Afghanistan Vacation and Trip Information

Afghanistan represents something of a crossroads, connecting East and West culturally and geographically thanks to its central Asian location. Afghanistan has suffered some three decades of civil war, but a new Islamic republic has been established and its first democratic elections were held in 2004.

Afghanistan’s largest city is the capital, Kabul. The city is a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities and is the country’s most cosmopolitan center, though it has also been the seat of much unrest as the center of its conflicts and successive governments, including the Taliban. Today Kabul is changing rapidly, and sites such as the formerly-great Kabul Museum and large green space of Barbur’s Gardens are being restored. Although much of Aghanistan is perhaps a bit too far off the beaten path for most Western travelers, the dramatic mountain scenery remains. Mountainous Bamiyan in Central Afghanistan, the site of the Buddha statues destroyed by the Taliban, and the cultural center of Herat along the Silk Road to the northwest are among the nation’s best-known attractions.