Last year in July, I had the chance to travel to the central Afghanistan during the Eid holidays. in an early morning around 0300hrs, ride I left Kabul to Bamyan to explore the ancient Bamyan province. Bamyan is one of the central province of Afghanistan with cold and excessive snow during winter and having dry summers.
For that purpose, I asked a friend to introduce me a trusted driver taking me to Bamyan, and could manage doing the hotel booking one week before in one of the well fashioned hotels in Bamyan. the hotel view is excellent and is located opposite to Bamyan Buddhas.
Though the Bamyan Buddhas that were from the 6th century were destroyed by the Taliban regime and now you can only see the ruins of the Buddhas, but still it still make you excited to see, and for that reason, after a short rest at the hotel, I went to see the Buddhas of Bamiyan immediately after my arrival.
Bamyan is one of the favorite places of local and international tourists specially in Summer (June-Aug). Annually, in the eve of Eid, plenty of Afghans; and also expats and tourists visit Bamyan.
Bamyan is not only famous for its Buddhas, but also for having Band-e Amir, Afghanistan’s only National Park in it. The outstanding view of Band i Amir is also one of the reasons for attracting a lot of local and international tourists specially in the summer. Band I Amir that is a total of seven lakes, became Afghanistan’s National Park back in 2009. Bamyan is not only a place to visit in summer, but it also attracts a lot of tourists specially skiing professionals in winters to participate in the annually skiing tournament in Bamyan Bamiyan Annual Ski Tournament
- Image source - Afghan Ski Challenge 2017 — Organized by Bamyan Ski Club
In the third day of my travel, I had the privilege to also visit Zuhak and Shahr-e Gholghola, the two very ancient cities of Bamyan as the ruins are remained only.
though I had to return to Kabul and report back to office on time, however it was short yet interesting visit of the ancient Bamyan province.
#Buddha #Afghanistan #Mountains #Bamian #2020 #2021 #Travel #Local