"We came around the edge of a scree slope. Then we saw the tower. It rose two hundred feet, sixty-one metres, in a slim column of intricately carved terracotta set with a line of turquoise tiles. There was nothing else. The mountain walls formed a tight circle around it and at its base two rivers, descending from snowy passes, ran through the ravines into wilderness."
- Rory Stewart, The Places In Between

The Central Route covers western Bamiyan and Ghor provinces, Afghanistan's mountainous spine. It is home to the Hazaras and Aimaqs, and is one of the most remote and under-developed parts of the country. Its remoteness and jagged scenery is one of its major attractions to travellers, along with the chance to visit the Minaret of Jam, one of Afghanistan's most outstanding monuments.

Amenities along the Central Route are poor. With the exception of Jam and Chist-e Sharif, there are no formal hotels, and travellers will find themselves sleeping in chaikhanas, even in Chagcheran, Ghor's provincial capital.

Transport connections
In a country of bad roads, those in Central Afghanistan are possibly the worst. The main towns are linked by rugges HiAce minibuses, Kamaz trucks and the occasional four-wheel drive. However, determination can get the most surprising vehicles through this route - in 2003 the auther met a French Citroen 2CV car at Band-e Amir that had driven from Paris and across the Central Route! The main hubs for transport are (east to west) Bamiyan, Yawkowlang, Chaghcheran and Chist-e Sharif, although it can be possible to pick up vehicles at Panja and Garmao - the latter being the junction for the Minaret of Jam. With a four-wheel drive, it is possible to reach Jam from Herat in a long day's drive. By public transport, it can take from three days to a week to travel between Herat and Bamiyan, depending on connections and road conditions.

Winter makes travel in this part of Afghanistan difficult at best, impossible at worst. November to April are the hardest months, with snow blocking the route to vehicles in many places, although these dates can be highly variable. The advent of spring and the snowmelt can bring its own problems in swollen rivers and flooded roads.

Security
The situation across the Central Route remains generally calm. In the summer of 2004, Chaghcheran was briefly the centre of fighting between local warlords. The violence provoked by Ismael Khan's dismissal from power in Herat also briefly spilled into Ghor province. Since then, the disarmament programme has had some success in the region, and the establishing of a Nato PRT in Chaghcheran should hopefully encourage further stability. Nevertheless, the remoteness of this region should always be borne in mind, and as with any part of the country, consult reliable information sources before attempting to travel here.

The Minaret of Jam
Afghanistan's first world heritage site, the Minaret of Jam is as spectacular as it is isolated. It stands alone in a valley next to the Hari Rud river, a remnant of the Ghorid empire that ruled Afghanistan in the 12th century. At 65m high, it is the second highest minaret in the world. The site has been consolidated by the Society for the Preservation of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage, and UNESCO, but the minaret remains precariously balanced and in danger of collapse.

The minaret almost certainly marks the spot of the lost Ghorid city of Firuzkoh, although the site has been much looted in recent years - mainly since the fall of the Taliban.

There is a small guesthouse near the base of the minaret. To reach Jam, arrange transport from the junction town of Garmao. Trucks sometimes pass this way, other travellers have reported riding pillion on hired motorbikes.

Other information
Those crossing the Central Route will find The Places In Between by Rory Stewart a particularly rewarding read and travel companion - an account of a walk from Herat to Kabul in the winter of 2001, immediately following the collapse of the Taliban. Nancy Dupree's An Historical Guide to Afghanistan remains practical for this remote part of the country.