Last updated on Aug. 24, 2026
40 years of war and foreign intervention have shaped Afghanistan and continue to cause problems, repression, and violence to this day. The traces of the devastating Soviet invasion in the 1980s are still visible everywhere, so anyone looking to explore sites for urbex in Afghanistan won’t have to search for long: Military wreckage from the Afghan War can be found scattered along the roadsides. When the Red Army withdrew in the spring of 1989, it left behind countless BMPs and tanks in Afghanistan, which remain as visible scars of war, slowly rusting beneath the Central Asian sun.
Afghans generally deal with the old military equipment in one of 3 ways: it is either brightly painted, placed on pedestals as memorials, or collected in huge tank graveyards. In that sense, the tanks are almost like the bunkers of Albania for Afghanistan. Anyone visiting the country will inevitably come across these remnants. They are a striking reminder of one of the many attempts to impose a new ideology on the Afghan people from the outside.
Note: Unlike some other sights in the country, the Soviet tanks in Afghanistan are mostly accessible to foreign women as well, mainly because they are quite visible in public spaces to begin with. Especially in regions like Bamyan or along the roadsides, it shouldn't be a problem to get closer to them.
White BMP-1 Tank in Afghanistan Near the (Destroyed) Buddhas of Bamyan
The white-painted BMP-1 right next to the large Buddha statue in Bamyan, blown up by the Taliban in 2001, is hard to miss. BMPs are Soviet armoured personnel carriers designed to transport up to 13 soldiers at a time. In the Central Asian heat, however, the crews preferred to sit on top of the vehicle during patrols. This made the BMPs easy targets for the mujahideen, who attacked them with landmines or American rocket launchers. As a result, countless wrecks can still be found along the roadsides of Afghanistan.
Afghans often process the painful memory of the Soviet war by creatively painting the remnants left behind by the occupiers. Coloured bright white and adorned with a golden chain draped over the hood, the Buddha BMP in Bamyan is certainly one of the most striking and easiest-to-find tanks in Afghanistan.
Location: Peace Tank Bamyan
Fly Agaric Tank in Bamyan: Famous Urbex Afghanistan Spot
Next to the local office of the Ministry of Culture in Bamyan, a whole collection of historic Soviet-era military equipment is stored. These tanks and BMPs were once captured by the mujahideen and put on display as trophies.
Nowadays, however, those tanks mostly sit in a field - and are still a major attraction. The main highlight is the spotted fly agaric tank in Bamyan, whose turret and gun barrel are coloured entirely in red and white. Perfect for photos of urbex in Afghanistan.
In the surrounding area, there are many more BMPs and a Shilka, a type of mobile anti-aircraft system that was also used as an armoured personnel carrier. These vehicles are scattered across the field, with some left along the roadside.
The Shilka, or ZSU-23-4, is something of a rarity among the military tanks in Afghanistan. During my explorations, this anti-aircraft vehicle was the only one I came across in Bamyan. On the other hand, I didn’t have much time to thoroughly scan the tank graveyard in Parwan, as I was being followed by the local police. There should also be plenty of other military hardware besides T-55s and BMPs at the collection sites near Kabul, Kandahar, and Bagram. These, however, are better guarded.
Location: Fly agaric tank and others in Bamyan
Tank Cemetery in Parwan
This place may be somewhat more difficult to explore at the moment. It’s not entirely clear whether visiting the site is legal under the Taliban or not. The good news is that this tank graveyard, with hundreds of Soviet military vehicles, is located in the Parwan region, directly along the road to Kabul. Near the small town of Jabal-os-Saraj, you can theoretically just walk onto the field. There were no fences and no one to stop you - or at least there wasn’t when I was there. I would have liked to ask for official permission, but there was simply no one around to ask.
Unfortunately, a Taliban base borders the field directly, so you should be careful about what you film. Eventually, someone shouted at me from the watchtower, but a plainclothes police officer reassured the soldiers that everything was fine. He, in turn, had already been following me for quite some time.
While I was hitchhiking to the tank graveyard, the police officer already wanted to see my documents and then warned me that the site was off-limits. However, I wanted to ask the Taliban themselves, as I wasn’t even convinced that the man actually worked for the police. Reluctantly, he showed me his ID, took some notes, and then disappeared.
Once the situation with the plainclothes police officer had been sorted out, I nevertheless went to see the Soviet tanks in Parwan. There he suddenly reappeared, walking silently among the rusting metal, watching me. Finally, he took a picture of me as I waved and jumped into a car to hitchhike away. Just to be safe, I uploaded my photos and videos to the cloud while still on the road and deleted everything from my devices before reaching the next Taliban checkpoint near Kabul. In the end, nothing was checked, and the drivers ended up inviting me to a generous meal.
Location: Parwan Tank Cemetery
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T-55 Tank in Afghanistan: Maripah Route Jalalabad to Kabul
One of the most famous Soviet tanks in Afghanistan is located practically right beside the mountain road that runs from Sarobi down into the Maripah Gorge and onwards to Kabul. With its many twists and turns, the route was an important supply line. In practice, the Red Army only ever controlled the paved roads. They were nevertheless fired upon from the Hindu Kush mountain ranges, which is why this road, enclosed by steep rock faces, is home to a particularly large number of abandoned tanks.
