Afghanistan

From Hitchwiki
Earth > Asia > Southern Asia > Afghanistan
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Flag of Afghanistan Afghanistan
Information
Language: Dari (Persian) and Pashto
Capital: Kabul
Population: 28,150,000
Currency: Afghani (AFN)
Paved roads: 8,231 km
Hitchability: <rating country='af' />
Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots
<map lat='34.05' lng='67.1' zoom='5' view='0' height='300' country='Afghanistan' />
Check out hitchhiking spots on Hitchmap

Afghanistan is a country in Asia. The capital is Kabul. It has borders to Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China and Pakistan. Part of the Silk road and formerly part of the so-called Hippie trail, it has since been invaded by the Soviets, ruled by the Taliban and attacked by the United States.

Few people speak English or Russian, and there is an anti-Western feeling throughout the country, but the hospitality to individual travellers is immense. Afghanistan has the lowest rate of cars per inhabitant in the world. Travelling by public transport or staying in hotels is rather expensive compared to Central Asia.

Warning: Information about hitchhiking in Afghanistan is hard to get, and usually a little old (2-5 years). The country is rapidly changing and some areas deemed safer by previous hitchhikers might now be more at risk. Make sure to check the local news and to ask around what the current reality is; and come back to update this page!

Hitchhiking culture

Afghanistan has no tradition of hitchhiking for free. Those who flag down cars usually pay something for the transportation. Some Afghans might let you hitch a ride out of curiosity, but even if the hitchhiker makes it clear at the beginning of the ride that he cannot pay, the driver may still insist on payment when dropping the hitchhiker off. In some regions resp. seasons, hitching on trucks is the only way to travel. Most NGOs are forbidden to pick up hitchhikers, more specifically UN-based of large humanitarian organizations (nonetheless, in practice it's mainly NGOs who pick hitchhikers up). If you choose to hitchhike, be prepared to be questioned by the police over and over again. Low literacy rates mean that using a sign is not necessary.

In the central part of Afghanistan hitching is most common on Russian "Kamaz" trucks, but can be extremely slow (100 km can takes up to 5h) because the roads there are more for the donkey caravans, not for the four wheel transport. Traffic is very low as well, it's possible to wait up to 6 hours for the first truck to appear. About half of the times, the drivers want some money from you, but the other half of the drivers can be really funny and hospitable.

Justas hitched successfully only in the central part of Afghanistan (Hazarajat) in 2007 and in northern Badakshan province (Ishkoshim to Faizabad) in 2010. From Bamyan to the incredible Band i Amir lakes and on to Chagcharan, although he took the wrong way, got lost and had to trek in the isolated mountain valley for two days. He hitched back from Chagcharan to Bamyan and the north of the country. He intended to hitch all the way to Mazar e Sharif, but while sitting in a jeep and crossing over the Solang tunnel, he was dragged out of the car by the northern alliance soldiers (on suspect of being a Taliban), held up for the evening in ruined military barracks in the mountains and then taken to the police station in the city to sleep (they said sorry afterwards). He also tried to hitch out of Mazar and out of Kunduz, but both times unsuccessfully and just took public transport after hours of waiting.

Taylor tried to hitch in Afghanistan in 2009, dressed as a local. He was confused for one several times and it might not have helped him because showing yourself as a foreigner will attract attention to you, especially from people trying to protect you. The downside is that it makes you also easier to spot for Talibans or other radicals. He got his ride on buses paid by kind people as he didn't manage to really hitch.

Maps

Cities

Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-e Sharif, Jalalabad, Ghazni, Kunduz

Public Transport

Collective taxis with fixed fares travel between cities once they are filled with passengers. Travelling with a backpack there means extra cost, but that's where you can bargain. There are also minibuses, a bit cheaper but much more crowded.

Safety

It's probably quite an unsafe country to travel to let alone to hitchhike even though Muslim hospitality might make up for that. Be aware that land mines are widespread in the country. Known fields are marked with cobblestones painted red (towards the field) and white (safer zone). They are identified MF (Mine Field) and LM (Land Mines). Another concern is around the opium traffic route - through the Panj river.

In 2006, a Russian hitchhiker travelling in Afghanistan went missing. For more information, read here. However, the feeling in the Russian community is that this hitchhiker perished while trying to ford a river or negotiate a cliff, and not from violence.

Women

Woman have hitchhiked in Afghanistan in the company of one or more male hitchhikers. It goes without saying that women are advised to cover as much hair and skin as possible when travelling in Afghanistan. This is not only a matter of safety, but of respect as well. Consider a salwar kameez dress with proper headgear. Afghan women do not chat up men in public, or make eye contact with them, or smile to them. Keep in mind that your behaviour and body language might send strong messages to men. Avoid all physical contact in public. It is generally advised to travel with a male companion.

Women travelling alone in group taxis generally have to pay for two seats at the front rather than be allowed to sit next to a man.

Border Crossing

Hitchhikers have crossed to Afghanistan:

  • from Iran via Eslam Qal'eh. Advice given by locals is to reach Kabul using the ring road via Kandahar in the South since it is a main road used by international peace keeping forces.
  • from Pakistan, via Torkham. The trip from Peshawar to Kabul takes about 7 hours.You must obtain a free permit the morning of the departure and a have a bodyguard accompanying you to the border. There is also a checkpoint via Chaman.
  • from Tajikistan, via Panji Poyon.
  • from Turkmenistan
  • from Uzbekistan, via Termez on the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge, it used to be off-limits but I personally crossed this border 4 years ago.

