This morning we get up bright and early at 4 AM and meet our guide and driver at our fabulous hotel, the Gholghola Hotel in Bamyan (Bamiyan), Afghanistan. We start off while it is still dark heading north for our 500 km and 12-hour journey. As the sun comes up, we see the spectacular scenery of Bamyan Province as we make our way slowly north towards Salang Pass and tunnel with the road under construction. Along the way we see a huge graveyard of Russian tanks and the spectacular and famous Panjshir Valley just north of Bagram. Eventually we make our way up the pass and transit the Salang tunnel through the Hindu Kush mountains (Kōtal-e Sālang). After going through the tunnel we stop for some photos and a tour of the local area there before proceeding down the pass. We stopped for a fabulous barbecue lunch at the Fazul Rabi restaurant. Going back down the mountain we pass a huge traffic jam of miles upon miles of trucks waiting their turn to go through the Salang tunnel heading south towards Bamyan. We passed through the town of Pol-e-Khomri, Afghanistan as well as Aybak Afghanistan. The scenery gradually changes from snow-covered mountains of the Hindu Kush to desert and rocks. We then enter the spectacular Tangi Tashkurgan Gorge (Tangī-ye Tāsh-Qurghān) near Kholm, Balkh Province, Afghanistan. Eventually we make it into Mazar-i-Sharif which is the capital of Balkh Province. We check into our hotel, the Burj Ghazanfar hotel and then eat dinner in our room.