filled with destroyed American artillery, including tanks.
• Overnight in Kandahar.

Day 9 – Kandahar

• Kandahar is the heartland for the Pashtun people.
• Long-bearded men and women in burqa, but also dust, utterly hot summers, and an insane level of military security.
• Kandahar is like the Afghanistan we have been watching on TV, but it’s also rich in history, since it was actually founded by Alexander the Great himself in the 4th century BC.
• The city, however, is also infamous for being the place where the Taliban movement was founded, and the actual Taliban capital when they ruled the country from 1996 to 2001.
• We will visit the remains of the city founded by Alexander the Great but our visit will also have a big focus on the Taliban history, and that will include the mosque where Mullah Omar and Osama Bin Laden used to pray, as well as a Taliban school.
• Overnight in Kandahar.

Day 10 – Fly to Kabul

• We will catch the morning flight from Kandahar to Kabul.
• We will check in at the hotel and after lunch, we’ll visit all the places we missed on day 2 of the tour.
• Overnight in Kabul.

Day 11 – Kabul and departure

• In the morning, we’ll head to Chicken Street, the only place in Kabul where you can find actual souvenirs, ranging from fridge magnets to coffee mugs and the carpet bazaar.
• Airport transfers will be arranged accordingly.