Afghanistan

Visa requirements for Afghanistan depend on which passport you hold. Check the Traveller visa tool to see whether your passport needs a visa and, if so, how long you can stay.

Pre-Taliban (before August 2021), April–May and September–October were the visiting windows — mild for Kabul, Band-e-Amir National Park (six deep blue lakes in the Hindu Kush), Bamiyan Valley (where the giant Buddhas stood before their 2001 destruction), and the Wakhan Corridor. The country is currently closed to civilian tourism under Taliban governance.

• Under Taliban rule: women must wear burqa in public and be accompanied by a male mahram; men should wear conservative clothing

• Afghan hospitality was legendary — guests were treated with extraordinary generosity regardless of the host's circumstances
• The Buddhas of Bamiyan (6th-century giant cliff carvings, 53m and 35m tall) were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 — the niches remain
• Band-e-Amir was considered one of Asia's most beautiful hidden landscapes — six turquoise lakes held back by natural travertine dams at 2,900m altitude
• Afghanistan's carpet tradition (Afghan rugs) are among the world's finest — each design tells a story of the region that made it

• CRITICAL: Afghanistan is under Taliban rule. Music, women's education, most forms of entertainment, and Western cultural expression are prohibited. The security situation is extremely dangerous for foreigners. Do not travel.
• LGBTQ+ activity is illegal with severe punishment under Taliban interpretation of sharia
• Women: under Taliban rule, women must not leave home without a male relative and must be fully covered