Safety in Afghanistan

Checkpoints: Expect frequent document checks by armed patrols on the roads between provinces. Keep your passport and a printed copy of your entry permit somewhere you can reach without unpacking.
Photography: Photographing military sites, checkpoints or any armed personnel is absolutely forbidden. Never photograph local women either, without explicit permission from the men accompanying them.
Drones: Bringing in or flying a drone is banned and the kit will be confiscated at the border. Any flying camera reads as espionage to the authorities, and that is not an argument you will win.
Risk level: Most Western governments advise against all travel to Afghanistan because of the continuing threat of attacks, and you should check your own government's travel advisory before committing. Street crime has fallen, but the risk of kidnapping or being caught in crossfire has not gone away.
Registration: Foreigners must report to the department of culture on arrival in each new city. It is usually a formality, though officials occasionally want a short conversation first.
Medical care: Competent treatment exists only in private clinics in Kabul, and hardly at all in the provinces.

Afghanistan is not a destination for a tourist trip. Virtually every government advises its citizens not to travel there under any circumstances and to leave if they are present.

What defines the situation. The Taliban has governed the country since 2021. Attacks by armed groups continue, including ISIS-Khorasan, directed among others at foreigners and religious minorities. Kidnapping of foreigners for ransom is a real and systemic threat, not a hypothetical one.

Humanitarian crisis. The economy is in a severe state, the banking system is constrained, and international cards do not work. Cash dollars are the only means of payment.

There is no consular assistance. Most countries have closed their embassies in Kabul. If something happens to you, there will be virtually nobody to help. This differs fundamentally from every other country in this guide: mechanisms for protecting a citizen do not exist here.

Insurance. No standard policy covers Afghanistan.

What follows is not a guidebook but an account of the actual situation.

The legal system. An interpretation of Sharia as applied by the current authorities. Punishments include corporal punishment and the death penalty, and public executions of sentences have resumed. Judicial guarantees in the ordinary sense do not exist.

Women's rights. Severe restrictions apply: on education beyond primary level, on work in most fields, on movement without a male relative, and on access to many public places. Full covering dress is compulsory. For a foreign woman, a trip means the same restrictions in practice.

Photography. Photographing people, women especially, fighters and armed personnel, checkpoints and any government facility is categorically prohibited. Confiscation of equipment and detention are the ordinary outcome.

Drugs and alcohol. Prohibited entirely, with severe penalties.

Religion. Non-Muslim religious activity and literature are prohibited. An accusation of proselytising is extremely dangerous.

Mines. Afghanistan remains among the world's most heavily mined countries. Nobody leaves roads and paths.

Movement. Checkpoints of various forces operate between provinces, and road conditions change daily.

The healthcare system is in crisis. International funding ceased or fell sharply after 2021, and hospitals operate short of everything: medicines, equipment, staff. In rural areas medical care effectively does not exist.

Evacuation. International medical evacuation from Afghanistan is extremely difficult. Commercial air links are limited and insurers do not fly into the country. In practice this means a serious injury or illness may have no solution.

Infections. Malaria in the lowlands, leishmaniasis, typhoid, hepatitis A and polio — the country remains polio-endemic. A full vaccination set is required and must be arranged in advance.

Water. Unsafe everywhere. Bottled or treated only.

Food and medicines. Bring everything you need, including a complete medical kit: buying locally may not be possible.

Altitude and climate. Kabul sits at 1,800 metres, cold and snowy in winter, hot and dusty in summer. Passes close.

Earthquakes. The region is seismically active, and the destructive tremors of recent years were compounded by the state of the buildings.

Afghanistan sits at the very bottom of global rankings for safety and the rule of law.

Who controls the ground. State functions are exercised by the Taliban. Checkpoints are numerous, and their composition and rules vary. Separately, armed groups operate outside that authority.

Kidnapping. Foreigners are a target category. This is not a rare incident but one of the main scenarios feared by everyone working there: UN and humanitarian staff move under strict protocols.

Detention. Foreigners have been detained on accusations of espionage, photography and proselytising, and with no stated grounds. Detention periods are unpredictable and consular access is absent.

If you are there anyway. This concerns humanitarian staff and journalists rather than tourists. The protocols that work: a local fixer with a reputation, daily assessment of conditions, no public activity, minimal equipment, an exit plan with a backup route, and regular check-in calls.

The honest conclusion: Afghanistan is not a place to travel to. This section exists to make that clear, not to plan a route.