HAVE SOME ADVENTURE TOURISM:PANJSHIR, AFGANISTAN

Welcome to have some adventure tourism, lets go and have some fun in the present war ridden areas of Afghan. Just joking! We are going to a peaceful area of Afghanistan, the Panjshir valley.  The stunning Panjshir Valley has become one of the most celebrated places in Afganistan. Its charging river and fields and orchards made it a popular tourist destination in the 1970s, but a decade later it became known as a symbol of resistance to the Soviets, the unconquerable redoubt of the mujaheddin leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. Having fought for over 20 years, Massoud was killed by Al-Qaeda in September 2001, and his tomb halfway up the valley is also a big tourist destination. We are sure that this trip will be one of the most remarkable in your life.

THE BEAUTY OF THE MORNING MIST FROM HINDU KUSH, PANJSHIR, AFGANISTAN

THE SCENIC BEAUTY OF THE PANJSHIR VALLEY

THE VALLEY AND HINDU KUSH MOUNTAINS OF PANJSHIR WITH THE SMALL VILLAGE

THE DESERTED WAR LAND

PANJSHIR RIVER: THE WATER FLOWING THROUGH THE VALLEY

MASSOUD'S TOMB, THE TOMB OF AHMAD SHAH MASSOUD

History

The Panjshir valley is synonymous with  the mujaheddin leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. Having fought for over 20 years, Massoud was killed by Al-Qaeda in September 2001, and his tomb halfway up the valley, near his home village of  Armoured columns could be easily attacked from the mountain walls, and the road easily cut by the mujaheddin. Destroyed tanks still litter the valley floor. Several times Massoud ordered the entire evacuation of the civilian population, to reduce casualties caused by high-altitude bombing. In total there were ten failed assaults on the Panjshir, causing the Russians to call a ceasefire with Massoud, unheard of during the war.

Beauty and Surroundings

The Majestic Hindu Kush mountains on one side  and the mellifluous Panjshir river on the other, the Panjshir valley is endowed with nature’s beauty. One f the most celebrated tourist sites of early Afghanistan, the war has tarnished the image of the tourism. But now that the global image is recuperating. So lets go for a change this time to this scenic place.

Massoud’s tomb is a plain white building with a gleaming green dome towards the valley entrance. The pilgrimage site, as it has now become, is perched on a hill with a commanding and beautiful view of the river far below. The Panjshir River is one of the few fast flowing rivers in the country after five years of drought and the valley floor is a scene of biblical lushness, especially around harvest time in September.

Places to see

• Logar
• Bandiamir
• The kyber pass
• Kabul

Things to do

• Horse riding
• Mountain climbing
• Trekking

Getting there

Minibuses to Panjshir run from Kabul ( 2½ hours) every day, via Jebal Saraj. Ask for Rokha or Baharak, the nearest villages to Massoud’s Tomb. A return trip in a taxi should cost around US$50.