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By    •  Updated: 20/05/2021 - 17:20 Considered as one of the most geographically stunning regions in the world, the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan remains one of the last destinations still completely untouched by mainstream tourism and modern ways of life. This is due to both its solitude and Afghanistan's complex recent history which has put much travel to the country on hold. But this is all about to change, with the building of a major new Chinese trade route directly through the valley. What is the Wakhan Corridor? The Wakhan Corridor lies in Afghanistan�...

SHARE “When I was 8 years old, girls from my province weren’t allowed to go to school. I was this little shepherd girl. I would run after sheep and cows, hiking with them in the mountains. It brought me closer to nature, and it was the first time I ever guided someone,” says 22-year-old Fatima Haidari, who is believed to be the first female tour guide in Afghanistan. As a guide for Untamed Borders, a company that specialises in trips to less-trodden parts of the world, Haidari has hosted eight foreign travel groups since the beginning of 2020. While her work has been affected by the pa...

Meet Afghanistan's first and only female tour guide The 23-year-old hopes to empower other Afghan women to stand up for their rights Fatima Haidari "Despite decades of brutal war Afghanistan has kept its unique beauty and there are so many historical sites to explore," Fatima Haidari says from her home in the historical city of Herat.  The 23-year-old has made her mark as Afghanistan’s first and only female tour guide, in a bid to empower other Afghan women to stand up for their rights, and to lift the veil on the beauty of their country. In 2020, despite the added pressures of Covid-19,...

After she began writing her posts, everything changed. Fatima says started getting comments and responses from her new online friends. In 2020, one of them -- a man known as "Big Tom" -- reached out to her saying he was going to be traveling in Afghanistan and would she be interested in showing him around in Herat? She said yes. They went to the Herat Citadel, to the National Museum and to a traditional tea house. Tom recommended her to someone else, and Fatima continued to get work by word of mouth. Eventually she came to the attention of Untamed Borders, a boutique travel agency that spec...