Find places in Afghanistan

Must-Haves

• Babur's Gardens (Bagh-e Babur) (Deh Mazang)
  The terraced Mughal garden where Emperor Babur is buried, with plane trees and valley views.

Fun for Everyone

• Koh-e Asamai (TV Hill) (Central Kabul)
  The hill where kites fly on Fridays and the whole city spreads out below.
• Qargha Reservoir (Qargha)
  A lake in the hills west of the city where Kabul families spend their Fridays.
• Paghman Gardens (Paghman)
  Orchards and gardens in the cool foothills, with King Amanullah's triumphal arch.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Shahr-e Naw Park (Shahr-e Naw)
  A central park where men gather to talk, play and drink tea.

Must-Haves

• National Museum of Afghanistan (Darul Aman)
  Buddhist sculpture, Islamic metalwork and treasures that survived decades of war.
• Murad Khani old city (Murad Khani)
  Restored traditional houses with carved wooden screens in Kabul's old quarter.

Off the Beaten Path

• Turquoise Mountain (Murad Khani) (Murad Khani)
  Workshops where woodworkers, calligraphers and jewellers keep Afghan crafts alive.
• Ziarat-e Sakhi (Karte Sakhi)
  A revered shrine on the hillside, busy with pilgrims and families.

Must-Haves

• Darul Aman Palace (Darul Aman)
  King Amanullah's 1920s palace, restored after decades as a ruin.
• Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque (Old City)
  An unusual yellow mosque with a European style facade beside the Kabul River.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Pul-e Khishti Mosque (Old City)
  One of Kabul's largest mosques, at the heart of the old bazaar district.

Off the Beaten Path

• Bala Hissar (Bala Hissar)
  The ancient fortress on the hill above the old city, when access is allowed.
• Taq-e Zafar (Paghman)
  A triumphal arch built in the 1920s to mark Afghan independence.

Must-Haves

• Mandawi Market (Old City)
  A dense maze of spice sellers, dried fruit stalls and rice merchants.
• Chicken Street (Shahr-e Naw)
  The classic street for carpets, lapis lazuli, embroidery and antiques.

Off the Beaten Path

• Ka Faroshi Bird Market (Old City)
  A narrow lane of songbirds and fighting partridges, unchanged for generations.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Shor Bazaar (Old City)
  An old trading street of copper, cloth and household goods.

Fun for Everyone

• Kabul Flower Street (Gul Forushi) (Shahr-e Naw)
  Florists and wedding decorators in a colourful central lane.

Must-Haves

• Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul (Bagh-e Bala)
  The hilltop state owned hotel that has hosted visitors since 1969.

Must-Haves

• Friday Mosque of Herat (Masjid-e Jami) (Old City)
  One of the great tiled mosques of the Islamic world.
• Herat Citadel (Qala Ikhtiyaruddin) (Old City)
  A restored fortress over the old city with a small museum and wide views.
• Gazargah Shrine (Gazargah)
  The shrine of the Sufi poet Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, with a carved marble tomb.

Off the Beaten Path

• Pul-e Malan (Guzara)
  An old brick bridge across the Hari Rud, said to be centuries old.

Off the Beaten Path

• Friday Mosque tile workshop (Old City)
  Craftsmen making tile mosaic by hand to repair the mosque walls.
• Tomb of Jami (Herat)
  The resting place of the fifteenth century Persian poet Jami.
• Shahzadeh Abdullah Shrine (Herat)
  A small tiled Timurid shrine away from the crowds.

Must-Haves

• Musalla Minarets (Musalla)
  Leaning Timurid minarets, the remains of Queen Gawhar Shad's great complex.
• Gawhar Shad Mausoleum (Musalla)
  The ribbed dome tomb of the Timurid queen in a quiet garden.

Must-Haves

• Chahar Su Bazaar (Old City)
  Covered lanes around the old city crossroads, full of traders.

Fun for Everyone

• Takht-e Safar (Herat)
  A hillside park and terraced garden where Herati families picnic.

