--- title: "Mazar-i-Sharif – what is there, and how you get there | Mixroutes" description: "Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan: Mazar-i-Sharif or Mazar-e-Sharif is a city in northern Afghanistan, serving as the capital and largest city of Balkh…" url: "https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/mazar-i-sharif" markdown: "https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/mazar-i-sharif.md" image: "https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/%D9%85%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1_%D8%B4%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%81.jpg/1920px-%D9%85%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1_%D8%B4%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%81.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail" --- Provincial capital in Balkh, Afghanistan # Mazar-i-Sharif Mazar-i-Sharif or Mazar-e-Sharif is a city in northern Afghanistan, serving as the capital and largest city of Balkh Province. ![Mazar-i-Sharif](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/%D9%85%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1_%D8%B4%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%81.jpg/1920px-%D9%85%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1_%D8%B4%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%81.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) Mazar-i-Sharif · Mortazaali787 (CC BY-SA 4.0) The place Mazar-i-Sharif or Mazar-e-Sharif is a city in northern Afghanistan, serving as the capital and largest city of Balkh Province. It has 12 city districts (nahias) and an estimated population of 568,013 people. Hafiz Abdul Rahman Himat is the current mayor of the city. His predecessor was Mohammad Kazim Tariq. Adapted from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazar-i-Sharif), CC BY-SA 4.0. What is there ## Worth seeing in and around Mazar-i-Sharif 3 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name. 1. Blue Mosque The Mausoleum of Imam Ali, also known as the Blue Mosque, is a mausoleum and mosque complex located in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital and largest city of Balkh Province in northern Afghanistan. It is a popular tourist attraction in the middle of the city, which is visited all year long by all people regardless of religion or sect. 1.1 km · mosque and mausoleum in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_of_Imam_Ali) 2. Balkh University Balkh University is the largest public university in Mazar-i-Sharif, which is the capital of Balkh Province in northern Afghanistan. Established in 1986, the university has about 18,000 students. 1.5 km · university · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkh_University) 3. Mazar Hotel Mazar Hotel is a hotel in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. The hotel is decorated in 1930s decor, featuring all high ceilings, grand dining rooms and pillars. 0 m · building in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan · [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazar_Hotel) Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0. See ## What Wikivoyage says to see In the way of sights Mazar has little to offer the visitor other than the Blue Mosque, although some of the modern monuments built atop traffic circles are worth a photo. 1. Blue Mosque The shrine marks the burial site of Ali bin Talib, the Prophet Mohammad's cousin and the fourth caliph of Islam. 2. Qala-i-Jangi 3. Takht-e Rustam From [Wikivoyage: Mazar-i-Sharif](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Mazar-e_Sharif), CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us. Eat ## Where to eat Restaurant menus are usually only available in Dari. It is probably easiest to use AI to translate. Food stall abound on the streets surrounding the Blue Mosque. Bagels with green vegetables, tomato and french fries are especially good. Fruit shakes, soft drinks and tea are also available. Perhaps obviously, be very careful about what you choose to eat. 1. Mansoor Restaurant Delicious local and Western food with a Trumpian decor. 2. Kefyat Hotel 3. Rayhan Restaurant From [Wikivoyage: Mazar-i-Sharif](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Mazar-e_Sharif), CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us. Go there ## Getting to Mazar-i-Sharif **Airports:** Mazar-i-Sharif (MZR), 8 km · Bokhtar (KQT), 202 km · Dushanbe (DYU), 254 km\ - Kabul → Mazar-i-Sharif 306 km · quickest by air, 3h 9m · $130–190 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/kabul-to-mazar-i-sharif) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Kabul&to=Mazar-i-Sharif) - Guzara → Mazar-i-Sharif 548 km · quickest by air, 6h 26m · $230–330 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/guzara-to-mazar-i-sharif) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Guzara&to=Mazar-i-Sharif) - Kandahar → Mazar-i-Sharif 581 km · quickest by air, 6h 32m · $210–320 [Guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/kandahar-to-mazar-i-sharif) [Today](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Kandahar&to=Mazar-i-Sharif) - From anywhere The planner compares every way there from wherever you are. [Plan a trip](https://www.mixroutes.com/?to=Mazar-i-Sharif) Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds. Not yet researched ## No local-transport research exists yet for Mazar-i-Sharif Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Mazar-i-Sharif. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more. What Wikivoyage says about moving around - Get in The back road from Herat via Maimana is a very rough 3-day journey requiring a 4wd vehicle with back country preparation, and is no longer considered safe. - Get in Walk the rest of the way across the bridge, get stamped in by the Taliban, and then take a shared taxi to Mazar for AFN 150-300 or a private taxi for AFN 800-1000 (2026). - Get around Zaranj (tuk-tuks/auto-rickshaws) are also plentiful and even cheaper. - Go next Shared taxis head to the Uzbekistan border (better rates when taking one from the bus terminal, 200-400 Afs (2026) depending on your negotiating skills; otherwise city rates apply) - taking 30 minutes on a good tarred road through the desert. From [Wikivoyage: Mazar-e Sharif](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Mazar-e_Sharif), CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-07. The nearest places where the work is done 1. [Panjakent and the Fann Mountains](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/panjakent) TJ 11 ways of moving, 16 sources 314 km 2. [Khujand](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/khujand) TJ 9 ways of moving, 27 sources 454 km 3. [Karimabad (Hunza)](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/hunza) PK 9 ways of moving, 35 sources 676 km 4. [Leh](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/leh) IN 8 ways of moving, 25 sources 989 km 5. [Tirthan Valley](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/tirthan-valley) IN 8 ways of moving, 29 sources 1,102 km If you know how people move in Mazar-i-Sharif – the stand, the rule, the fare – [tell us](https://www.mixroutes.com/report?key=blog%7Cmazar-i-sharif&title=Mazar-i-Sharif&sub=Field+notes&back=%2Fnotes%2Fmazar-i-sharif), and the note gets an entry. Around it ## Next door to Mazar-i-Sharif Mazar-i-Sharif is 1 km from [Mazār-e Sharīf](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/mazar-e-sharif), the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture. - [Nahr-e Shahi](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/nahr-e-shahi) human settlement in Afghanistan 3 km [The place page for Mazar-i-Sharif](https://www.mixroutes.com/places/mazar-i-sharif) [All the notes](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes) [Every note on Afghanistan](https://www.mixroutes.com/notes#c-AF) --- This is the markdown version of https://www.mixroutes.com/notes/mazar-i-sharif, for search crawlers and AI assistants. The HTML page is the canonical copy. Mixroutes is made by Lascade LLC, Sharjah Media City, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Index of every page: https://www.mixroutes.com/llms.txt