Tour group offers £2k nine day trip to world’s most dangerous country | World | News

A UK tour operator is currently offering trips for Brits to experience the “highlights of Afghanistan”.

The nine day trip via holiday company Untamed Borders is advertised for £2,173 and starts and finishes in the capital of the Taliban-controlled country Kabul.

The UK Government however offers a stark warning against travelling to the country saying that it’s “extremely dangerous” with extremist Islamic movement taking over the country in 2021.

The Untamed Borders tour website said: “Starting and finishing in Kabul this trip visits Bamian in the Central Highlands of Afghanistan, home of the Buddha niches and the lakes of Band e Amir.

“We then cross to the North of the country to visit the ancient city of Balkh and the new city of Mazar e Sharif with its impressive and photogenic blue shrine of Hazrat Ali.

“Finally, we will cross the Salang Pass back to Kabul. A great introduction to the country.”

The company also offers a 15 day “immersive” trip for £3,426 to Afghanistan as well as trips to Syria and Iraq.

But the stark advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is very clear – saying that if you’re a British citizen detained there you could face “months or years” of imprisonment.

The Gov.uk website says: “You should not travel to Afghanistan. The security situation is volatile. Travel throughout Afghanistan is extremely dangerous and border crossings may not be open.

“There is a heightened risk of British nationals being detained in Afghanistan.

“If you are a British national and you are detained in Afghanistan, you could face months or years of imprisonment. FCDO’s ability to help you is extremely limited and support in person is not possible in Afghanistan.”

But despite the warning tourist numbers to the country are creeping up – from just 691 in 2021 to more than 7,000 last year, according to AP news agency.

Mohammad Saeed, head of the Tourism Directorate in Kabul, wants Afghanistan to become a tourism powerhouse, an ambition that appears to be backed by the Taliban’s top leaders.

Afghanistan wants to encourage even more tourists with a Taliban-run institute training tourism and hospitality professionals to attract visitors.

Although influencers might extol the virtues of a trip there across social media others with a deeper understanding of the country are more pragmatic.

Dr Farkhondeh Akbari’s family fled Afghanistan during the first Taliban regime in the 1990s.

Dr Akbari said: “It is very ironic to see those videos on TikTok where there is a Taliban guide and Taliban official giving tickets to tourists to visit the [site of the] destruction of the Buddhas,” reports the BBC.

The Dr added: “These are the people who destroyed the Buddhas.”

Express.co.uk has approached Untamed Borders for comment.