Overlanding from Kabul to Herat via Minaret of Jam by local transportation

In 2023, I visited Afghanistan for the second time, traveling from the border with Pakistan at Khyber Pass to Kabul, all the way to Herat via the Minaret of Jam. 

It was a 1100km journey, 700km of which were through a pretty rough Jeep track, and which I did with a combination of hitchhiking, minibuses, local shared taxis, taxi motorbikes and random taxis when needed as well.

This is one of the best trips I have ever taken.

This post contains all the practical information for you to do the same.

Introduction: why visit the Minaret of Jam independently

The first time I visited Afghanistan was back in 2021, shortly before the Taliban took over the country.

By that time, safety was still a major issue, and traveling by road between cities was extremely discouraged, and dangerous.

I really enjoyed it but I wasn’t 100% satisfied with the trip since all those security concerns meant that I had to take 6 domestic flights, missing all the things between the major towns.

I had always wanted to visit the Minaret of Jam, a 1000-year old and imposing 62-meter minaret located in one of the remotest areas of Afghanistan, and a UNESCO World Heritage site as well.

However, by that time, it wasn’t possible to visit it, since all the surrounding regions were controlled by the Taliban, so there had never been a way through.

After that trip, I promised myself that I’d never go back to Afghanistan until overlanding became possible again, and that’s the reason of my second visit.

The war in Afghanistan is over and whether we like it or not, travelers must acknowledge that now that the Taliban are ruling, safety across the country has dramatically improved, making it possible to travel all around independently, including visiting the Minaret of Jam.

How many days you need to complete this journey?

It depends.

We completed this journey in only 7-9 days but you need to bear in mind that I had already visited Afghanistan for 3 weeks back in 2021 so, on this second trip, I didn’t spend time sightseeing in Kabul, Bamyan or Herat.

If you wanted to hit the major touristic sites, you should be adding a minimum of 5 days to the below itinerary.

Note that this itinerary doesn’t include…