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Kabul
Capital and the largest city of Afghanistan

Kabul

Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan.

Plan a trip to Kabul→From Mazar-i-Sharif

It is within the jurisdiction of Kabul District and has an estimated population of 5,333,284 people. Located in the eastern half of the country, forming part of the Kabul Province, the city is administratively divided into five zones and 22 municipal districts. The current mayor of the city is Mawlawi Abdul Rashid.

Get in

Getting to Kabul

  1. 01
    Kabul International Airport
  2. 02
    Terminal-e Paytakht

    Buses for Mazar-e Sharif, Kunduz, Sheberghan, and Maimana.

  3. 03
    Terminal-e Kampani

    Buses for Kandahar, Herat, Ghazni, Lashkargah, and Farah.

  4. 04
    Pul-e Charkhi Transport Stand

    Minibuses and shared taxis for Jalalabad and sometimes Torkham at the Khyber Pass border crossing.

See

Worth seeing

Despite its long history, Kabul is rather short on historical sights. Centuries of warfare and decades of urban sprawl have taken their toll. Most contemporary attractions are disappointingly lackluster, poorly maintained, and surprisingly expensive. The city is more compelling around Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque and the Mandawi Bazaar, offering a glimpse of old Kabul amid a maze of crowded lanes and bustling markets.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Kabul Golf Club

    Closed down in 1978 by the Soviet Union, it reopened in 2004 after a 25-year hiatus.

  2. 02
    Ariana Cinema

    Primarily shows Bollywood or trashy action flicks, and the occasional American blockbuster.

  3. 03
    Amani High School
  4. 04
    Ghazi Stadium

    Just past the stadium is the mine museum as well as a road up the hill where you will find hundreds of Afghan men and boys flying kites on holidays.

  5. 05
    Kabul National Cricket Stadium

    Home of the Afghan cricket team.

Eat

Where to eat

Food is a definite bright spot of Kabul, as it is cheap, delicious, and safe – except for street food, which is only cheap and delicious. Best not to risk the latter unless you've lived in Afghanistan a while. Restaurants open and close with surprising frequency, so it is a good idea to check whether a place is still operating before heading out.

  1. 01
    Andkhoi Bastan Turkmen Restaurant

    Shahid Road (in front of Etisalat Main Office),.

  2. 02
    Ansari Kunduz Kabab

    Ahmad Zahir Road and Kolula Pushta Road,.

  3. 03
    Biryani House

    The special chicken biryani is excellent.

  4. 04
    Bolani

    Offers bolanis only (Afghan stuffed flatbread).

  5. 05
    Chicking

    Sulh Road (inside Majid Mall),.

How locals move

Getting around Kabul the local way

  • Get inCoaches from reputable companies are reasonably modern and comfortable, although rather slow compared to shared taxis.
  • Get inMinibuses and shared taxis arrive and depart from six official locations around the city.
  • Get inShared taxis and most minibuses leave when full rather than on fixed schedules.
  • Get inShared taxis have no particular appearance of their own – they look the same as city taxis (i.e.
  • Get inIf you'd prefer this, try to discern the going per-seat rate for shared taxis to your destination, multiply it by the number of seats, and then negotiate a discount.
  • Get inYou can usually also buy extra seats (or an entire backseat) to give yourself extra room in a shared taxi.
  • Go nextIstalif, a village in a side valley of the Shamali Plain makes for an excellent overnight or day trip destination.
  • Go nextPakistan can be reached by taking a shared taxi (US$15, 2025) to the Torkham border crossing (traversing the famous Khyber Pass).

From Wikivoyage: Kabul, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Godot13 (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.