3 Days Tour to Dhaka City

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh, this is the center city also. You will arrive here first where ever you come from. So you have to start your journey from here. Here is my 3 days plan to visit Dhaka City. Hope after 3 days you will explore Dhaka, experience more interesting fact about Dhaka.

 

Dhaka is a rush city so you have to start early to cover all the places.

Day 1 – Old Town TourBraekfast: Start your day with delightful deshi breakfast, go straight to old town Al-Razzak Hotel. (Parata, chicken jhal fry, Khichury, Nehari, Tehari, Tea, etc mouth watering food) After breakfast you can take a walk to visit Sadarghat Terminal (Launch and boat terminal). It is a noisy place and not so clean but you can see Buriganga river from here.

Ahsan Manzil – An architectural heritage of Bangladesh.
Duration : 1 -2 hrs

Armenian Church –  The church bears testimony to the existence of a significant Armenian community in the region in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Duration: 30mins

Star Mosque – The mosque has ornate designs and is decorated with motifs of blue stars. It was built in the first half of the 19th century
Duration: 30mins

Lalbagh Fort – Lalbagh fort is a Mughal palace one of the greatest heritage site of Dhaka
Duration : 1 -2 hrs

Dhakeshwari Temple – An old and historic temple of Hindu religion.It was built in the 12th century by Ballal Sen,
Duration: 30mins

Lunch: Now it’s lunch time. For lunch there are a lot of option in Old town. Some traditional and historic restaurants are :
Nanna’r Biriyani, Haji’r Biriyani, Kalkata Kachi Ghar, Hotel Star, Nirab Hotel, etc.
Items are:
Kachi Biriyani, Vuna Khichury, Tehari, different types of Vorta (smashed item), Lachi, Borhani most of them are mughal recipe.
Dessert: Don’t miss the collections of tasty Sarbat (Juice), lachi and faluda from – Beauty Lacchi
Budget:BDT120 – BDT1000

Afternoon:

Shaheed Minar, Curzon Hall, National Museum

Dhaka University Campus, Shaheed Minar-Martyr Monument, Curzon Hall, TSC, Fuller Road, National Museum, New market – A market for anything that quality and cheap.
Duration: 5 – 6hrs

Dinner: You can choose your dinner from nearby location of your hotel. List of the best restaurant in Dhaka city. Restaurants are located mainly area based : Gulshan 1 & 2, Banani, Uttara, Khilgaon, Baily Road & Dhanmondi and a variety of collection: traditional, Indian, Mughal, Arabic, Mexican, Italian, western, etc.

Transportation: Taxi, Microbus, Car. Rent: 3500 – 4500BDT whole day.

Day 2 – Old Capital Tour in Sonargaon

Start journey for Sonargaon, 50km away from Dhaka city. Start early in the morning it requires 1.5-02 hrs to reach depending on traffic. You can hire taxi, car, microbus or if you are a team can also hire a minibus.

At first visit Goladi Mosque –  Built in 1519, this graceful single-domed mosque is the most impressive of the few extant monuments of the original capital city, and a fine example of pre-Mughal architecture.
Duration: 1 hr

Now it’s time for Sadar Bari – Folk Arts and Crafts Museum,  a beautiful rajbari (palace) built in 1901 inside which is located the Folk Arts and Crafts Museum full of folk arts and handicrafts from the 17th century onwards. We’ll also visit the adjacent new museum building of folk arts. This museum represent the authentic culture and heritage of Bengali nation.
Duration: 2-3hrs

Panam Nagar Constructed between 1895 and 1905, this tiny settlement consists of a single street, lined with around 50 mansions built by wealthy Hindu merchants, abandoned during the partition between India and Pakistan when the owners fled to India. This is a highlight of Bangladesh Old Capital Tour.
Duration: 2-3hrs

Visit a primary school for disadvantaged children from Hindu society fully made of bamboo. Consider bringing some pencil/chocolate for the children to support the poor students.
Duration: 1hr

Evening:

After Sonargaon tour you will have some free time so by this time  you can visit Hatirjheel – a beautiful lake. There is some tourist bus moving around the lake after every 5 mins. It is better to take a ride by this bus to view the whole lake at a glance.
At night, the lake decorated with lots of colorful light. |
Duration: 1hr

Dinner: You can choose your dinner from nearby location of your hotel. List of the best restaurant in Dhaka city. Restaurants are located mainly area based : Gulshan 1 & 2, Banani, Uttara, Khilgaon, Baily Road & Dhanmondi and a variety of collection: traditional, Indian, Mughal, Arabic, Mexican, Italian, western, etc.

Transportation: Taxi, Microbus, Car. Rent: 4000 – 5000BDT whole day.

Day 3 Savar Tour, near to nature

1. Start early morning and hire a suitable vehicle for the whole day. Today’s first destination will be Jatiyo Smriti Soudho – National Martyrs’ Memorial. This is the national monument of Bangladesh is the symbol in the memory of the valor and the sacrifice of all those who gave their lives in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, which brought independence and separated Bangladesh from Pakistan.
   Duration: 2 – 3hrs
   
2. Next, we will move for Jahangir Nagar University Campus, most beautiful and the natural campus of Bangladesh. You can have your lunch in Battola-(3/4 small restaurant) they have a lot of variety of food for lunch.
   Duration: 2 – 3hrs
3. After lunch, you can go for fun in Fantasy Kingdom or Nandan Park – The amusement park and water world.
   Duration: 2 – 3hrs
   
4. At evening, you can go for visit Bangladesh National Assembly Building – Discover the finest architecture of world famous architect Louis Kahn – Bangladesh National Assembly Building – one of the largest legislative complexes in the world, and one of the twentieth century’s most significant buildings.

