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The lush green of the Panjshir Valley is the spiritual home of the Northern Alliance. The valley stretches for 100km (62mi) to the Anjoman Pass and offers great potential for trekking. Ahmad Shah Massoud, the formidable mujaheddin leader, is buried here in a small green-domed mausoleum, which has stunning views over the valley.
In 2006, construction started on a ritzy new mausoleum for Massoud. His green shrouded tomb is already installed inside.
(100km N of Kabul)
taxi from Kabul
The five lakes of Band-e-Amir (Dam of the King) are hidden in the Koh-e-Baba at an altitude of 2900m (9512ft). The deep-blue waters glitter like jewels, in stark contrast to the dusty mountains. The most accessible of the lakes is Band-e-Haibat - the suitably named Dam of Awe. The lakes' high mineral content gives them their colour.
(W of Bamiyan)
car
Dating from the 12th century, this fabulous monument sits in the remote valleys of the Koh-e-Baba - its existence was only revealed to the outside world in the 1940s. Three tapering cylindrical shafts reach a dizzying height of 65m (213ft).
(5km S of Jam village)
bus to Garmao, then hitch north to minaret
Kandahar is situated in the far south of the country, about midway between Kabul and Herat. It's the second-largest city in Afghanistan and lies at an important crossroads, where the main thoroughfare from Kabul branches northwest to Herat and southeast to Quetta in Pakistan.
Kandahar lies very much in the Pashtun heartland and gained modern significance as the power base of the Taliban militia. Kandahar's great treasure, a cloak that once belonged to the Prophet, is safely locked away from infidel eyes in the Mosque of the Sacred Cloak, known locally as Da Kherqa Sharif Ziarat.
A few kilometres from the centre of Kandahar towards Herat are the Chihil Zina (Forty Steps). They lead up to a niche carved in the rock by Babur, founder of the Mughal empire, which is guarded by two stone lions.
Once Afghanistan's cosmopolitan centre and a stop on the old hippy trail to India, Kabul was ruined in the civil war. The Soviets left the city reasonably intact in 1989, but since then it has been virtually destroyed by bombardments, street battles, and many lost lives.
The Kabul Museum, which used to have one of the finest collections of antiquities in Asia, has had nearly three-quarters of its finest collections looted. It's still possible to see the remaining artifacts - those without any significant monetary value - but museum hours are erratic.
It was also once possible to talk the five-hour walk along the length of the crumbling walls around the ancient citadel, Bala Hissar, but they are now off limits and extremely dangerous due to unexploded bombs and landmines. The pleasant Gardens of Babur are a cool retreat near the city walls and one of the most peaceful and beautiful spots in the city.
