Band-e Amir National Park

Band-e Amir National Park, in Afghanistan's Bamyan Province, preserves a chain of six interconnected, intensely blue lakes formed high in the Hindu Kush by a natural travertine dam system, in which mineral-rich water deposited layers of calcium carbonate that built up into the dams holding back the lakes. Established in 2009, the park covers roughly 606 square kilometers, and its largest lake, Band-e Haibat, reaches a depth of about 150 meters. The park has been described as Afghanistan's answer to the Grand Canyon and draws more than 100,000 visitors a year. It is also recognized as an Important Bird Area, supporting more than 170 bird species, including Himalayan snowcocks and white-winged snowfinches.