How to travel to Afghanistan during Taliban rule (2024)

Well, it depends on your previous backpacking experience and where you want to go within Afghanistan but, to be honest, I didn’t find it more difficult than backpacking in Pakistan.

If you are planning to visit Mazar, Herat, Kabul or Bamyan, it shouldn’t be very difficult. There is plenty of local transportation or you can easily take a domestic flight.

My recommendation would be however, to save the name and location of your hotel because for security purposes, some hotels in Afghanistan have no signs, so they can be difficult to find.

Visiting rural areas, Kandahar province or traveling beyond Bamyan in Ghor province is a different story. Nobody speaks English, hotels are scarce (if any) and there’s little public transportation.

We did travel from Kabul to Herat through the Hindu Kush by public transportation. It was difficult but worth the adventure. Check the travel report.

⛅ Best time to visit Afghanistan

Traveling to Afghanistan in winter

In winter, many parts of Afghanistan are covered in snow, with temperatures reaching -20ºC in places like Bamyan or the Wakhan.

Nevertheless, remember that winter doesn’t come with its own issues, and that roads and certain things may be blocked.

We did run one expedition during the heart of winter in Afghanistan, and it was great. Check our upcoming Afghan expeditions here.

Traveling to Afghanistan in spring & autumn

From a tourism perspective, spring and autumn are the best seasons for visiting Afghanistan, when the weather is pleasant across the whole country.

In late spring or early autumn, it might already be too hot for Mazar or Kandahar. In fact, I visited them in May and the temperature was already at nearly 40ºC.

Traveling to Afghanistan in summer

In summer, cities like Herat, Mazar and Kandahar are hell ovens, with temperatures averaging over 40ºC.

Kabul is hot too but, because of the high altitude, it can be bearable for some.

🛖 Top 5 experiences in Afghanistan

1. Strolling the streets of Old Kabul

The old city of Kabul is one of those places where there is always something to look at.

It’s chaotic, lively, bustling and its different bazaars are composed of labyrinthic lanes which are perfect for random rambling.

2. Trekking in Bamyan

Few places in Afghanistan feel as peaceful as Bamyan, a mountainous, remote region in central Afghanistan, home to a large ancient Buddhist heritage and some of the most epic, unspoiled mountains in the country.

3. Learning about the Taliban legacy in Kandahar

Kandahar is the former Taliban capital, where the Taliban movement started and also Mullah Omar’s home city.

It’s also the heartland of the Pashtun, a world apart from the rest of Afghanistan.

4. Visiting the Blue Mosque of Mazar-i-Sharif

This is one of the most imposingly beautiful mosques I have ever seen, dating from the 15th century, a reason by itself to travel all the way to Mazar.

5. Getting off the beaten track in rural Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s countryside offers some of the most unspoiled and authentic areas in the world, regions that have received very little exposure from the outside world, and are home to mesmerizing, lush valleys dotted with adobe-made villages and curious locals.

💰 Budget, money, and costs in Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, their currency is called the Afghani (AFN) and approximately:

Afghani or Afghan?
Some people commit the funny mistake (including myself in the past) of referring to the people of Afghanistan as Afghani. It’s wrong. Afghani is their currency and the people are Afghans.

Exchanging money in Afghanistan

They accept both Euros and USD. They even accept Pakistani rupees, in case you have any left from your trip to Pakistan.

ATMs in Afghanistan

Surprisingly, ATMs in Afghanistan do accept international credit and debit cards.

Just look for Afghan International Bank. There are quite a few of them in Kabul, especially in Shahr-e Naw area.

Paying by card in Afghanistan

You might be able to withdraw money from an ATM but you can’t pay by card anywhere in Afghanistan, so do have cash for your trip.

How much does it cost to travel to Afghanistan?

Everyday life in Afghanistan is cheap but domestic flights and accommodation add up.

How much do food and drinks cost in Afghanistan?

How much does transportation cost in Afghanistan?

How much does accommodation cost in Afghanistan?

Expect to pay anything between 30 USD and 50 USD for a room, a relatively basic one but clean and with security.

You can definitely find cheaper hotels but there won’t be any kind of security.

🛺 Getting around in Afghanistan: transportation

How to travel around Afghanistan by public transportation

Afghanistan has a good network of buses, minibuses and local shared taxis connecting towns and cities.

Experienced budget backpackers won’t find it difficult to move around the country.

Read: Overlanding from Kabul to Herat via Minaret of Jam by local transportation

How to travel around Afghanistan by plane

Taking a domestic flight is also a good option for traveling around Afghanistan.

There’s another local airline named Ariana. That’s the one I use for flying from Kandahar to Kabul.

Note that airlines in Afghanistan aren’t very reliable. They get delayed all the time, especially Ariana.

