Yakāwlang

Yakawlang lies in the high country west of Bamiyan. Among its most striking natural features are the lakes of Band-e Amir, held in a mountain basin by successive natural dams of travertine. Water flowing through limestone has built these barriers at drops in the streambed, creating deep blue lakes and cascades amid pale, bare heights. Local stories attribute the dams to the deeds of Ali, giving the remarkable landscape a place in sacred legend as well as in the life of the surrounding communities.