I was particularly fortunate to go on one trip recently. We took a day trip to the Panjshir Valley. This is the birthplace of Masoud, the only place in Afghanistan to repeatedly repulse the Russian onslaught. This valley also resisted the Taliban and was the birthplace of the Northern Alliance. This place has seen some of the most brutal fighting in the past 30 years. The Russians sent in armored columns and carpet bombed in nine separate campaigns but never conquered it. You might think that a place so embroiled in combat over 25 years might be a depressing place to visit. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Panjshir is a beautiful valley and one of the only places I’ve been in Afghanistan where smiling people are commonplace. This is the region where lapis Lazuli, gold and emeralds are mined. The Panjshir comprises the main valley and numerous smaller valleys that branch off of it. I’m told if you follow the valley to its end you enter the Wakhan, that long sliver of land that ends at China. This is a special place.
We were traveling with Commander Moslem. He had been one of Massoud’s bodyguards and local commander in the war against the Russians. This was a fascinating chance to see this beautiful place, still festooned with abandoned Russian heavy equipment, with a guide responsible for most of that equipment’s destruction. The Russians lost somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 pieces of equipment in the Panjshir, tanks, BMPs, BTRs, heavy trucks, cannons, etc. At times the Panjshir River became chocked with the dead of both sides. In the end the Russians stopped offensive actions to cut their losses.
The people of the Panjshir are mostly Tajik. They look different from the population of the Shamali plain (between Bagram and Kabul). Lighter skin and eyes predominate. Many will tell you the green eyes and lighter skin are the remnants of Alexander the Great’s army. I’ve no idea if that is true but the people of the Panjshir do look different.
To enter the valley you must pass through a very narrow gorge. The road sticks impossibly to the side of the cliff right above the raging Panjshir river. It would make one hell of a kayak run, but you’d have to be pretty damn good, there are no take out spots and the rapids are long and wild.
When the gorge opens up again the valley remains narrow in most spots with very fertile farmland at the floor. They were harvesting wheat when we visited. They still cut it by hand, bundle it up and pack it on donkeys to transport it to be threshed. Interspersed among the fields are rusting tanks and other pieces of equipment. I wished I had a proper camera and more time. The mountainsides are various shades of brown and grey. Flowers gave them a purple cast from the distance. Down along the river were trees covered with pink blooms. The wheat fields alternated between bright green and gold.
We stopped at the memorial being built for Massoud. This is on a prominent hill at one end of a wide point in the valley. In addition to what will one day be an impressive monument, there are large photos of Massoud and a collection of Russian armor. This was also the site of a significant battle. Commander Moslem pointed out the sector he defended and told us of friends who were caught by landmines. During the worst of the war the civilians were all evacuated to neighboring valleys and the Mujahideen laid ambushes throughout the villages. At other times they
abandoned the valley floor to the Russians and took to the high ground. To look at these mountainsides it is easy to imagine how invisible they must have been to the poor Russians below!
At the far end of this particular valley is Massoud’s home. The house he was born in has been added onto and the property has a large garden designed by Massoud. It looks across this lovely valley, his memorial at the far end. The garden is such a peaceful place with such a serene view. It’s difficult to imagine carpet bombing and
armored columns fouling this scene. My heart goes out to these people. I sincerely hope the peace in this region holds and grows. I want to come back to the Panjshir as a civilian. I want to meet back up with Commander Moslem and hike the mountains. This is a magical place that holds me in captivated.
We were traveling with Commander Moslem. He had been one of Massoud’s bodyguards and local commander in the war against the Russians. This was a fascinating chance to see this beautiful place, still festooned with abandoned Russian heavy equipment, with a guide responsible for most of that equipment’s destruction. The Russians lost somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 pieces of equipment in the Panjshir, tanks, BMPs, BTRs, heavy trucks, cannons, etc. At times the Panjshir River became chocked with the dead of both sides. In the end the Russians stopped offensive actions to cut their losses.
The people of the Panjshir are mostly Tajik. They look different from the population of the Shamali plain (between Bagram and Kabul). Lighter skin and eyes predominate. Many will tell you the green eyes and lighter skin are the remnants of Alexander the Great’s army. I’ve no idea if that is true but the people of the Panjshir do look different.
To enter the valley you must pass through a very narrow gorge. The road sticks impossibly to the side of the cliff right above the raging Panjshir river. It would make one hell of a kayak run, but you’d have to be pretty damn good, there are no take out spots and the rapids are long and wild.
When the gorge opens up again the valley remains narrow in most spots with very fertile farmland at the floor. They were harvesting wheat when we visited. They still cut it by hand, bundle it up and pack it on donkeys to transport it to be threshed. Interspersed among the fields are rusting tanks and other pieces of equipment. I wished I had a proper camera and more time. The mountainsides are various shades of brown and grey. Flowers gave them a purple cast from the distance. Down along the river were trees covered with pink blooms. The wheat fields alternated between bright green and gold.
We stopped at the memorial being built for Massoud. This is on a prominent hill at one end of a wide point in the valley. In addition to what will one day be an impressive monument, there are large photos of Massoud and a collection of Russian armor. This was also the site of a significant battle. Commander Moslem pointed out the sector he defended and told us of friends who were caught by landmines. During the worst of the war the civilians were all evacuated to neighboring valleys and the Mujahideen laid ambushes throughout the villages. At other times they
abandoned the valley floor to the Russians and took to the high ground. To look at these mountainsides it is easy to imagine how invisible they must have been to the poor Russians below!At the far end of this particular valley is Massoud’s home. The house he was born in has been added onto and the property has a large garden designed by Massoud. It looks across this lovely valley, his memorial at the far end. The garden is such a peaceful place with such a serene view. It’s difficult to imagine carpet bombing and
armored columns fouling this scene. My heart goes out to these people. I sincerely hope the peace in this region holds and grows. I want to come back to the Panjshir as a civilian. I want to meet back up with Commander Moslem and hike the mountains. This is a magical place that holds me in captivated. 
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