Band-e Amir first Afghan National Park

By Zabihullah Jhanmal
www.quqnoos.com
 
The unique sight of Band-e Amir Lake of the relatively safe Bamyan province in central Afghanistan is known as the National Park for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's National Environmental Protection Agency NEPA said the new park would have an economical stimulus on the country, as it improves the tourism industry.

"The first Afghan National Park will be inaugurated in the next one month or two," NEPA Director, Mostafa Zahir said.

Lake Band-e Amir is a place where thousands of tourists, mostly Afghans, pay visits each year, especially in the spring and summer seasons.

Local entrepreneurs have built up a number of restaurants, shops and hotels, but NEPA is planning to construct a campground to officially turn it to an exciting entertainment location.

Building a proper site is expected to boost tourism industry in the country, which been suffering due to political instability over the past twenty years.

According to Mr Zahir, the park will also provide job opportunities for locals in the villages around the lake.

Before Taliban era, Band-e Amir Lake was receiving enormous amount of international tourists but the hardliners regime had a effect on Afghan tourism and put it in isolation.

Band-e-Amir is a series of six lakes in the central Bamyan Province, and the National Park covers 560 000 hectares of land.

The lakes present a stunning visual landscape, with their clear, azure-blue color set against red-rock cliffs and dry grasslands.

The combination of desert, water, and rock make for landscapes that rival those of national parks anywhere in the world.


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