Backpacking Afghanistan independently is possible but far from easy: the bureaucracy, not the transport, is the hard part.
You need a visa from an Afghan embassy or consulate abroad, with Islamabad and Peshawar among the most used, at roughly US$80 to 200 depending on where you apply. On arrival, register in
Kabul and collect travel letters from the Ministry of Information and Culture, then show them at the provincial culture office in places like
Bamyan and
Herat. Checkpoints ask for them. Plenty of solo travelers manage with shared taxis and guesthouses at AFN 1,000 to 2,500 (US$14 to 35) a night, though many hire a local fixer for a day or two to speed up the paperwork.
Two to three weeks is the right amount of time for Afghanistan; one week covers a single region well.
With 7 days, pair
Kabul (2 nights) with
Bamyan (3 to 4 nights), including a day trip to Band-e-Amir, 1.5 to 2 hours away. With 14 days, add
Mazar-i-Sharif and
Herat, ideally entering overland from Uzbekistan and leaving toward Iran. With 21 days, you can also fit in the Panjshir Valley, Samangan and the Ring Road through Kandahar and Ghazni. The Wakhan Corridor needs its own 10 to 14 days on top of that, because getting to the trailheads alone eats several days.
You can get around Afghanistan without a car of your own: shared taxis, minibuses and domestic flights link every major city.
Shared Toyota sedans leave from the bus stands on the edge of each city once full. Expect
Kabul to
Bamyan in 4 to 6 hours for roughly AFN 700 to 1,200 (US$10 to 17), and Kabul to
Mazar-i-Sharif over the Salang Pass in 8 to 10 hours. Fly between Kabul and
Herat: the flight takes about 1.5 hours and costs around US$80 to 150, against 18 hours or more by road. Hire a car with driver, around US$60 to 100 a day, for rough legs such as Bamyan to Samangan.
The must-visits in Afghanistan are Bamyan, Band-e-Amir, Herat and the Blue Mosque of Mazar-i-Sharif, with Kabul as the gateway.
In
Bamyan, give 3 nights to the empty Buddha niches and the caves around them, plus the red fortress of Shahr-e Zohak.
Band-e-Amir National Park is a full day trip from Bamyan, 1.5 to 2 hours each way, to six lakes held back by natural travertine dams.
Herat needs 3 to 4 days for the Friday Mosque, the Citadel and the glassblowers in its old bazaar. In
Mazar-i-Sharif, see the Blue Mosque by day and again after dark, and add a half day at Balkh, 20 kilometers west.
If you are short on time in Afghanistan, skip the south and east: Kandahar, Jalalabad, Ghazni and Khost add long road days for less reward than the center, north and west.
Kandahar sits 9 to 11 hours from Herat by road, and Ghazni mostly makes sense as a stopover on that drive. The
Wakhan Corridor is spectacular, but it needs 10 to 14 days on its own, so save it for a dedicated trip. Kabul itself can be cut to 2 nights. Put the saved days into
Bamyan and
Herat, which justify extra nights far more than any city on the Ring Road.
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