The Official Cannabis Independent strain guides
Hindu Kush No 11 Shop
The Strain Deck · King of SpadesNo 11 · Hindu Kushhindukush.com
Hindu Kush stamp, No. 11 in the Official Cannabis collection: snowcapped peaks over water on pink

Catalogue entry · lab-tested · every claim cited

Hindu Kush strain

Hindu Kush is a pure indica landrace named after the mountain range on the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, where it was grown for hashish long before travelers carried its seeds west.1,2,3 It tests at a median total THC of 17.91% across 17 state lab tests of Hindu Kush flower, with the middle half of results between 17.03% and 18.89%, a small sample: another 217 results, 93 of them flower, carried near-miss names such as "Purple Hindu Kush" and are excluded.4 Leafly lists sleepy, relaxed and hungry as its top effects, from user reports.1

The Mountain Elder standing on a snowy ledge with a wooden staff and a satchel of rolled maps, layered blue-grey peaks behind
Postmaster: The Mountain ElderThe high pass, where the path forks. If Hindu Kush is your strain, read your sign →

Updated 17 lab tests 24 sources

Design
Snowcapped peaks over water on pink · No 11 in the collection
In the Strain Deck
King of Spades · Gas & Kush suit
Type
Pure indica landrace1,5,6
Parents
None named: a landrace; breeders sell lines they say were selected from it7,8,9
Origin
Hindu Kush mountains, Afghanistan–Pakistan; seeds carried west from the late 1960s1,3
THC (lab tests)
17.91% median; 17.03%–18.89% middle half; only 17 tests, a small sample, from 3 states4
CBD (lab tests)
Low: 4 of the 14 tests that reported CBD found none, 1 reached 1%, and the highest was 1.50%4
Terpenes (lab tests)
Too few tests for a profile: only 1 of the 17 tests reported individual terpene values4
Flavor (most reported)
Earthy, woody, sweet; sandalwood and pine notes1,6,10
Effects (Leafly’s top three)
Sleepy, relaxed, hungry1
Flowering time
45–50 days for Sensi Seeds’ line; Leafly gives 7–9 weeks1,6

The guide one plate per section

Plate I

Genetics

Hindu Kush is a pure indica landrace with no named parents. How seed lines differ, which Kush strains descend from it, and why the OG Kush link is disputed.

Plate II

THC & terpenes

Hindu Kush flower tested at 17.91% median THC in only 17 state lab tests, mostly from Washington in 2018–2019: a small sample. CBD, claims, caveats.

Plate III

Effects

People most often describe Hindu Kush as relaxing and sleepy; Leafly’s top effects add hungry. Reported downsides: dry mouth, dry eyes and dizziness.

Plate IV

Grow

Hindu Kush seed versions flower in about 45–65 days and stay compact. Breeder specs, yields and difficulty side by side, plus its weak spot: humidity.

Plate V

Where to find it

Plain Hindu Kush flower is scarce: 38 store listings in 9 of 27 US markets on Weedmaps on Oct 3, 2026, 19 near Los Angeles.

Plate VI

History

How a hashish landrace from the Afghanistan–Pakistan mountains came west from the late 1960s, became a Sensi Seeds classic and seeded the Kush family.

Quick answers

Is Hindu Kush indica or sativa?

Pure indica. Leafly, AllBud, Weedmaps and Sensi Seeds all call it a pure or 100% indica, and a 2015 review in Neurotherapeutics lists it among pure Cannabis indica strains. It has no named parents because it is a landrace.1,5,6,7,10,11

How strong is Hindu Kush?

Our only measurements come from a small sample: the median total THC across 17 state lab tests was 17.91%, and none reached 25%.4 Strain databases publish higher numbers: Leafly lists 19% and AllBud 22–32%.1,5

Where does Hindu Kush come from?

The mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where it was grown for generations and long used for hashish. Travelers and smugglers carried its seeds west from the late 1960s, and Sensi Seeds has kept a line since the 1980s.1,2,3,8

What does Hindu Kush taste like?

Earthy and woody, with a sweet sandalwood note. Leafly users list earthy, woody and spicy/herbal; on Weedmaps, 40% of flavor reports say sweet, 40% woody and 21% pine.1,10

Is Purple Hindu Kush the same strain?

