Panjshir

Panjshir Province is essentially one long valley and its side branches, cut deep into the Hindu Kush north-east of Kabul. The Panjshir River runs for more than 100 km down its length, from high passes in the north-east to a narrow gorge near Gulbahar, where it leaves the mountains for the plains of Parwan and Kapisa. Peaks of well over 5,000 metres rise on both sides. The province's neighbours include Parwan and Kapisa to the south-west, Baghlan to the north-west, Badakhshan to the north-east and Nuristan to the east. Stone and mud-brick villages line the valley floor and climb the lower slopes among terraced fields and mulberry, walnut and apricot trees. The district centres follow the river upstream, among them Anaba, Rokha, Bazarak, the capital, Khenj and Paryan, while side valleys such as Shutul lead off into the mountains. Panjshir is known for the clear, fast river that runs beside the road, for the emeralds mined in its side valleys, and for the passes at its head, the Anjuman to Badakhshan and the Khawak to Andarab, which made it a route through the mountains for centuries. Visitors come for the mountain scenery, walks in the side valleys and the picnic places along the river.

The Panjshir valley has been a route across the Hindu Kush since ancient times, and armies and traders have used its passes to move between the Kabul region and the plains of the north. In the early Islamic centuries it was known for its silver mines, which medieval geographers described and which brought the valley wealth. The name means 'five lions'. Local tradition links it to five brothers, holy men said to have built a dam for Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. For centuries Panjshir belonged to the Kabul region and later to Parwan Province, until it became a separate province in 2004. In the late 20th century the valley saw prolonged fighting, and the wrecks of armoured vehicles from that time still lie beside the road in places.

Dari is the everyday language of Panjshir, and the population is predominantly Sunni Muslim. Village life is close-knit and built around extended families, the mosque and the farming year, and offering hospitality to a guest is a point of honour. Many families also have relatives in Kabul, Parwan and Kapisa, and people move between the valley and the city with the seasons. Local shrines, often on hillsides above the villages, are visited for prayer and on holidays. Nowruz and the two Eids are celebrated with family visits and with picnics on the riverbanks and in the orchards, and weddings, mostly held after the harvest, bring whole villages together. Poetry in Dari is widely loved and recited, as across much of Afghanistan.

Panjshir is a classic Hindu Kush valley: a narrow floor of fields and orchards beside a fast, clear river, walled in by steep, rocky slopes that rise to snowfields and high peaks. The valley floor climbs from about 1,600 metres near its mouth to well above 2,500 metres in its upper reaches, and the passes at its head are higher still. The Panjshir River, fed by snow and ice, runs cold and swift all year and roars in the spring melt. Side streams tumble down from hanging valleys, and in places the river cuts through narrow gorges, especially near the valley's entrance. Terraced fields of wheat and maize, mulberry and walnut groves, and willows and poplars along the water make bands of green against the bare mountains, and the high pastures above the villages are grazed by sheep and goats in summer.

Mulberries are the fruit of Panjshir. They ripen in early summer, when they are eaten fresh by the basketful, and much of the crop is dried on rooftops for winter. Dried mulberries are pounded with walnuts into talkhan, a dense, sweet cake that keeps for months and is carried on journeys. Walnuts, apricots, apples and grapes from the lower valley are also important. The river provides fish, often fried and eaten by the water, and families in the high villages make dairy products from their flocks: yoghurt, dogh, qurut and butter. Everyday meals revolve around tandoor bread, qabuli palaw for guests, shorwa and dishes of beans and greens, and in winter dried fruit and nuts with green tea in the evenings.

Panjshir is best known for its emeralds, mined in side valleys such as Khenj and noted for their deep green colour. Rough and cut stones are traded locally and in Kabul; buyers should take care over quality and provenance, and rules on exporting gemstones may apply. Other crafts are domestic. Women embroider caps, cloth and clothing, and families knit and weave woollen socks, gloves, caps and simple blankets from the wool of their own flocks for the long winters. These are sold in small numbers in the bazaars of Bazarak and Rokha, alongside dried mulberries, walnuts and everyday goods brought up from Kabul.

The valley is at its best from late April to October. Spring brings blossom and the river in full flood with snowmelt, though the upper passes remain under snow until well into summer. June and July are the mulberry season, warm and green, and the high side valleys and pastures become accessible for walking. September and October are clear and cool, with autumn colour in the poplars and walnut trees and the harvest in the fields. Winter is long and cold: heavy snow falls from about December to March, avalanches can block the road in the upper valley, and life slows down. The Anjuman and Khawak passes are open to travel only in the summer months.

The valley is reached from Kabul by the highway north through the Koh-e Daman towards Charikar, then east via Jabal Saraj or across the plain to Gulbahar, where the road enters the gorge at the valley's mouth. Bazarak, the capital, is about 130 km from Kabul, a drive of around two and a half to three hours, and a paved road continues up the valley beyond it. From Charikar the entrance to the valley is about half an hour away. At the head of the valley, rough tracks cross the Anjuman Pass to the Kokcha valley in Badakhshan and the Khawak Pass to Andarab in Baghlan; both are high, open only in summer, and suited to sturdy vehicles or travel on foot. Road conditions and local circumstances change, so travellers should check current conditions before setting out.

Accommodation in Panjshir is limited. Bazarak and the lower valley around Rokha have a few simple guesthouses and hotels, used mostly by Afghan visitors on weekend and holiday trips from Kabul, and some riverside picnic places in the lower valley serve meals in summer. Further up the valley and in the side valleys there are no formal hotels, and travellers who stay overnight usually do so as guests in village homes, arranged in advance through local contacts. Many visitors from Kabul simply come for the day, since the lower valley can be reached and left again in a long day's round trip. Expect basic facilities throughout.

Minibuses and shared taxis run between Kabul and the Panjshir valley, and between Gulbahar, Rokha, Bazarak and the upper district centres, leaving when full. Services are most frequent in the lower valley and thin out above Bazarak, especially in winter. A private car with a driver is the most practical way to explore, allowing stops at viewpoints, shrines and picnic places along the river. Shared pick-ups serve side valleys where the roads are rough. Beyond the end of the road, people walk, and donkeys and horses carry loads to the high villages and summer pastures, as they do on the tracks over the passes.