Eating & Drinking

Food should be approached with a discerning eye, hygiene standards can often be lacking. Hot, freshly cooked food is generally safer. Bottled water is also advised, unless you have your own purification system.[1]

Accommodation & Sleeping

While hotels in Kabul can be extremely expensive, attempting to camp in the street will attract local people, who will then insist you stay in their homes.

In the centre of Afghanistan you can sleep in road side restaurants (mostly just mud buildings) for free as long as you eat dinner and breakfast there.

Personal Experiences

Hitchhikernick - Visited in mid July 2025 for two weeks. My route was as follows: Torkham > Jalalabad > Kabul > Kandahar > Herat > Band-E-Amir > Banyam > Mazar-i-sharif > Hairatan.

Hitchhiking was pretty good most of the time with average waiting times around 10 minutes. I hitchhiked literally everywhere, except between kandahar and herat, as a tour guide I bumped into outside the red mosque didn't want me to hitchhike out of kandahar at 6pm, so bought me an overnight bus ticket. I only got stopped and told to get out of vehicle once by a taliban officer in Maidan Shahr, so he could do some checks and get an interpreter. Got bought meals quite a lot of times, and got bought a lot of energy drinks, that are way more popular than coca cola/Pepsi, which surprised me. There are many car washes too dotted along the highways. I hardly ever got ill, from the food, unlike in pakistan. You need to obtain a permit for many places that you intend to visit in afghanistan (taliban requirement and I was asked for it many times) and this can be obtained at The ministry of Information and Culture in Kabul. Mine only took 10mins to get sorted but read and heard others have taken 2hours or greater. It is free to obtain. In total I spent 45usd in Afghanistan over the 2 weeks, with 25usd of that for 2 nights in a hostel, in Kabul, with 2 hearty breakfasts 😁

Beware of male kids 6-16, that were regularly asking me for money, some in Kabul were lobbing small stones at me, and in Kandahar, they were punching and kung-fu kicking my backpack in-front of red mosque. They will regularly swarm you when trying to get a ride...I didn't find them aggressive most of the time, just frustrating due to being asked the same questions repeatedly and for money. Several times I had to start walking due to the frustration and to stand a chance of getting a lift.

When i arrived at Kanadahar at 2am in the morning, when the truck driver giving me a lift dropped me off, and i was making my way to the red mosque, the taliban arrested me that night for safety reasons (3am). They said tourists aren't allowed out after dark in kandahar for safety reasons (strict rule only applies to Kandahar the Taliban informed me). The process of the arrest was not like in other countries where you get in the policeman's car and they take you to the station. Instead they were dressed in normal afghanistan clothes, told me and motorbike driver, that was giving me lift to mosque, to switch off the motorbike and to get in an unmarked car, then told us to put blindfold on when we were inside. I tried to get out car, but they became aggressive and showed gun. They then took us to container, somewhere in central kandahar city. After several minutes, they separated me and the motorbike driver, and only I remained in the container. When the taliban guards left the container I checked the GPS on google maps and it showed i was still in central kandahar. Afterwards they handcuffed my hands and tied my feet together as they had to leave the container door open, because it was too hot to leave it closed, and didnt want me to try and escape. The next day they took me to proper prison (blindfolded and hands tied behind my back) and I no longer worried about being kidnapped once i got there. After another 3 days they let me out and all was good. They fed me bread, fruit and one big rice & meat meal a day. I asked and got given plenty of tea (chai). They also offered big ice cubes, but I didn't take it as had upset stomach (due to eating scrambled eggs and tomatoes drenched in excessive oil whilst in the container) didn't want to drink any potential contaminated fluids.

Be careful where you take photos as i got a Taliban guard shining a green laser at my head when trying to take photo of river and mosque when in Kabul (it was right in front of ministry of defence compound, but I didn't take any photos of compound)

I even managed to hitchhike everywhere I went in Kabul, waiting no longer than 5 minutes every time 😁 I camped several times, slept in trucks 3 times, in a hostel 2 nights, in prison 3.5 nights, at someone's home in Torkham after crossing the border at 8pm and on an overnight bus once.

I obtained my visa in islamabad for 80usd (4-5days to process. You can also get same/next day for 130usd). There is an application service right across the road from the embassy that fills in application, provides photos and scans necessary docs for 2000 pakistan rupees (7usd) or 10usd note (what i paid).

I was dressed in jogging bottoms, a t-shirt, baseball cap and sunglasses. Some locals said I should dress like them, but it looked too much in 40degeee July temperatures. I think standing out made it easier to get rides. I think it also helped me when I got arrested, as dressing like a local might have made the Taliban suspicious, if they arrested me, that I could possibly be a spy...guaranteed long prison sentence/execution 😲

I just said no money and 75% of drivers who stopped understood and were fine with giving me free ride. I never experienced the awkward situation where the driver demanded money at end of journey, unlike in other countries. Many tried to take me to bus stations/taxis but I just kept saying no bus/taxi and they soon understood.

I even managed to take some photos with the taliban 😁. This may come across as ignorant, because of the extreme rules/laws that don't get forced upon tourists, like locals. But many locals i asked, said that the taliban was good. hitchhikernick

Other Useful Info

English News Websites

Nomadwiki & Trashwiki

Check Trashwiki for dumpsters...and share your wisdom :)

Retrieved from "https://www.nomadwiki.org/en/index.php?title=Afghanistan&oldid=111420"