Helmand

Helmand province lies in southern Afghanistan and is the country's largest province by area. It stretches from the foothills of the central highlands in the north to the border with Pakistan's Balochistan in the south, with Kandahar to the east, Nimruz and Farah to the west, and the highlands of Daykundi and Uruzgan to the north and north-east. The province takes its name from the Helmand River, Afghanistan's longest, which flows south-west through its whole length. Along the river and its canals runs a green belt of fields, orchards and villages, often only a few kilometres wide, where most of the population lives. On either side stretch some of the country's largest deserts: the stony Dasht-e Margo to the west and the sand dunes of the Registan to the south-east. The Kajaki Dam in the north holds the river in a long reservoir. The capital, Lashkar Gah, stands near the confluence of the Helmand and the Arghandab, beside the ruins of Bost and Lashkari Bazar, once among the great cities of the Ghaznavid empire. Girishk, on the main highway, is the province's other important town. Helmand is above all agricultural, and its life is that of an irrigated valley set against wide southern deserts.

The Helmand valley has supported settled life since ancient times, when it lay between the lands the Persians called Arachosia and Drangiana. The river made it a corridor between the Iranian plateau and the lands to the east, and many empires passed along it. In the medieval period the city of Bost, near present-day Lashkar Gah, was the major centre of the region. The Ghaznavid sultans of the 11th century built a vast palace complex along the river at Lashkari Bazar, and Bost flourished as one of their main cities until it was sacked by the Ghurids in the mid-12th century. The valley later suffered from the Mongol and Timurid invasions and from the decline of its irrigation works. From the 18th century Helmand was part of the Durrani state. In the 1950s and 1960s a large development scheme built dams and canals along the river and founded the new town of Lashkar Gah. The province was heavily affected by the conflicts of recent decades.

Pashto is the main language of Helmand, and Baluchi is spoken in the south, with Dari common in Lashkar Gah and the larger towns. Social life is shaped by Pashtun traditions, including the code known as Pashtunwali, with its emphasis on hospitality, honour and the protection of guests, and by family and tribal ties that link villages across the valley. Religious life centres on the mosque, and shrines are visited for prayers and vows. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are the year's main celebrations, with new clothes, visits and shared meals, and Nowruz is marked in many places as the start of the farming year. Pashto poetry and song, accompanied by the rubab and the tabla, are much loved, and the attan, a circle dance, is performed at weddings and festivities. Kite flying is a popular pastime, especially in spring.

Helmand is defined by the contrast between its river and its deserts. The Helmand River, fed by snowmelt from the central highlands, flows through the province from north-east to south-west, and its waters are spread through a network of canals to irrigate wheat, maize, cotton, vegetables, melons and orchards. The valley is a ribbon of green between brown and ochre wastes. West of the river lies the Dasht-e Margo, a vast plain of gravel and stone, and to the south-east the Registan, a sea of reddish sand dunes extending towards Kandahar and Pakistan. In the north the land rises into rugged hills and mountains, where the reservoir of the Kajaki Dam lies among bare ridges. Desert wildlife includes foxes, hares and many reptiles, and birds gather along the river and canals, especially in winter.

Helmand is a major agricultural province, and its produce reaches markets across Afghanistan. The melons and watermelons of the Helmand valley are especially prized, and the province also grows wheat, maize, vegetables, grapes, pomegranates and other fruit on its irrigated farms. Everyday meals are built around bread baked in the tandoor, rice, beans and lamb. Qabuli palaw is the dish for guests and festivals, and kebab is grilled in the bazaars of every town. In winter some households prepare landi, meat dried in the cold air, for rich rice dishes. Yoghurt and dugh are served with most meals, and green tea with sugared almonds, raisins or sweets is offered to visitors.

Helmand is not widely known for distinctive crafts, but traditional skills survive in its villages. Women embroider caps, dresses and cuffs in bright colours and fine stitching, and embroidered caps and men's waistcoats are sold in the bazaars. Baluch communities in the south weave rugs, kilims and bags in their characteristic dark colours and geometric designs. The bazaars of Lashkar Gah and Girishk mainly sell everyday goods: cloth, ready-made clothing, sandals, household wares, farm tools and food, along with prayer mats and machine-made carpets. Visitors interested in handmade pieces will find more choice by asking among the cloth and carpet traders than by browsing the main streets.

The most comfortable time to visit Helmand is from November to March, when days are mild and sunny and nights cool, occasionally cold in December and January. Most of the year's limited rain falls in winter and early spring. Spring comes early, in February and March, when the valley is green and the wheat is growing; the wheat harvest follows in late spring. From May to September the heat is fierce, often above 40°C and higher in midsummer, and hot winds raise dust across the deserts. Late summer brings the melon harvest, and in October temperatures fall back to bearable levels as farmers prepare the fields for winter crops.

From Kabul, the road route is the main highway south to Kandahar and then west, about 640 km to Lashkar Gah and usually 10 to 11 hours of driving. From Kandahar the drive is about 150 km, along the main highway towards Girishk and then south on the branch road to Lashkar Gah. From Herat, the highway runs south-east through Farah to Girishk, about 480 km to Lashkar Gah in all. Bost Airport (BST), near Lashkar Gah, has been served by domestic flights from Kabul. The southern districts border Pakistan, but this frontier runs through remote desert and is not a usual route for travellers. Road conditions and local circumstances change, so travellers should check current conditions before setting out.

Most accommodation in Helmand is in Lashkar Gah, which has a number of hotels and guesthouses, mostly modest, used by officials, traders and visitors. Girishk, on the main highway, has a few simple hotels and roadside inns where long-distance drivers stop. In the districts there are no hotels to speak of. Travellers who need to stay overnight in rural areas do so as guests of local families, following the strong local tradition of hospitality, and this should be arranged in advance through trusted contacts. Tea houses along the highway may provide a place to rest during the heat of the day or to sleep on a long journey.

Shared taxis and minibuses link Lashkar Gah with Girishk, Kandahar and the district centres, leaving from stands in the city when full. Long-distance buses run along the main highway between Kandahar and Herat, stopping at Girishk. In towns, motor rickshaws and motorbikes are the most common way to make short trips. Rural roads along the canals are often narrow and unpaved, and pickups and tractors carry people and produce between villages and markets. Visitors usually hire a car with a driver to see places outside the towns, such as the ruins of Bost or the river valley, and in summer plan journeys for the cooler parts of the day.