Is it safe to go to Afghanistan? The Foreign Office doesn't think so, but following founder Tony Wheeler's travels there in Badlands, Lonely Planet has just published their first ever guide to the country.

The book is primarily designed for those businesspeople, non-profits and other NGOs traveling to Afghanistan to stay safe and get the most out of their time in the country, but will also be pertinent for independent travellers and armchair travellers who are curious about the state of the country.

Below we present fifteen photographs from Lonely Planet Images to begin giving you the flavour of this remarkable country.

Researched and written by Afghanistan specialist Paul Clammer, the book also contains a special chapter on safety written by a Kandahar resident and former military officer and contributions by reporter Christina Lamb of The Sunday Times and Afghanistan expert and lecturer Tamim Ansary.

“It’s hard to think of a more demanding country to write a guidebook about than Afghanistan,” says author Paul Clammer. “It’s a nation with a broken infrastructure and serious security concerns. But the rewards are incredible. Despite the recent history, the Afghans are the most amazing and welcoming people on the planet, and the scenery from the mountains to the deserts - is sublime. Traveling in Afghanistan, you never quite know what to expect. You can see a destroyed tank on the road and the next minute be passing a camel caravan of nomads. It’s just an astonishing country.”

In October Times Online will be publishing an exclusive feature by Paul Clammer.

Afghanistan is published by Lonely Planet, price £15.99 (ISBN: 9781740596428). You can buy the book from the Lonely Planet website

Need to know

Advice from the Foreign Office for travel to Afghanistan varies according to the region, but the organisation strongly advises against all travel to the provinces of Balkh (Northern Afghanistan); Ghazni, Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Paktika, Panjsher and Paktya (Eastern Afghanistan); Helmand, Kandahar, Nimroz, Uruzgan, and Zabul (Southern Afghanistan); and Farah (Western Afghanistan). There is also specific advice for Kabul, and general safety advice for Britons thinking of visiting.

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