Six deep blue lakes stepped down a valley in the Hindu Kush, held apart by natural dams of white travertine that formed along fault lines where mineral-loaded water seeped out and left calcium carbonate behind. The lakes are named Band-e Gholaman, Band-e Qambar, Band-e Haibat, which is the largest and deepest, Band-e Panir, Band-e Pudina and Band-e Zulfiqar, the lake of the sword of Ali. The colour is genuinely that intense. Afghanistan made it the country’s first national park on 22 May 2009, 606 square kilometres of it, and it has taken over 100,000 visitors a year, most of them Afghan families. About 75 km northwest of Bamyan. Check your government’s travel advice for Afghanistan before considering anything.
Bamyan Province, Afghanistan
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