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
- Faizabad 📍 — a lovely town on the bank of Kokcha River. Nearby is the Lake Shewa, one of the sources of the Amu Darya
- Kunduz 📍 — a town with large Uzbek and Tajik majorities
Other destinations
- 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
- Surkh Kotal 📍 (also called Sar-i Chashma) — the location of huge temples and statues made during the rule of the Kushans.
- Shamali Plain – windy green plains producing much of the food for central Afghanistan, badly hit by the wars
- Nuristan – one of the most remote areas on Earth, right up in the Hindu Kush mountains
- Wakhan Corridor – the Wakhan National Park; river valleys surrounded by very rugged mountain country, squished between Tajikistan and Pakistan
- Panjshir Valley – river valley popular for its mountains
- 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
Kunduz Airport 📍, IATA: UND. Flights from Fayzabad, Kabul by East Horizon Airlines (dead link: February 2023) and Kam Air