Grand Afghanistan Group Tour
Kabul → Herat → Ghazni → Bamiyan → Band-e Amir → Samangan → Mazar-i-Sharif → Balkh → Kholm → Kabul
Duration10 Days / 9 Nights
From$2,900/person
Group SizeUp to 12 people
About This Tour
The Grand Afghanistan group tour is our Afghanistan small group tour — the same flagship ten-day route as our private Grand Afghanistan, but on fixed monthly departures with a maximum of twelve travellers. Every departure is led by one of the founders — Hassan Naveed or Hussain Naveed — from the moment you land in Kabul to the moment you board the flight home. There are no subcontracted guides in the lead role. Solo travellers are welcome and pay no penalty; the group has shipped on every continent and across more than sixty nationalities. The route covers Kabul, Herat, Ghazni, Bamiyan, Band-e Amir, Samangan, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Balkh — every great cultural city plus the country's national park. Nine nights in four-star hotels (Khyber Kabul, Sadaf Herat, Royal Bamiyan, Arsalan Mazar) and one in-flight day. The Kabul–Herat domestic flights are included. $2,900 per person all-inclusive — single supplement $400 if you want your own room. Fixed dates roll across the calendar — see the dates table on this page for the next available departure.
Tour Details
| Product ID | DRY-GRP-10 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 10 Days / 9 Nights |
| Type | Group tour — fixed departure dates |
| Group Size | Maximum 12 participants |
| Route | Kabul → Herat → Ghazni → Bamiyan → Band-e Amir → Samangan → Mazar-i-Sharif → Balkh → Kholm → Kabul |
| Domestic Flights | KBL→HEA and HEA→KBL included |
| Hotels | Khyber Hotel, Kabul · Sadaf Hotel, Herat · Bamyan Royal Hotel, Bamiyan · Arsalan Hotel, Mazar-i-Sharif |
| Best Season | Year-round · Best Apr–May and Sep–Oct |
Important Notes
Days 4 and 9 are long overland driving days (7–8 hours each). Day 5 is full-day walking in Bamiyan at 2,550m — altitude acclimatisation on Days 1–3 is built into the itinerary.
Days 4 and 9 are long overland driving days (7–8 hours each). Day 5 is full-day walking in Bamiyan at 2,550m — altitude acclimatisation on Days 1–3 is built into the itinerary.
Day-by-Day Itinerary
1
Day 1 — Arrival in Kabul
Kabul sits at 1,800 metres in a valley ringed by the Hindu Kush, continuously inhabited for at least 3,500 years. The Sakhi Shrine is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the city — a Friday gathering point for thousands of Kabulis. Kah Faroshi, whose name means straw seller, was once the main commercial artery of the Silk Road. Timur Shah Durrani moved the Afghan capital here from Kandahar in 1776; his mausoleum still stands at the centre of the city he chose.
2
Day 2 — Kabul to Herat
Herat’s Great Mosque, the Masjid-e Jami, was first built in the 12th century and continuously enlarged. Its twelve minarets and the intricate geometric tilework of its facade represent the apex of Timurid decorative art. The Citadel — Qala Ikhtyaruddin — has dominated the city for over 3,000 years and was used as a military barracks until 2005, when it was handed to the Archaeological Institute of Afghanistan for restoration.
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Day 3 — Herat to Kabul
The shrine at Gazurgah holds the tomb of Khwaja Abdullah Ansari (1006–1088), one of the great Sufi mystics and poets of the Islamic world. The complex was completed by the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh in the early 15th century and remains an active pilgrimage site. Wazir Akbar Khan Hill overlooks the whole of Kabul at sunset and is the best single viewpoint in the city.
4
Day 4 — Kabul → Ghazni → Bamiyan
⚠ Longest travel day of the tour — approximately 7–8 hours including both drives and the Ghazni visit. Early departure required.
Ghazni was the capital of the Ghaznavid Empire (977–1186 CE), at its height one of the most powerful dynasties of the Islamic world, ruling from eastern Iran to northern India. The two surviving minarets of the Mas’ud III mosque are among the finest examples of Seljuk-era brick decoration anywhere. The Military Open Air Museum displays Soviet-era tanks and aircraft abandoned after the 1989 withdrawal.