Note that all domestic flights go through Kabul, and that there’s no direct flight from Herat to Mazar, for example, or from Herat to Kandahar, but you need to go through Kabul.

Typically, all flights cost $60-$120 and, if you are already in Afghanistan, I strongly recommend booking it through a physical Kam Air office.

It happened to me once that after booking a flight with Kam Air online, the booking never went through, even though they did charge it from my card. Eventually, I had to go to an actual office to sort it out.

Airport security
The level of security in all Afghanistan airports is absolutely insane, consisting of several security layers with body searches and bag scans. That’s why it’s recommended to be at the airport at least two hours before your departure time.

Facts about the country, the Afghans and their culture

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Something interesting to mention is that when the Taliban took over, the country officially changed its name from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

They also removed any sign of the official flag – the one with black, green, and red stripes and replaced it with the Talib-friendly white flag, today visible everywhere.

Afghanistan is multi-ethnic

Afghanistan is composed of several ethnicities, including Pashtuns (42%), Tajik (27%) and Hazara (9%).

Hazara are the Shia minority who have Mongolian features, Bamyan being their heartland.

There’s also a significant population of Uzbeks in Mazer-i-Sharif and around, who mostly came from Uzbekistan escaping the terror from former dictator Islam Karimov.

Dari is the main language, but Pashto is official too

Dari is the language used by the administration and it’s spoken by nearly 80% of the population.

Pashto is an official language too but it’s usually spoken only by the Pashtuns, who are the dominant ethnicity.

Language barrier can be a problem sometimes

When traveling in rural Afghanistan across the Hindu Kush, I found communicating with people to be extremely difficult, not only because of the language barrier but even sign language didn’t work, probably because they have had so little Western exposure, that their way of communication is just completely different.

Women in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is the most patriarchal country in the world, with or without the Taliban but, since the latter returned to power, women have lost even more freedom.

It’s not mandatory for women to wear the burqa, they can wear a hijab and they can walk alone in the streets but the Taliban have banned them from accessing higher education.

I actually discussed this particular topic with a Taliban sympathizer and he said that according to Prophet Mohammed, schools must be segregated by gender so there’s no actual room for women now but the new Government is doing their best to figure it out.

🍲 Afghan cuisine

Located at the heart of Central Asia, Afghan food is a mixture of flavors from Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

It’s heavily meat-based to the extent that it can be a struggle for vegetarians venturing into more rural areas.

Their national dish is Kabuli palaw, consisting of rice fried in meat fat typically topped with carrots and raisins and essentially, the same as plov in Uzbekistan.

Afghanistan also has their own dumplings named mantu, typically filled with mutton and covered with yogurt and yellow lentils.

Ashak is the only vegetarian dish in Afghan cuisine, consisting of dumplings filled with leeks and other vegetables.

Is there any alcohol in Afghanistan?

📚 Best books for traveling in Afghanistan

Kite runner – Khaled Hosseini

An American bestseller in 2003, Kite runner narrates the story of two Afghan kids in Kabul, a rich boy and the son of his parent’s servants.

The book also gives endless insights of what life in Kabul and Afghanistan is like.

My Life with the Taliban – Abdul Salam Zaeef

This is the mind-blowing biography of a senior former member of the Taliban.

From growing up in conservative, rural Afghanistan to the years he spent in Guantanamo, this amazing book gives priceless insights into the Taliban movement from the inside.

Afghanistan Essential Guide to Customs & Culture – Culture Smart!

Cultural Smart! is a series of guidebooks that focus on the country’s culture, giving loads of information about local customs, cultural etiquette and stuff like that. The one on Afghanistan is great, with deep explanations of why Afghans are so hospitable.

Afghanistan travel guide – Lonely Planet

The travel guide to Afghanistan from Lonely Planet is outdated (2007) but still, is a great source of information on the country. It can be difficult to find a copy.

💻 Internet in Afghanistan

Is there Wi-Fi in Afghanistan?

There’s kind of unreliable Wi-Fi in big cities but if you need it for work, it won’t be good enough.

Getting a SIM card in Afghanistan

To buy a SIM, you’ll have to go to one of the official branches, which tend to open from 8am to 4pm.

There are many mobile companies in Afghanistan, including: Afghan Telecom, Afghan Wirless, Etisalat, MTN, Roshan, and Salaam.

Apparently, each company is only good for certain provinces but everyone was telling us different things.

In the end, I bought MTN because they said it was the best one for all Afghanistan but it only worked in the big cities.

Get a VPN for traveling in Afghanistan

You should always use a VPN when you travel, especially when you connect to public Wi-Fi networks.

Your connection will be much safer. Moreover, you will be able to access content which is typically censored in Afghanistan.

I recommend ExpressVPN – Extremely easy to use, fast and cheap.

❗ More Information

📢 In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more.