Bamiyan بامیان

Afghan Uniformed Police patrol car at Bamiyan Valley


Bamiyan (بامیان), the largest city in Hazarajat Region, is the capital of Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan. It is located at an elevation of 2,800 m (9,200 ft), about 240 km to the northwest of Kabul. It is an ancient city that has been around since the time of the Silk Road. It was named after the Hindu-Buddhist monastery that was established in the area during the ancient time. The name comes from the Sanskrit word varmayana, meaning "colored".

Bamiyan is famous for its colossal Buddhist statues, including the tallest in the world. Unfortunately the statues were destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001, on the grounds that they were un-Islamic.

What's the climate of Bamiyan?

Bamiyan has an arid climate. The warmest months are July and August, when the average high temperature reaches 26.1°C (79°F) and often higher. Coldest month is January, when the temperature drops to -12.1°C (10.2°F). Precipitation in Bamiyan is low, totalling just around 133 mm (5.236 in) a year.

At the foot of the statues were caves. These were used by the Taliban to store weapons. After the Taliban were ousted from the area, the caves became home to civilians. In 2008, refugees living in the caves stumbled upon a fantastic collection of Buddhist statues and jars. The jars are stuffed with ancient Buddhist manuscripts which are of great archaeological significance.

Remains of the caves of the destroyed statues of Bamiyan

What are the places of interest in Bamiyan?

Caves and tunnels at Bamiyan that were once used by monks

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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