It was the first week of March 2018 when I with other six friends traveled to Bamiyan, because Bamiyan is one of the safest and peaceful places in Afghanistan and close to Kabul – where we live. The trip was by SUVs, nearly for 250 kilometers and lasted for 5 days. The weather was relatively cold (below freezing at night and chilly during the day) but entertaining.
There in Bamiyan, we visited several well-known attractions; Bande Amir, Buddhas of Bamiyan, Shahre Zahak, Shahre Gholghola, Darya Azhdar, Koshkak mountains and downtown/the city.
While we were visiting Bande Amir, one of Afghanistan’s most famous national parks, we camped, we prepared barbeque – with the help of locals who rented us appliances for the barbeque – and swam even though the weather was windy and chilly. Our visit at Bande Amir started at 9 o’clock in the morning and ended by 6 in the evening. The place was calm, we just spotted a few tourists and visitors, and we mostly enjoyed the fresh air, the blue colored clear water, the BBQ and our friends’ company. Other activities we engaged in was playing volleyball – the net and ball we, again, rented – with locals.
Another good experience in Bamiyan was hiking in the countryside of Share Gholghola and Shahre Zahak. We visited the two sites on two different days with the help of a local friend who is a shopkeeper and who is well acquainted with almost all attractions within the Bamiyan Province. The hiking lasted for just under 4 hours and for the remaining day we camped and cooked Shorwa, a traditional Afghan meal, returning back in the afternoon. At both places, we took a lot of photos because the scenery was really outstanding and very charming.
Moreover, experience at Koshkak mountain area was different. There were lots of visitors at that time –all for the purpose of skiing on ice/snow. There were some clubs which had their teams, practicing for matches and tournaments and one of those club members taught us how to slide, control, adopt positions to turn and other beginner tips on skiing. We visited the place twice, for two consecutive days, and we tried to learn proper skiing but it was difficult. During our visit there, we met some female travelers who came for the purpose of skiing, most of them from the Hazara ethnic group, and there seemed to be almost no restriction for them. Also, we were served a meal at a local restaurant, a ChaiKhana. The food was kebab from real fresh lamb meat, different from how it tastes in Kabul.
At last and on the final day we visited the Buddhas of Bamiyan. The visit at that most attractive historical place was very short and we visited the site with the main intention of shooting some great photos. The day we visited there, there were a few visitors, and when we asked locals the reason for why it’s calm, their response was that tourists mostly visit Bamiyan, especially the historical sites, during summer time. We again ate lunch at a local restaurant there and made our way back to Kabul. We experienced many enjoyable moments and we are planning to visit Bamiyan again in July.