Must-Haves

• Blue Mosque (Shrine of Hazrat Ali) (City Centre)
  The blue tiled shrine and pigeon filled courtyard at the heart of the city.
• Bala Hisar of Balkh (Balkh)
  The vast earthen walls of the ancient mother of cities.

Off the Beaten Path

• Takht-e Rustam (Samangan)
  A Buddhist stupa carved down into solid rock with cave monasteries beside it.
• Friendship Bridge (Hairatan)
  The bridge over the Amu Darya to Uzbekistan, a symbol of Soviet era history.

Fun for Everyone

• Rawza Park (City Centre)
  Gardens around the shrine where families gather in the evening.

Fun for Everyone

• White pigeons of the Blue Mosque (City Centre)
  Feed the famous white pigeons in the shrine courtyard.

Must-Haves

• Bazaars around the Blue Mosque (City Centre)
  Carpets, karakul hats, coats and dried fruit around the shrine.

Fun for Everyone

• Buzkashi matches (Dasht-e Shadian)
  The horseback national sport, played on winter Fridays on the city outskirts.

Must-Haves

• Green Mosque (Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa Shrine) (Balkh)
  A fluted turquoise dome in the centre of Balkh.

Off the Beaten Path

• Shrine of Rabia Balkhi (Balkh)
  The tomb of the first woman poet of the Persian language.
• Noh Gonbad Mosque (Balkh)
  One of Afghanistan's oldest mosques, with carved stucco columns.

Must-Haves

• Bamiyan Buddha niches (Bamiyan Valley)
  The vast empty niches of the Buddhas destroyed in 2001.
• Shahr-e Gholghola (Bamiyan)
  The ruined hilltop city destroyed by Genghis Khan in 1221.
• Shahr-e Zohak (Bamiyan)
  A red fortress clinging to the cliff above the river confluence.

Must-Haves

• Salsal niche (Bamiyan Valley)
  The taller western niche, once home to a 55 metre Buddha.
• Shahmama niche (Bamiyan Valley)
  The eastern niche with caves that once held painted murals.

Off the Beaten Path

• Bamiyan cave monasteries (Bamiyan Valley)
  Hundreds of caves around the niches, once chapels and monks' cells.

Off the Beaten Path

• Dragon Valley (Darya-e Ajdahar) (Bamiyan)
  A split rock ridge tied to a local legend of Ali slaying a dragon.
• Band-e Panir (Band-e Amir)
  A smaller lake reached on foot along the valley.
• Band-e Pudina (Band-e Amir)
  The lake of mint, a quiet spot away from the main crowds.

Must-Haves

• Band-e Amir National Park (Band-e Amir)
  A chain of six blue lakes held back by natural travertine dams.
• Band-e Haibat (Band-e Amir)
  The largest lake, with a shrine and the classic terraced wall.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Bamiyan Bazaar (Bamiyan)
  The main street of shops, bakeries and tea houses below the cliffs.

Must-Haves

• Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani (Old City)
  The tomb of the founder of modern Afghanistan.

Off the Beaten Path

• Chilzina (Forty Steps) (Old Kandahar)
  Steps cut into a cliff leading to a Mughal inscription.
• Old Kandahar citadel ruins (Old Kandahar)
  The ruins of the city that Nader Shah destroyed in 1738.

Must-Haves

• Shrine of the Cloak (Kherqa Sharif) (Old City)
  A revered shrine said to hold a cloak of the Prophet Muhammad.

Off the Beaten Path

• Baba Wali Shrine (Arghandab)
  A hillside shrine above the Arghandab river.
• Mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak (Kandahar)
  The tomb of the eighteenth century Pashtun leader.

Fun for Everyone

• Arghandab Valley orchards (Arghandab)
  Pomegranate orchards along the river, famous across the region.

Must-Haves

• Kandahar Old City bazaar (Old City)
  Busy lanes of embroidery, spices and Kandahari pomegranates.