c'mon back, snow leopard

in april, afghanistan opened its first national park, band-i-amir, in the hindu kush mountains of bamiyan province.










band-i-amir was once home to snow leopards, which have been poached to near extinction. now, they are being re-introduced into the newly established wildlife preserve, along with indigenous species of asiatic black bears + marco polo sheep.







tourists enter the park via a narrow path that has been cleared of land mines. once inside, they can even ride swan boats!







i might-might-might be chartering a helicopter with a few folks + trying to get myself up there to see the snow leopards + the true blue waters + what's left of the buddhas soon, please, oh, please.

there is a proposal in the works to make band-i-amir an unesco world heritage site, which would aid in its conservation/protection. afghanistan's bamiyan valley and the minaret at jam have already made the list. check out the panaromas linked from each name above - breathtaking.