Overview
This is a 7 day tour to Nuristan that starts and ends at the Kabul airport. The date is open and the tour is suitable for both solo and group travelers.
Nuristan; a place of heavily wooded mountains, elaborately carved wooden houses and mosques, novel wood and wrought-iron handicrafts, and distinctive customes. Nuristan covers 5000 square miles and consists of 5 main valleys each inhabited by a separate tribe speaking its own language. In many cases, these languages are mutually unintelligible from valley to valley. There are many physical and cultural differences between the people of Nuristan and those living in other parts of Afghanistan. Wealth is still calculated in terms of cows, sheep and goats, and payments are made in Kind, money having little value in these hills. Almost all Nuristani villages are built on the tops of high peaks, a legacy from the days when they delighted in raiding each other’s villages. The houses spill down the mountainside, one on top of the other, the roof of one serving as the front porch and play ground of the house above. Nuristan is inaccessible to everyone except for those who are familiar with its geography. The wild mountains, deep valleys and rivers full of cold water, as well as the cold climate, makes many areas inaccessible except by foot.
For more information about Nuristan, read these books: 1- A Passage to Nuristan (Nicholas Barrington, Joseph T. Kendrick, Reinhard Schlagintweit), published in 2006, 2- An Historical Guide to Afghanistan (Nancy Hatch Dupree), published in 1977
Included/Excluded
- Invitation Letter
- Permit Costs and Taxes
- Pick up and Drop off
- English-Speaking Tour Guide
- All Site Entries
- All Road Transportation
- All Accommodation
- All Meals (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner)
- Bottled Water
- Visa Fee
- Flights
- Afghan Clothing
Tour Plan
Kabul, capital of Afghanistan since 1776.
- Pick up by the tour guide and driver. Hotel check-in and a short briefing of the tour by the guide. Breakfast or lunch if needed
- Money exchange and going to a tailor shop for the local outfit/shirt
- Touring Kabul depending on what time remains: First of all, we will take you to BiBi Mahroo hill (the big flag) to have a bird’s eye view of Kabul city
- Visiting the oldest market, Mandawi bazaar and the Bird market. Walking around Pul-e-Khishti Mosque (1793-1800), Nadir Pushtun Wat, Chahar Chatta bazaar and Pul-e-Bagh-e-Omumi to catch the atmosphere of Kabul. Visiting Mandawi Bazaar in Kabul, is an experience as it is not only a market but an amazing insight into life here – you will find blacksmiths, many street traders, butchers, bakeries, Banjara, fresh and dried fruits. You will visit the little Afghanistan there
- Visiting the Shah-Do-Shamshira Mosque (1544) relates to an early legend concerning the arrival of Islam in Kabul
- Kabuli Paluo, the best local meal in Afghanistan will be served
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Accommodation: Khyber Hotel
Jalalabad: Jalaluddin Akbar, Mogul Emperor of India (1556-1605) founded the city of Jalalabad in 1570, giving it his name.
- After breakfast, we will depart Kaul for Jalalabad. This is a 2-hour beautiful drive to Jalalabad passing through the Sorubi valley and Mahipar pass
- Registration with the Provincial Afghan Tour Department
- A visit to Seraj-ul-Emarat palace built by Amir Habibullah in 1910
- A visit to the mausoleum of Amir-Habibullah (was assassinated in 1919). his two sons lie beside him, King Enayatullah (d. 1946) eldest son of Amir Habibullah, who ruled at Kabul from 14-17 January 1929. On the west: king Ananullah (d. 1960 in Zurich), third son of the Amir. He ruled from 1919-1929 and lived in exile in Rome after his expulsion by Habibullah Ghazi (Bacha Saqao). Queen Soraya, wife of King Amanullah, lies to the south of her husband. She died in Rome in 1968.
- After lunch, we will continue our drive to Kunar province. This is a 3-hour beautiful drive
- Registration at the Provincial Afghan Tour Department
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Accommodation: Spuzhmay Hotel
- Departing Kunar to Nuristan. this is a full day extremely beautiful drive. We will drive along the riverside street. Kunar river is with us during our long drive and makes it more attractive and enjoyable. The green mountains around the river with the houses on them and trees, have made the environment dreamy.
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner (there is not any restaurant on the way)
- Accommodation: Sharwali Hotel (not a proper hotel)
Nuristan is a mountainous region in eastern Afghanistan, situated on the southern slopes of the high Hindu Kush range, where a number of rivers flow, often in narrow gorges, to join the Kabul and Kunar rivers, and eventually the Indus. The region is bordered on the east by the frontier with Chitral, In Pakistan, and on the west by the Panjshir Valley, in the south the area flattens out into fertile plains and the hinterland of the town of Jalalabad. The Nuristanis are concentrated in six main valleys and divided broadly into there groups: the white-clothed (Sefid Posh), black-clothed (Siah Posh) and the Parun people in the center (Parun is the capital of Nuristan province).
Nuristan is divided into three parts: Central Nuristan, East Nuristan and West Nuristan. We only visit Central Nuristan on this tour
- Registration at the Afghan Tour Department of Nuristan
- Going to Shoot, which is a mountain valley most of which is inaccessible
- Going to visit Kentowa Valley, where we can do some climbing
- Going to visit Posta Semej, between Pronc village and Deiwa
- Visiting the Fake Kaaba
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Accommodation: Sharwali Hotel in Parun
- After breakfast, we will depart Nuristan for Kunar
- A visit to the wine factory of Nuristan on our way
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Accommodation: Spuzhmay Hotel
- Hiking and sightseeing around Kunar river in Kunar province
- Drive back to Kabul
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Accommodation: Khyber Hotel
- Visiting 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.
- 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 and lunch
Finally, after a 7-day trip to 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
Tour Map
1 review for A PASSAGE TO NURISTAN
01 Customer(s) recommended this item
I Love Nuristan
I have been there 2 times. It is incredible, a tour to nature.. wow
November 12, 2023
