Country file · Asia & the Middle East
Cryptids of Afghanistan
What cryptids are in Afghanistan? The best-known are Barmanou and Simurgh.
Afghanistan sits at the crossroads of Persian, Central Asian and Himalayan story-worlds. The barmanou, the hairy wild man of the Chitral and Karakoram valleys of neighbouring Pakistan, is also reported by mountain communities along the Hindu Kush, and Persian literary tradition brings the Simurgh, the benevolent giant bird of the Shahnameh, into the region’s cultural heritage.
- 2 cryptids
Cryptids reported in Afghanistan
Hominid · 1880s
Barmanou
A hairy wild man of Pakistan’s Chitral and Karakoram valleys, known in folk tales and studied in the 1990s by zoologist Jordi Magraner. Regional legend
Flying · Ancient (Avesta)
Simurgh
The Simurgh, the benevolent giant bird of Persian myth, who raised Zal in the Shahnameh and became a symbol across Iran and Central Asia. FolkloreThe legends of Afghanistan
The Hindu Kush and Pamir ranges are the setting for many such stories.
Hotspots
- Hindu Kush
The mountain range of the region’s wildman tales.