5
Day 5 — Bamiyan
The Bamiyan Valley sat at the crossroads of the Silk Road for over a thousand years, and the cliff face records this — hundreds of monastic caves carved by Buddhist pilgrims from China, India, and Central Asia between the 1st and 9th centuries CE. The two giant Buddhas, destroyed in March 2001, stood 55 and 38 metres tall. Shahr-e Gholghola — City of Screams — was the Hazara citadel destroyed by Genghis Khan in 1221; local legend says the screams of the dying were heard for days.
6
Day 6 — Band-e Amir Day Trip
Band-e Amir became Afghanistan’s first national park in 2009. The six lakes are natural dams of travertine — calcium carbonate deposits forming walls of white rock that hold back water of an extraordinary deep blue. The highest lake sits at 2,900 metres. The small mosque near Band-e Haibat marks the spot where, according to Hazara legend, Hazrat Ali struck the rock with his sword to create the dam and convert the local king to Islam.
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Day 7 — Bamiyan → Samangan → Mazar-i-Sharif
Takht-i Rustam — Throne of Rustam — is one of the most remarkable Buddhist monuments in Afghanistan: a complete stupa carved out of solid bedrock in the 4th or 5th century CE, surrounded by a circular trench also cut from the living rock. The name refers to the legendary Persian hero Rustam, whose stories the local Zoroastrian population attached to the site long after its Buddhist origins were forgotten.
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Day 8 — Mazar-i-Sharif and Balkh
Balkh — ancient Bactra — is one of the oldest cities on earth, inhabited for at least 4,000 years. Alexander the Great wintered here in 328 BCE and married the Bactrian princess Roxana in its citadel. It is the claimed birthplace of Zoroaster and the actual birthplace of Rumi. The No Gonbad Mosque, built in the 9th century CE, is one of the oldest surviving mosques in Central Asia. Genghis Khan destroyed the city in 1220; it never recovered its ancient scale.
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Day 9 — Mazar-i-Sharif → Kholm → Kabul
⚠ Long drive day — approximately 7–8 hours including the Kholm stop. The Salang Pass can be slower in winter.
The overland return from Mazar to Kabul passes through some of the most dramatic landscapes in Afghanistan — the Salang Tunnel at 3,400 metres, built by Soviet engineers in 1964, was the first road to cross the Hindu Kush year-round and changed the strategic geography of the country. Bagh-e Jahan Nama in Kholm was a royal pleasure garden and viewing palace; little remains but the setting above the river valley is memorable.
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Day 10 — Kabul and Departure
Shewaki is one of the few Buddhist sites near Kabul, a Kushan-period stupa from the 2nd to 4th centuries CE, set in a dry valley south of the city that was once densely settled. Bagh-e Babur was laid out by the founder of the Mughal Empire before 1530 — one of the oldest surviving Mughal gardens in the world and the place Babur chose as his own burial site. His tomb is still there, under an open marble canopy.
✓ Included
- Airport meet and greet on Day 1
- Hotel and airport transfers throughout
- All accommodation in shared twin/double room with private bathroom
- English-speaking Afghan guide throughout
- Private vehicle with driver and fuel
- Breakfast and lunch every day
- Entry tickets and photo permits
- Government taxes and tourist permits
- Domestic flights KBL→HEA and HEA→KBL (Days 2–3)
- Band-e Amir National Park 4WD vehicle and boat crossing
- Letter of Invitation for Afghanistan visa — free, within 48 hours of booking
✗ Not Included
- International flights to and from Kabul
- Afghanistan visa fee
- Travel insurance (required — IATI Travel Insurance covers Afghanistan)
- Dinners
- Personal expenses and gratuities
- Single supplement — $400 per person
Route Map
── Overland route
- ✈ - Flight
Tour Price
$2,900
per person · all-inclusive ground price
Solo supplement (own room): +$400 per person
Includes accommodation, guide, transport, flights where shown, entry tickets, meals as listed. International flights not included.
Departure Dates
No upcoming departures scheduled. Enquire about a private departure on your preferred dates.
Book Your Place
Select a departure date and send us your details. Our Kabul team replies within 12 hours, every day. No payment required at this stage.
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