I spent 2-weeks exploring the remote mountains of Afghanistan on a backpacking trip. Not your typical vacation destination, but one of my favorite travel experiences to date. Here’s a glimpse of the beauty of Afghanistan.

I was able to experience the positive side of Afghanistan and its wonderful people, up close and personal, during my trip in the summer of 2016 as an American tourist. It’s since become my most memorable travel adventure to date.

Here are some of my favorite photos of people & landscapes from my 100-mile backpacking trip into Afghanistan’s remote and mountainous Wakhan Corridor in Badakhshan Province.

Witness the "other" side of Afghanistan that you don’t see in the news.

The Wakhan is a rugged and wild region of Northeast Afghanistan, part of Badakhshan Province. It’s a narrow piece of land, about 400 km long, surrounded on three sides by Tajikistan, China, and Pakistan.

Two large mountain ranges dominate the area, the Pamir in the North, and the Hindu Kush in the South. The Wakhan Corridor was created by politicians in the 1800’s during the "Great Game" in an attempt to leave a buffer zone between British India and the Russian empire.

During my hiking adventure in Afghanistan we traveled primarily on foot, but I also managed to hitch a ride on a yak for a portion of the route after running into a group of Wakhi men leading their yaks through the mountains.

While they stopped for tea, they let us borrow their yaks, which we led further into the valley — until their owners caught up with us later.

Yaks are the ultimate Eco-friendly 4×4 in Afghanistan, able to climb steep rocky terrain and power through icy cold rivers. There are no trees above 10,000 feet, so locals are forced to trek for 3-days to lower elevations with their animals in order to gather firewood for cooking and warmth.

The Wakhan region in Afghanistan was once part of the ancient silk road, an important trading route connecting China to Europe. Along with silk, horses, and other goods, it was a highway for armies and explorers too. Explorers like Marco Polo who is believed to have passed through here during the 13th century.

Crossing steep mountain passes and high desolate plateaus, passing caravans of yaks and donkeys loaded with goods, spending the night in stone shelters with traveling merchants — I felt like I was getting a glimpse of what the silk road must have been like all those years ago.

The Wakhan River runs through the Wakhan Corridor, fed by the high altitude mountains of the Hindu Kush on the border with Pakistan. It snakes its way through the mountains and is a major lifeline for the people living in this harsh and unforgiving landscape.

The bright blue color of this water is due to reddish hues of the rock formations around it, as well as the crystal clear source (a glacier). Water molecules absorb other colors, like red, more efficiently than blue.

So there you go. A peek at the other side of Afghanistan that we never see on the nightly news. After traveling the world extensively for the past 6 years, I’ve noticed this is a common theme.

Don’t let our media, which is primarily focused on negative & sensational topics, be your only window into the dynamics of a foreign country you’ve never been to.