Bamiyan Valley
Archaeological · Bamyan, Bamyan
A high valley on the old Silk Road where a Buddhist monastic civilisation carved two colossal standing Buddhas — 55 and 38 metres tall — and hundreds of painted sanctuary caves into a mile of sandstone cliff between the 3rd and 8th centuries. The Taliban dynamited both statues in March 2001; the empty niches, the cave galleries and the fortress ruins around them were inscribed together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003 and remain on the List of World Heritage in Danger. It is the cultural centrepiece of Afghanistan and the heart of the Hazara highlands.
Cliff face on the north side of Bamyan town, Bamyan, Bamyan, Afghanistan
Site office hours are informal — roughly daylight hours, seven days. Nothing is published; verify in town on arrival. Access can be suspended without notice.