Afghanistan is changing the face

After exhausting wars with the USSR and the USA, aggression of Taliban and protracted civil war, Afghanistan is beginning to change the militaristic grin into a friendly smile and attract travelers from all over the world by the unique conditions for tourism.

The most attractive areas of tourism development in Afghanistan can become eco-tourism and development of a network of ski resorts. One of the most promising regions for the travel industry is poor, but incredibly rich in natural beauty and with enormous potential, area of Bamiyan. There are magnificent valleys and beautiful mountain slopes, which are able to offer fans of mountain skiing quite a lot of fantastic opportunities for skiing, both for beginners and advanced experts.

Bamiyan has absolutely stunning scenery, where on the intact by the industrial civilization picturesque verdant mountain valleys are grazing herds and are located comfortable farmers' huts and are sparkling the majestic peaks of the Hindu Kush and Paropamiz. On the snowy slopes the tourists can enjoy the beautiful scenery, excellent skiing and find shelter in the summer huts of farmers, converted into comfortable and eco-friendly cabins. Instead of feasting in French restaurants and libations of warming mulled wine here you can try traditional Afghan food, including rice, naan, fresh meat from farmlands and warm spicy Afghan tea and milk. In addition to leisure tourists can also visit numerous historical sites of Bamiyan valley, such as temples, giant Buddha statues (partially survived), the remnants of the city Gaugale and two Muslim fortresses, which since 2003 are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Nevertheless, despite the considerable attractiveness of the region for ecotourism, today's tourist market of Afghanistan is experiencing a significant shortage of infrastructure and visitors. According to local authorities in 2009 historic sites of Bamiyan area were visited by 1,560 Afghans and 756 foreign tourists, bringing the region of about 250 000 dollars of profit.

According to tourism program manager in Bamiyan, Amir Tolad, through ecotourism and unique conditions for lovers of skiing, in the coming years Afghanistan expects a significant increase in tourist flow. According to analysts, by 2015 the number of rooms in the hotels of the valley will increase from 116 to 1000, the number of foreign tourists increase to 10 000 people, and the number of Afghan holidaymakers will exceed 100 000 per year. According to preliminary estimations this will enable the valley to earn about $ 5 million per year and create thousands of new jobs.

We can only hope that the ambitious plans of becoming one of the most picturesque places on the planet will be successfully implemented by the Afghan authorities and in the next five years we will be able to include Bamyan in a list of the nicest ski resorts.