No. Leafly lists Purple Hindu Kush as a cross of Hindu Kush and Purple Afghani.12 In state lab records it is far more common than the original: 106 results under that exact name (all product types), against 17 flower tests of plain Hindu Kush.4

Why is Hindu Kush hard to find?

Few stores list plain Hindu Kush flower. On Oct 3, 2026, Weedmaps showed it at only 38 store listings in 9 of 27 US markets, and in state lab records named variants and crosses such as Purple Hindu Kush far outnumber the original.4,13

How strong Hindu Kush tests

17.91%median total THC (small sample)
17.03%–18.89%middle half of tests
17lab tests, 3 states
7testing labs

THC in 17 lab tests of Hindu Kush flower

0 10 6–7% THC: 0 tests 7–8% THC: 0 tests 8–9% THC: 0 tests 9–10% THC: 0 tests 10–11% THC: 0 tests 11–12% THC: 0 tests 12–13% THC: 0 tests 13–14% THC: 0 tests 14–15% THC: 0 tests 15–16% THC: 2 tests 16–17% THC: 1 tests 17–18% THC: 6 tests 18–19% THC: 5 tests 19–20% THC: 2 tests 20–21% THC: 1 tests 21–22% THC: 0 tests 22–23% THC: 0 tests 23–24% THC: 0 tests 24–25% THC: 0 tests 25–26% THC: 0 tests 26–27% THC: 0 tests 27–28% THC: 0 tests 28–29% THC: 0 tests 29–30% THC: 0 tests 30–31% THC: 0 tests 31–32% THC: 0 tests 32–33% THC: 0 tests 33–34% THC: 0 tests 8%12%16%20%24%28%32% median 17.91% Total THC, % by weight
Each bar counts tests in a one-point THC band; the shaded band is the middle half of results. 17 tests of Hindu Kush flower from 3 states, 2015–2022. Small sample: treat as indicative.4

Full lab data: by year, by state, terpenes and the downloadable dataset →

From the lab report

  • This small sample covers 17 flower tests; only 1 cleared 20% total THC, and 0 cleared 25%.4
  • For Hindu Kush's single-number claim, Leafly gave 19%; the lab set met or exceeded that figure in 18% of tests, equivalent to about 1 in 6.1,4
  • The range check split sharply: Barney's Farm via SeedFinder's 15–25% included 100% of lab results, but AllBud's 22–32% included 0%.4,5,24

Read the full Hindu Kush lab report →

A famous name with little shelf presence

Hindu Kush’s fame is historical. In 2014 High Times ranked it #21 among the 25 greatest strains of all time, crediting it with making "Kush" and "indica" synonymous and noting that the flowers had become rare; Leafly still includes it in its list of the 100 best strains, among those for feeling sleepy.7,14 Its Leafly page has 1,279 user ratings.1

It does not appear in the sales rankings we checked: Leafly’s best-selling strains of 2025 and The Marijuana Herald’s September 2026 list of top sellers by state.15,16 On Oct 3, 2026, Weedmaps showed plain Hindu Kush flower at 38 store listings in 9 of 27 markets, and our lab dataset holds only 17 strictly matched tests.4,13

Hindu Kush next to similar strains

Lab-tested THC: Hindu Kush and the 6 strains on our comparison pages

14% 16% 18% 20% 22% 24% OG Kush OG Kush: median 20.87%, middle half 18.06%–23.36%, 379 tests 20.9% n=379 Northern Lights Northern Lights: median 20.03%, middle half 17.28%–22.05%, 406 tests 20.0% n=406 Blue Dream Blue Dream: median 19.96%, middle half 17.62%–22.37%, 2,118 tests 20.0% n=2,118 Durban Poison Durban Poison: median 19.45%, middle half 17.33%–21.99%, 528 tests 19.4% n=528 Purple Urkle Purple Urkle: median 19.00%, middle half 15.98%–22.42%, 35 tests 19.0% n=35 Grape Ape Grape Ape: median 18.42%, middle half 15.37%–21.25%, 202 tests 18.4% n=202 Hindu Kush Hindu Kush: median 17.91%, middle half 17.03%–18.89%, 17 tests 17.9% n=17 Median total THC (dot) and middle half of tests (bar)
Same state lab dataset and matching rules for every strain.4 See the comparisons.

