Bamiyan Hot Springs

Bamiyan, the capital of Bamiyan Province in the central highlands of Afghanistan, is one of the most historically and archaeologically significant sites in Central Asia, the location of the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan — sixth-century Gandhara-style cliff carvings that were the tallest standing Buddhas in the world until their deliberate destruction by the Taliban in 2001 — and the centre of the ancient Silk Road Buddhist culture of the Kushan Empire. Bamiyan Hot Springs draws on sodium and bicarbonate thermal waters from the geothermal resources of the Hindu Kush mountain zone, offering warm mineral pools in the dramatic highland valley beneath the ochre cliffs where the outlines of the destroyed Buddha niches remain as haunting monuments to one of the most grievous acts of cultural destruction in modern history. The Bamiyan Buddha niches and the ongoing UNESCO archaeological preservation efforts, the extraordinary Band-e Amir National Park — Afghanistan's first national park, whose six stunning cobalt lakes formed by natural travertine dams create one of Central Asia's most breathtaking landscapes — and the ancient Silk Road heritage of the Hazara people make Bamiyan one of the most historically charged and scenically extraordinary thermal destinations in the world.