Bamyan lay on the Silk Road between Balkh and the plains of India, and from about the 3rd century it was a great centre of Buddhism, with thousands of monks living in caves cut into the cliffs. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang passed through in 630 and described the two giant statues, then covered in gold and jewels.
Islam reached the valley later, and in 1221 Genghis Khan's army destroyed Bamyan after one of his grandsons was killed there. Today it is the heartland of the Hazara people, known for their hospitality and their handwoven carpets. The destruction of the statues in 2001 made Bamyan known around the world, and in 2003 the valley became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.