Bala Hissar

Bala Hissar (lit. 'High Fort') was an ancient fortress located in the south of the old city of Kabul, Afghanistan. The estimated date of construction is around the 5th century AD. Bala Hissar sits to the south of the modern city centre at the tail end of the Kuh-e-Shēr Darwāzah (lion door) mountain. The Walls of Kabul, which are 20 feet (6.1 m) high and 12 feet (3.7 m) thick, start at the fortress and follow the mountain ridge in a sweeping curve down to the river. It sports a set of gates for access to the fortress. The Kōh-e Shēr Darwāzah mountain is behind the fort. It was destroyed by the British in 1880 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

Bala Hissar was originally divided into two parts: The lower fortress, containing the stables, barracks and three royal palaces, and the upper fortress (the actual fort with the name Bala Hissar) housing the armory and the dungeon of Kabul, known as the "Black Pit" (the Siyah Chal).

Text adapted from “Bala Hissar, Kabul” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Bala Hissar ranks #868 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #2 of the 6 mapped in Afghanistan. Founded c. 450, it is older than 97% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 23 atlas entries founded in the 5th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,594 times in the last 60 days, more than 83% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Afghanistan compares in the castle statistics.

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