Ghazni, a thriving Buddhist center in the 7th century A.D. The dazzling capital of a powerful empire (the Ghaznavid Empire 994-1160 A.D.), encompassing much of northern India, Persia and Central Asia. In the name of Islam, Ghazni was razed to the ground in 869 which later was rebuilt and again was razed in 1151 by the Ghorid Alauddin and in 1221 by Genghis Kahn.

• We will depart Kabul for our road trip to Ghazni. This is a 3-hour drive.
• Registration with the Provincial Afghan Tour Department
•  A visit the minarets of Ghazni. The easternmost was built by Sultan Mas’ud III who reigned from 1099-1114 and the other was raised by the last king of the dynasty, Sultan Bahram Shah (1118-1152) during whose reign the city was sacked by Alauddin of Ghor.
• A visit to Bala Hesar Citadel, dominates the town and it is undoubtedly one of the more imposing fortresses to be seen in Afghanistan. The old city of Ghazni is clustered closely around the foot of the citadel and you can see that mud houses and bazaars that are still inhabited by people
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Accommodation: Oranus Hotel

• We will depart Ghazni for our road trip to Kandahar. This is a 6-hour drive and we will pass Zabul province visiting lots of mud houses, bazaars and beautiful mosques on our way. We will stop many times to take photos and having lunch.
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Accommodation: NFC Hotel

Kandahar, the political capital and second largest city of Afghanistan. The most sensitive and conservative province in Afghanistan.

• Registration with the Provincial Afghan Tour Department.
• Touring Kandahar, meeting people and experiencing their daily life and culture. A drive to the old bazaar of Kandahar or Char Suq, the four principal bazaar streets meet in the center of the city with hundreds of old shops and markets.
• Visiting the shrine of the Cloak of the prophet. This is one of the holies shrines in Afghanistan.
• Visiting the Mausoleum of Ahmed Shah Durrani, the founder of Afghanistan who ruled an empire from Kandahar (1747-1772). This is the most important historical monument in Kandahar.
• Visiting the Tomb of Mir Wais Hotak, the Ghilzai chieftain who declared Kandahar’s Independence from the Persians in 1709. It is of recent construction by Nadir shah (1929-1933). This building is modeled after the mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani
• A visit to the Chihlzina or Forty Steeps, built in 1531 by Mohammad Kamran son of the Mughal Emperor Babur Shah. A rock-cut chamber high above the plain at the end of the rugged chain of mountains forming the western defense of Kandahar’s old city. A forty steps, about, lead to the chamber, inscribed with an account of Moghul conquest in Persian
• Another visit to the Read mosque and to the shrine of BaBa Wali Kandahari
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Accommodation: NFC Hotel

• We will leave Kandahar for Lashkargah. This is a 2 hour drive.
• Registration with the Afghan Tour department.
• A visit to Bost city or Qala Bist. Ancient Bost city now lies in ruins some 10 km of Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand province. Some recognize the name of Bost in the early Zoroastrian hymns of the Avesta around 1000-600 BC.
• A visit to Bost citadel. The gigantic mound which marks the site of Bost’s citadel be speaks its age and importance. on the summit there are vestiges of many elaborate architecture structures among which the most spectacular is a spiral staircase within a well 130 feet deep and 18 feet in diameter.
• The most remarkable monument is the magnificently decorated arch which has a span of 80 feet. It was built in the 11th century and has been restored.
• The attractively decorated 12th century mausoleum known as the Ziarat-i-Shahzada Husain sits in the graveyard north of the citadel walls.
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Accommodation: Lashkargah Milmastoon

• We will continue our drive to Herat. This is a 6-hour trip passing Farah province with many stops at picturesque rest areas to refresh and take unforgettable photos.
• Registration with the Afghan Tour department.
• Walking around the old city of Herat. The four main bazaars of the old city come together at a center square called the Chahrsuq or Four Bazaar. In addition to the old shops lining the streets there are several covered bazaars in the vicinity. covered bazaars are now rarely to be seen outside of Herat and visitors are encouraged to include a visit to a a few of these bazaars.
• You will visit the neighborhood of Jewish Afghans who were forced to leave their country years ago and their Synagogues and bath.
• Visiting the Caravanserais located on Silk Road around Chahrsuq.
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Accommodation: Sadaf Hotel

• Visiting the Masjid-e-Jami or Friday Mosque. The form in which it stands today was originally laid out on the site of an earlier 10th century mosque in the year 1200 by the Ghorid Sultan Ghiyasuddin (died 1202). His unadorned tomb lies under a dome situated behind the north iwan (portal). Today’s restoration of the mosque continues a tradition of architectural decoration of Timurid (15th century).
• There is a Madrasa (Islamic school) inside the mosque where students continue a tradition active in the mosque since the 10th century.

