German YouTuber Cycles from Kabul to Bamyan, then Balkhab, Mazar-e Sharif and Uzbekistan: Beauty, Repeated Checkpoints, and Punishing Roads
Balkhab — September 2025
A German YouTuber who cycled from Kabul to Bamyan, then Balkhab and Mazar-e Sharif, finally entering Uzbekistan, says Afghanistan’s highland scenery is unforgettable—but repeated Taliban checkpoints in Balkhab and severely degraded roads turned parts of the journey into a tough ordeal.
Route and First Impressions
Leaving Kabul for Bamyan brought wide valleys and constant hospitality. After Bamyan, the approach to Balkhab ran along narrow terraces above a blue river; villages appeared suddenly—mud-brick homes the color of the hills and children waving from rooftops.
Balkhab: Beauty with Teeth
The scenery captivates, but the road is unforgiving. The surface changes every few hundred meters: hard washboard that rattles every bolt, rocky stretches carved by runoff, and powdery dust that swallows tires. After rain, mud turns descents slick and climbs sticky. The cyclist reports multiple punctures in a single day and frequent stops to retighten racks and check spokes.
“The landscapes feel unreal—turquoise waters, terraced fields, and cliffs—but the road really wears you down.”
Checkpoints Set the Day’s Rhythm
In Balkhab district, he reports several Taliban stops. Encounters ranged from a simple wave-through to full document checks and questions about nationality, route, camera, and phone. Bags were opened, the passport photographed, and numbers recorded before permission to continue. Keeping the camera down, answering briefly, and staying patient helped.
Coal Trucks on Tight Roads
Along this corridor, coal-laden trucks moved out from extraction areas, adding stress to already rutted tracks. Despite claims that coal revenue is being used for road construction or upgrades, his video shows no clear signs of recent, large-scale improvements on Balkhab’s main through-route.
Human Moments Amid the Hardship
Amid the tension were softer scenes: a shopkeeper filling bottles from a cooled clay jar; teenagers jogging alongside the bike asking about Germany and football; a farmer signaling a rough detour ahead that—though rocky—saved a soaked shoe.
Onward to Mazar-e Sharif, then Uzbekistan
After Balkhab, the route continued to Mazar-e Sharif, where traffic increased and services were more accessible, and then across into Uzbekistan, wrapping up this leg of the trip.