Where it is sold

MarketStoresMenu itemsMedian eighth
Los Angeles, CA 19 39 $40.00 (n=16)
New York, NY 5 5 $60.00 (n=3)
Oklahoma City, OK 4 4 —
Boston, MA 3 5 $45.00 (n=3)
Portland, ME 2 2 $20.00 (n=2)
Newark, NJ 2 2 $56.50 (n=2)

Stores within 50 miles listing Hindu Kush flower on Weedmaps, Oct 3, 2026.13

In Germany, where it is a prescription medicine, weed.de lists 4 pharmacy products made from Hindu Kush; in-stock flower starts at €3.75 a gram.23

All 27 markets, Germany and how we counted →

Genetics at a glance

Family tree

  • LandraceHindu Kush range, Afghanistan–Pakistan; no named parents

Hindu Kush

  • Master KushFrom two Hindu Kush–region landraces
  • Purple KushHindu Kush × Purple Afghani
  • Purple Hindu KushHindu Kush × Purple Afghani
  • Hindu Skunk (Skunk Kush)Hindu Kush × Skunk #1
  • Pinnacle (legacy)Blue Dream × Hindu Kush
  • OG Kush (disputed)Chemdawg × Hindu Kush
Parents and offspring as reported by Leafly and Sensi Seeds; the OG Kush link is disputed.1,8,12,17,18,19,20,21,22

Landrace or seed line? Which Kush strains descend from it? The full genetics page →

The Mountain Elder standing on a snowy ledge with a wooden staff and a satchel of rolled maps, layered blue-grey peaks behind

The Hindu Kush universe

Your sign: The Mountain Elder

If Hindu Kush is your strain, you ask “faster to where?”, you read the lines, and you sit before you decide. Meet the Mountain Elder.

Read your sign See the shop

The issue printed on demand, nothing on sale yet

The whole issue →

Sources

  1. Leafly, Hindu Kush strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  2. Leafly, Tips for growing Hindu Kush cannabis (presented by Advanced Nutrients) (2021-02-23). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  3. Cannabis Business Times, The curse of Kush (Mojave Richmond and Robert C. Clarke) (2020-04-29). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  4. Cannlytics (CC BY 4.0), cannabis_results: public state lab results (filtered and aggregated by Official Cannabis). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  5. AllBud, Hindu Kush marijuana strain information and reviews. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  6. Sensi Seeds, Hindu Kush regular seeds. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  7. Leafly, Leafly’s 100 best weed strains of all time (2026-07-14). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  8. Sensi Seeds, Sensi Seeds strain story by Green Born Identity (G.B.I.): Hindu Kush (2020-10-03). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  9. SeedFinder, Hindu Kush (Seedsman): strain info and breeder description. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  10. Weedmaps, Hindu Kush strain page. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  11. Neurotherapeutics, An overview of products and bias in research (Gloss) (2015). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  12. Leafly, Purple Hindu Kush strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  13. Weedmaps listings, compiled by Official Cannabis, Weedmaps flower menu snapshot, 27 US markets, Oct 3, 2026. Accessed Oct 3, 2026. Latest capture Oct 3, 2026.
  14. High Times, 25 greatest strains of all time (2014-10-09). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  15. Leafly, The best-selling weed strains of 2025 (2026-02-02). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  16. The Marijuana Herald, The top-selling marijuana strain in all 23 states with legal recreational sales (2026-09). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  17. Leafly, Master Kush strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  18. Leafly, Purple Kush strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  19. Leafly, Hindu Skunk strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  20. Leafly, Pinnacle strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  21. Leafly, OG Kush strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  22. Weedmaps, OG Kush strain page. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  23. Weed.de, compiled by Official Cannabis, Weed.de pharmacy-product snapshot (4 exact matched products; complete; read Oct 3, 2026). Previously captured catalogue of 2,150 product pages; exact listed-strain match.. Accessed Oct 3, 2026. Latest capture Oct 3, 2026.
  24. SeedFinder, Hindu Kush (Barney’s Farm): strain info and breeder description. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.