Bala Hissar, Ancient fortress in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Bala Hissar is a fortress on the Kuh-e-Sher Darwazah mountain at the southern edge of old Kabul. Its walls, 20 feet (6.1 m) high and 12 feet (3.7 m) thick, begin at the fort and follow the ridge in a curve down to the river. The site was divided into a lower fortress with stables, barracks and three royal palaces, and an upper fort holding the armory and the dungeon called the Black Pit.

Bala Hissar's origins are obscure: pottery and Indo-Greek and Achaemenid coins found nearby point to settlement from at least the 6th century CE, and use of the site as a citadel dates to as early as the 5th century. Babur took the fortress in 1504, and under Akbar it became the governor's residence; Jahangir and Shah Jahan built palaces and halls, and Aurangzeb a mosque. Timur Shah Durrani made it his palace after moving the capital to Kabul in 1773. The British damaged it in 1880, and it was abandoned in the 1890s.

The fortress contains two distinct sections: the lower grounds held royal palaces and military quarters, while the upper area housed strategic installations and a notable dungeon.

The military complex remains off-limits to visitors, but walking trails along the adjacent mountain ridges provide views across the capital city. From these paths, you can observe the structure from outside and explore the surrounding landscape.

The hilltop is built over tunnels and underground storage, and trenches from earlier trench warfare ring the uppermost level, which flies an Afghan flag. Visitors were warned to stay on heavily used paths because of mines laid during the Soviet occupation. Remnants of tanks and heavy weapons from the last 30 years lie on the hillside.