Charikar lies on the Afghan Ring Road, 69 km (43 mi) from Kabul along the route to the northern provinces.

[9] The city is at the gateway to the Panjshir Valley, where the Shamali plains meet the foothills of the Hindu Kush, and is known for its pottery and high-quality grapes.

[9] In 1221, the Battle of Parwan was fought near Charikar, in which Jalal al-Din Mangburni with a large army defeated a column of 30,000 soldiers of the invading Mongols.

In 1841 a British garrison was massacred by Afghans led by Mir Masjidi Khan, and the Anglo-Indian army officer Major Eldred Pottinger was badly wounded.

Charikar was at the front line between Ahmad Shah Massoud's Northern Alliance and the Taliban who captured Kabul in 1996.

[17] On 19 May 2020, gunmen opened fire inside a mosque in Charikar, killing 11 worshipers and injuring 16 others when they were offering the evening prayer after breaking their Ramadan fast.