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Afghanistan established its first national park on 22 Apri 2009 to promote and protect the natural beauty of Band-e-Amir, a series of intensely blue lakes created by natural dams high in the Hindu Kush. The lakes - seen here from space - are formed from mineral-rich water that seeped out of faults and cracks in the rocky landscape. Over time, the water deposited layers of hardened mineral (travertine) that built up into walls that now contain the water
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An aerial view of Lake Band-e-Amir. The lakes are famous for their intense and varying colours, which range from faint turquoise to deep blue - a result of the minerals that fill the water and create the lake beds. Towering cliffs create sharp lines and shadows on the south side of many of the lakes
Band-e-Amir still hosts ibex (wild goats), urials (wild sheep - pictured here), wolves, foxes, fish, and birds
For those who prefer not to swim, pink, blue and yellow swan-shaped pedalos can be hired for less than a dollar for an hour of floating about on the placid waters
In pictures: Band-e-Amir - Afghanistan's first national park | Environment | guardian.co.uk
Band-e-Amir: Afghanistan's first national park
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