Afghan 08: Band-e Emir grand canyon of Afghanistan...

"The rivalry is with ourself. I try to be better than is possible. I fight against myself, not against the other..." - Luciano Pavarotti

(The blue lakes of Band-e Emir)

Day 08: 11 October 2024 (Friday)
Route: BAMYAN / BAND E-AMIR - KABUL
Hotel: Hotel Khyber, Kabul

This morning there was a power outage and hot water was not available. We make do with a quick icy-cold shower in the dark.

Breakfast was served at 6.30 am. By 7:30 am we packed our bags and started our journey towards Bank E Amir National Park.

Band E Amir National Park is one of the few rare natural lakes in the world which are created by travertine systems. The site of Band-e Amir has been described as Afghanistan's Grand Canyon National Park with a series of six incredibly deep blue lakes in the heart of the central Afghanistan. The lakes are situated in the foothills of the Hindu Kush, the second highest mountain range in the world. From the entrance of the National Park, we drove off-roading for quite a distance to reach two of the lakes. The other four lakes were inaccessible by cars.

Departed to Kabul from Band E Amir passing the Bamyan district. We had lunch at a Kabuli Mutton Rice Restaurant in Bamyan town. Afgan bread, pillaf and mutton shaslik were served for lunch. We performed our jamak prayers in one of the rooms in the restaurant.

On the way we detoured into a village to visit the Zurhak Ancient City also known as The Red City, it is a historic city ruins in Bamyan, which was once home to 3,000 people. The fortress is believed to have been founded between 500-600 AD by the Hephthalites, around the same time as the Buddhas of Bamyan were created. The city lies at the easternmost point of the Bamyan valley, above the confluence of the Kunduz and Kalu Ganga rivers. The valley used to be a part of the silk route connecting Europe to India and China.

At Jalrez, the apple orchard visit was the last event for the day. We had to cross a small river to get to the orchard. Met with the owner, who was busy supervising his workers picking and packing the apples into boxes. Most probably, these boxes were for export and will be collected by lorries later. We were allowed to pick apples of our choice to eat and some for take away.

It was already dark when we reached Maidan Shar, the capital of Wardak province. As it was already late, we skipped visiting Wardak and headed direct to Kabul.

We checked in Khyber hotel again. After slurping a steaming bowl of maggi mee we rested our exhausted bodies and slept like a log.