Northeast Afghanistan

This section covers the Northeastern portion of Afghanistan.

The historic region of Bactria spanned territory that included parts of northern Afghanistan—plus areas that are now in Uzbekistan or Tajikistan.

Cities

• 1 Faizabad — a lovely town on the bank of Kokcha River. Nearby is the Lake Shewa, one of the sources of the Amu Darya
• 2 Kunduz — a town with large Uzbek and Tajik majorities

Other destinations

• 1 Ai-Khanoum — a monumental Hellenistic city at the strategic confluence of the Oxus river and the Kokcha river, destroyed by the nomadic Yuezhi around 145 BC
• 2 Surkh Kotal (also called Sar-i Chashma) — the location of huge temples and statues made during the rule of the Kushans.
• 3 Shamali Plain – windy green plains producing much of the food for central Afghanistan, badly hit by the wars
• 4 Nuristan – one of the most remote areas on Earth, right up in the Hindu Kush mountains
• 5 Wakhan Corridor – the Wakhan National Park; river valleys surrounded by very rugged mountain country, squished between Tajikistan and Pakistan
• 6 Panjshir Valley – river valley popular for its mountains
• 7 Sultan Eshkashim Market town at the border of Ishkashim village, Tajikistan

Understand

Official Provinces

• Badakhshan Province, part of the ancient kingdom of Badakhshan; the rest of it is in Tajikistan
• Baghlan Province
• Kunduz Province
• Nuristan Province
• Panjshir Province
• Takhar Province

Get in

1 Kunduz Airport, UND ^IATA. Flights from Fayzabad, Kabul by East Horizon Airlines and Kam Air