Travel and Tourism

Travel and Tourism in Afghanistan

Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Afghanistan.

Practical Information

Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.

Travel Alert Status: Level 4: Do Not Travel
Time Difference: UTC+4.5 (9.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Currency: 7.87
Climate: Afghanistan's climate compromises a cold, snowy winter and hot, dry summer. Extreme temperature changes occur from night to day, season to season, and from place to place. During summer in Kabul (altitude 5,800 feet) the temperature may be 50°F at sunrise but reach 100°F by noon. In the Jalalabad Plains (1,800 feet and 90 miles from Kabul) and southwestern parts of the country, summer temperatures can reach 115°F. The chief characteristic of Afghanistan's climate is a blue cloudless sky with over 300 days of sunshine yearly. Even during the winter, skies usually remain clear between snowfalls. Since rainfall is scarce from May to November, this period can be extremely dry and dusty. In recent years, drought has impaired agricultural production in some areas.
Language(s) Spoken: Afghan Persian or Dari (official, lingua franca) 77%, Pashto (official) 48%, Uzbeki 11%, English 6%, Turkmani 3%, Urdu 3%, Pashaie 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi 1%, other <1%
Ethnic Groups: current, reliable statistical data on ethnicity in Afghanistan are not available; Afghanistan's 2004 Constitution cited Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkman, Baluch, Pashaie, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur, and Brahwui ethnicities; Afghanistan has dozens of other small ethnic groups
National Holiday: previous: Independence Day, 19 August (1919); under the Taliban Government, 15 August (2022) is declared a national holiday, marking the anniversary of the victory of the Afghan jihad
Geographic Coordinates: 33 00 N, 65 00 E
Location: Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
Airports: 47

Health and Safety

Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.

Well-equipped medical facilities are few and far between throughout Afghanistan. European and American medicines are available in limited quantities and may be expensive or difficult to locate. There is a shortage of basic medical supplies. Basic medicines manufactured in Iran, Pakistan, China and India are available, but their reliability can be questionable. Several Western-style private clinics have opened in Kabul: the DK-German Medical Diagnostic Center (ph. 079-913-6210),French Children”™s Hospital (ph. 020-250-0531),and CURE International Hospital (ph.

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