About halfway between Jalalabad and Kabul, you’ll find the now brightly painted T-55 mounted on a pedestal at a small roadside pull-off. Even among locals, this tank in Afghanistan has become a popular attraction, especially because of its distinctive spotted paint job.
To visit it, however, you’ll need to plan your route somewhat strategically. Since I was hitchhiking through Afghanistan, I had no real control over the road and ended up taking the southern highway. Maripah is also far more scenic in its own right, thanks to its spectacular gorges and winding mountain roads. So if you want to see the tank in Afghanistan as well as some breathtaking scenery, take the northern highway!
The exact location of this tank in Afghanistan: T-55 Jalalabad Kabul Route
Kabul Tank Graveyard
This place used to be one of the most important Soviet tank graveyards in Afghanistan near Kabul. These days, however, it’s no longer so easy to get in. The area near the international airport is off-limits due to military restrictions. You could perhaps still try asking for permission. I didn’t have any luck, though, so instead I went to the capital and visited some of the best Afghan restaurants in Kabul.
According to reports, and judging by the satellite imagery, there is still quite a lot of equipment lying around here. On the ground, I've heard rumours that the Taliban want to finally cash in on the military scrap. That could explain the increasing access restrictions.
Location: Kabul Tank Graveyard
Kandahar Tank Cemetery
The tank graveyard south of Kandahar Airport made headlines a few years ago. The photos were used to claim that the Taliban had seized hundreds of American military vehicles. In reality, however, the images showed old Soviet tanks in Afghanistan. Whether you can actually visit the site today is somewhat questionable.
The area appears to be used for military purposes, and Kandahar is a particularly difficult place to navigate anyway, as it is effectively the Taliban’s power base. However, as always, it never hurts to ask, and even the current rulers can sometimes be surprisingly approachable, at least for foreign tourists.
When I visited an abandoned cinema in Kabul to do my urbex in Afghanistan, for example, I ended up being invited to drink tea for what felt like an eternity at the Ministry of Finance hosted in the same building. In the end, the answer was no, but the whole encounter was friendly. And ultimately, I even got the chance to tell them that women’s rights are the reason why the West doesn't want to cooperate with the Taliban. Well, they asked, I answered.
Location: Kandahar Tank Cemetery
Urbex in Afghanistan's North: Balkh and Mazar-e Sharif
Located in northern Afghanistan, Mazar-e Sharif was one of the Soviet Army’s most important bases, particularly because the border with Termez in Uzbekistan was not far away. Numerous tanks and BMPs were also left behind along the supply route during the Soviet withdrawal. Even in the Marmal Mountains, and further south from Balkh Province toward central Afghanistan, you can spot abandoned vehicles along the roadside.
Another interesting feature is the Soviet Union’s more permanent legacy in Balkh. In the northern part of the province, there are indeed still a few buildings and monuments from this era. I found one particularly interesting example in the town of Kod-e Barq that was created by the USSR: an old cultural centre that now serves as a private school.
I also discovered a former monument to the Great Patriotic War against fascism, the classic feature that could hardly be missing from any Soviet city - and therefore from any, even merely imagined, socialist Afghanistan. Next to the obelisk, you can still see the opening from which the Eternal Flame once burnt in memory of the fallen soldiers.
Salang Tunnel: Possible Urbex in Afghanistan
The Salang Tunnel was the site of what was possibly the deadliest road accident in history. In 1982, a truck caught fire, triggering a chain reaction. The convoys, consisting of hundreds of military vehicles, were severely affected. Western estimates put the death toll as high as 2,700 soldiers, who died from the flames and smoke. The official Soviet numbers were naturally much lower.
The tunnel is still a bottleneck between Kabul and northern Afghanistan today. In 2025, it was temporarily closed for repair work, forcing vehicles to take lengthy alternative routes. I didn’t see any remnants of the Soviet occupation myself. However, if you take your time and keep an eye out, you’re bound to find some.
Location: Salang-Tunnel
Ghazni Tank Alley: A Lot of Tanks in Afghanistan Here
The city of Ghazni lies about 150 kilometres south of Kabul along the Ring Road and is considered a mecca of Persian literature. While epic works were written here in the Middle Ages, the city later became a repeated battleground. The British Battle of Ghazni entered the history books as early as 1839. The Soviets and later the Americans also established bases in the area.
In Ghazni, an entire avenue lined with around 80 Soviet tanks displayed on pedestals commemorates the Afghans’ resistance to foreign powers. This boulevard of rusting Soviet remnants is a fairly complete collection, featuring captured T-55s, BMP-1s, ZSU-23-4s (Shilkas) and even the wreckage of a helicopter. All of them were used in the fiercely contested Ghazni region, where the mujahideen were particularly successful against the Red Army with guerrilla tactics.
Location: Ghazni Tank Alley
Pictures: https://travel2unlimited.com/afghanistan-ghazni-tank-graveyard-alley/