It is next to City Park and nearby the Gardens of Babur and Kabul University.

Visited by around a million people annually, the zoo has been one of the popular tourist attractions in the city.

[2] Kabul Zoo was inaugurated in 1967 with a focus on Afghan fauna, being very popular with visitors and press.

Some exotic animals like rare species of birds, were smuggled out and sold in the black market.

[5] The Taliban, who took control of Kabul in 1996, initially thought the zoo was incompatible with their version of Islam, but kept it open after the zookeeper Sheraq Omar said research at Kabul University showed that Muhammad kept pets.