• Travel writer and photographer Stephen Gollan spent a month and a half traveling around Afghanistan.
• He says the local hospitality is unrivaled, and that the scenery is beautiful.
• He thinks that it will become a tourist hub again, the way it was on the "hippie trail" through South Asia in the 60s and 70s.
Stephen Gollan can't wait to go back to Afghanistan.
The 28-year-old adventure seeker works as a lifeguard and manager at a swimming pool in Canada when he's not traveling. These days, that's less often, as he spends six to eight months out of the year visiting countries many travelers avoid, and writes how-to guides on his website, Uncharted Backpacker.
The US State Department warns against travel to Afghanistan due to the ongoing threat of militant attacks, but Gollan always dreamed of visiting. Finally, towards the end of 2015, he spent a month and a half drinking tea with local shopkeepers, riding buses through stunning mountain ranges, and exploring parts of the country that haven't been open to tourists in decades.
Stephen Gollan has traveled to over 80 countries, but Afghanistan holds a special place in his passport.
He was inspired to visit by people who followed the "hippie trail" through Kabul in the sixties and seventies.
Traveling on the "hippie trail" involved minimal planning and funds. Backpackers hitchhiked their way through European destinations, worked their way down through the Middle East, and ended up in Southeast Asia.
"I kept hearing from older people who had been traveling that Afghanistan was just phenomenal," he said.
He secured a visa from the Canadian embassy in Kyrgyzstan, then crossed over from Uzbekistan.
"It was quite the process," he said of getting a visa. "By telling them that I'm a professional travel writer and photographer, they said yes."
One of his favorite places was the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, a village surrounded by 20,000 foot peaks.
The military guards the entrance to the valley, and Gollan was the first tourist to gain access in 30 years.
"The military general saw me and was in shock," Gollan said. "I said, 'I'm a traveler, I really want to see it.' He arranged a couple military escorts and said, 'You're crazy but go ahead.'"
Inside, he discovered homes hanging off the sides of the mountains and friendly locals in traditional garb.
"There's always that little idea that it could be dangerous, but in the end there was no danger even there," he said.
He visited the Shrine of Hazrat Ali in Mazar-e Sharif, then boarded a bus to Kabul.
The bus passes through an area that's notorious for Taliban activity, but Gollan didn't encounter any problems.
"I remember they stopped in the middle of the mountains for tea, and all of the people on the bus wanted to have tea with me," he said. "They were talking to me and they were like, 'Don't you feel danger?' And I remember looking around and going, 'Where is the danger? Where are these bad people?' They were all laughing and saying, 'They're not here.'"
Kabul's streets and marketplaces were packed.
While the smaller villages he visited were strict and traditional, Kabul felt more modernized.
"Some of [the women] would smile at me and want to talk, which was forbidden in Taliban times," he said.
"Every province in Afghanistan is like a new country," he said.
Locals often invited him into their shops to share a meal or a cup of tea.
Gollan's taxi driver in Kabul insisted on introducing his wife and children over dinner at his home, providing a glimpse into Afghan family life.
"The children are just like children anywhere else," he said. "They're goofing around, they want to touch my hair because it's blond. It was surprisingly normal."
There were some safety concerns. Eighteen people were killed in a bombing during his visit, and bullet-riddled buildings served as reminders of ongoing conflict.
But he doesn't want people to think of Afghanistan as a battlefield.
"I've lived in war zones... I've been in actual danger," he said. "But in Afghanistan, I've never felt so happy and safe."
He hopes that Afghanistan will once again become a top tourist destination.
Already, people who fled to Pakistan to escape the war are beginning to return.
He's helped six other backpackers coordinate their trips there, and encourages travelers to see it for themselves.
"It's not this war-torn, desert nation that people portray it to be," he said. "It's a huge, stunning, beautiful country."