• Visiting the Musallah Complex, designed and built (1417) under Queen Gawhar Shad, wife of Shah Rukh, son of Amir Taimur (Taimur Lang), artistic director. Most of these great works of art were irretrievably demolished under the direction of Amir Abdurahman and British troops in 1885 and some of them were subsequently downed by earthquakes. Only three examples remain:  1- Queen Gawhar Shad’s mausoleum, (inside are the tombstones of the Queen 1457, her son Baisunghur and various grandsons and great-grandsons), 2- the mausoleum of Mir Ali Sher Nawai (died in 1501), the prime minister of Sultan Husain Baiqara (1468-1506), last of the Timurid rulers in Herat. 3- The 5 minarets out of a total of 20 minarets.
• Visiting the Citadel of Alexander the Great 330 B.C. and built in its present form by the Kart Malik Fakhruddin in 1305 A.D. Genghis Khan and Amir Timur (Timuri Lang) fought beneath its walls and it was the heart of the Timurid Empire for a hundred years (1405-1506) after that fighting.
• A visit to the Shrine of Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, the celebrated Sufi poet and philosopher who was born in Herat in 1006 and died here in 1088. Here Shah Rukh built many buildings which were lavishly decorated with brilliant tilework. Work began in 1425. Inside the shrine there is a most remarkable and must see sarcophagus, called the Haft Qalam Stone (Seven Pens) which is fashioned of black marble and dates from the reign of Sultan Husain Baiqara (1468-1506)
• Pushti Kabab, one of the best local meals will be served
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Accommodation: Sadaf Hotel

• Back to Kabul by a flight and drive to Bamyan after lunch in Kabu. This is a 4-hour beautiful drive, traveling through the fascinating Hajigak Pass (3700 m: 12,140 ft.), with stops at picturesque rest areas to refresh and take unforgettable photos
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Accommodation: Ghulghula Hotel

• Registration with the Provincial Afghan Tour Department
• Visiting the ruins of Buddha Statues (once tallest standing Buddhas in the world), the Large Buddha, 55 m: 180 ft high (late 5th to the early 7th centuries A.D.). The Small Buddha, 38 m: 125 feet high (the 3rd or very early 4th centuries A.D.). Both were demolished by the Taliban in 2001
• Visiting the ruins of Gholghula City (The City of Screams), one of the eight UNISCO Heritage Sites in Bamyan. Build by Ghaznavids (977-1186) and demolished by Genghis Khan in 1221
• Hiking and sightseeing around Band-e-Amir Blue Lakes. Altitude: 2916 m: 9567 ft. There are five lakes in all. The largest lake, Band-e-Zulfiqar is four miles long and…
• Visiting the people who live in caves
• You can be hosted by a local family for lunch if you tip them
• Lamb Roosh, one of the most popular local meals in Bamyan will be served
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Accommodation: Ghulghula Hotel

• We will leave Bamyan for Kabul
• A visit to the ruins of Zuhak City (The Red City) on our way. The fortress is believed  to have been founded between 500-600 A.D. by the Hephthalites, around the same time as the Buddhas of Bamyan were created and demolished by Genghis Khan in 1221
• After lunch in Kabul, a visit to the UNISCO Heritage Site,  iconic Babur Garden built by the Mughal Emperor Babur Shah (1528 CE). There are a beautiful marble mosque build by the Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan (1646) and the modest tomb of Babur, founder of the Moghul dynasty of India. A son, Mirza Hindal, and a a grandson, Mohammad Hakim Mirza, lie beside him. A daughter, Nawab Gawhar Nisa Begum, lies to the west of the emperor: a grand-daughter, Roqia Sultan Begum, daughter of Mirza Hindal, lies on the upper terrace.
• A visit to Kabul’s Bala Hissar or high Fort (rising 150 feet above the plain), witnessed most of the exciting vents of Afghanistan history up until the spring of 1880.  Babur, founder of the Mogul Empire of India, lived here early in the 16th century.  Succeeding kings alternately ruled from it or languished in its dungeons.
• A visit to Ziarat-e-Sakhi or Sakhi Shrine. This is a beautiful and important shrine of Kabul where the Cloak of the Prophet was kept for a few days as it was conveyed from Badakhshan to Kandahar during the reign of Ahmad Shah Durrani (1747-1772)
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Accommodation: Khyber Hotel

• We will visit more of Kabul depends on what time remains.
• We will take you to Chicken Street (antique market). You will find all kinds of handicrafts, Afghan handmade Rugs, gemstones, calligraphy, glass miniatures and oil paintings, antique and ornamental works in Chicken Street.
• Brdakfast and lunch

Finally, after an 11-day tour to the Center and South of Afghanistan, with lots of unique experiences and heart touching stories we will drop you at the Kabul airport for your flight back home.

End of the tour.