Shibar

Shibar is a city and District located in the western end of the Bamyan Province in Afghanistan. It is in a mountainous region. The main village Shibar is at 2,637 m altitude on the all-seasons secondary road from Bamyan to Kabul through the Shibar pass.

The northern portion of the district, beginning near the village of Ghandak, is Tajik. Several Tajik villages can also be found along the road to the Hajigak Pass from Tupchi to Colo.

Shibar village

Dahan-e Shibar is a village in Bamyan Province in northern-central Afghanistan.

Shibar Pass

Shibar Pass is situated at a height of 3,000 m above sea-level and is one of the two main routes from Kabul to Bamiyan in central Afghanistan. The journey is approximately 6 and half hours long covering around 237 km (147 mi).

The route via Unai Pass and Hajigak Pass is more direct but also more difficult, rising to 3,700 m, and is not usually preferred.

Visit by Xuanzang

• Prajñakara then accompanied the party of Xuanzang southward to Bamyan, where Xuanzang met the king and saw tens of non-Mahayana monasteries, in addition to the two large Buddhas of Bamiyan carved out of the rockface.

• The party then resumed their travel eastward, crossing the Shibar Pass and descending to the regional capital of Kapisi (about 60 kms north of modern Kabul), which sported over 100 monasteries and 6000 monks, mostly Mahayana. This was part of the fabled old land of Gandhara. Xuanzang took part in a religious debate here, and demonstrated his knowledge of many Buddhist schools. Here he also met the first Jains and Hindu of his journey.