Band-e-Amir National Park is located in Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan. It features a series of six deep blue lakes formed by natural calcite dams, with many beautiful waterfalls. For $5 you can rent a brightly colored swan paddle boat to explore the impossibly blue lakes. The lakes freeze solid in winter, making wondrous walls of ice. It is Afghanistan's first national park, where families camp and have fun, though vacations are still expensive for most Afghan families.

1. BAND-E-AMIR NATIONAL PARK
Band-e-Amir, Bamiyan Province Afghanistan
NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan

2. I’ve said for years that Afghanistan has a
“Tragic Beauty”…Band-e-Amir Lakes is
the Jewel of the country.

3. For $5.00 you can rent a paddle boat and explore the impossibly blue water of Band-e-Amir’s largest lake. You might have
to swallow some pride because the boat is going to be a brightly colored swan  When your used to spending most of
your time behind Hesco walls…the experience is “surreal”.

4. The lakes are formed by a
series of natural calcite dams.
The many beautiful waterfalls
are the run off like an
overflowing bath tub. These
freeze solid during the winter
making wondrous walls of ice.
The only ways to get here during
the winter are by horse or
helicopter.

5. This is Afghanistan’s first National Park. Just as in the States, parents bring their families to camp and have
fun. Closing your eyes and just listening to the children laugh, you could easily be anywhere else in the world.
Here they are very appreciate of Westerners who they realize have helped make outings like this possible. We
were always surrounded by people who “thanked us for coming”. The number of Afghan’s here who could
speak English was at first surprising but then telling as to the fact that it’s only the most affluent who can afford
the time and money to visit. Vacations are very expensive for even a middle class Afghan family.

7. Just the drive from the
town of Bamiyan to Band-
e-Amir is a mix of
awesome rugged beauty
and desolation. A modern
highway is being funded by
Japan and they are
working double-time on
completion.