Dinner: You can choose your dinner from nearby location of your hotel. List of the best restaurant in Dhaka city. Restaurants are located mainly area based : Gulshan 1 & 2, Banani, Uttara, Khilgaon, Baily Road & Dhanmondi and a variety of collection: traditional, Indian, Mughal, Arabic, Mexican, Italian, western, etc.

Transportation: Taxi, Microbus, Car. Rent: 4000 – 5000BDT whole day.

Cinema: Star Cineplex and Blockbuster Cinema

Shopping: Bashundhara Shopping Complex, Jamuna Future Park, Dhaka New Market.

Book your taxi or vehicle using chalox.com or bdcabs.com

If you come from abroad you will land at Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka. You can reserve your hotel advance. Here is the list of some nearby hotel from airport:

Hotel Le Meridien 
Phone: (880)(2) 8900089, GENERAL ENQUIRIES Phone: (880)(1) 990 990 990

DHAKA REGENCY HOTEL & RESORT
HOTLINE: +88 01713332651-54

RADISSON BLU DHAKA WATER GARDEN
Tel: +880 2 983 4555

Amari Dhaka, Bangladesh
Tel. +880 2 5505 9620

Click here for more hotel list
Per night cost BDT 1500 – BDT23000

Hope after finishing your 3days tour you will have a summary of knowledge about Dhaka and overall Bangladesh If you have any query and feedback please contact us@ travelersdiarybd@gmail.com

Sonargaon – Top Attractions, One Day Tour

Sonargaon ( সোনারগাঁও; meaning the City of Gold) was a historic administrative, commercial and maritime center in Bengal. Situated in the center of the Ganges delta, it was the seat of the medieval Muslim rulers and governors of eastern Bengal. Sonargaon was described by numerous historic travelers, including Ibn Battuta, Ma Huan, Niccolò de’ Conti and Ralph Fitch as a thriving center of trade and commerce. It served as the capital of Sultan Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah, Isa Khan and the Baro-Bhuyan Confederacy.

The area is located near the modern industrial river port of Narayanganj in Bangladesh. Today, the name Sonargaon survives as the Sonargaon Upazila (Sonargaon Subregion) in the region.

Goaldi Mosque – The historical sultan Mosque

Sonargaon contains quite a number of Archaeological evidence, helping the scholars to reconstruct the Medieval History of Sonargaon area of Bangladesh. Goaldi Mosque, one of the very few surviving medieval monuments in the city of Sonargaon. About 6 km northwest of the little township of Panam, near Sonargaon in Narayanganj district, there are two such precariously surviving old single-domed mosques in the sequestered hamlet of Goaldi, virtually hidden behind thick bamboo brakes and clusters of mango and jackfruit tree groves.

Built in 1519, the graceful, single-domed Goaldi Mosque is the most impressive of the few extant monuments of the old capital city, and a good example of pre-Mughal architecture. This mosque is one of the few remnants from the Sultanate period in Sonargaon, during the reign of Sultan Hussain Shah in 925 Hijri (1519 AD). It was built by Mulla Hizabar Akbar Khan in the early 16th century, during the reign of Alauddin Husain Shah at a place called Goaldi – half a mile northeast of Panam village in Sonargaon. Sonargaon was the administrative center of medieval Muslim rulers of East Bengal. It became as the capital of Bengal during Isa Khan’s ruling. The area falls under present-day Narayanganj District, Bangladesh. This mosque is more elegant and ornate in comparison to the earlier Sultanate mosques at Bagerhat.

There are some ornamental black stone pillars inside the prayer hall for the support of the roof. Corresponding to the three arched doorways on the east there are three richly decorated mihrabs on the west wall, of which the central one is bigger and beautifully embellished with curved floral and arabesque relief on dark black stone, but the flanking side mihrabs are ornamented with delicate terracotta floral and geometric patterns. The central stone mihrab is framed within an arched panel with an expanded sunflower motif in the center. Below that the spandrels of the multi-cusped arch of the mihrab are decorated within a rectangular frame. The engrailed arched recess is carried on stunted octagonal pillars faceted at stages. Four round-banded turrets at the outer corners rise up to the curvilinear cornice.
Duration: 1 – 2 hrs

Sadar Bari – Sonargaon Folk Art and Craft Museum

There are a folk art and craft museum for the visitors & tourist traveling in Sonargaon.Sonargaon Folk Art and Craft Museum remains open from morning to afternoon (9 AM to 5 PM). Wednesday and the Thursday, this museum is closed for the weekend. This is prosperous with several unique collections those you’ll never find at any other place. Some are lost from our country, and only those are remains. The main museum building is placed at the “Sardar Bari”. “Sardar Bari” was built by a Hindu Zamindar of Sonargaon in 1901. Alike the other Zamindar house of that period, this one also looks like Indian houses, but the shape of the house was looked like the European Palaces. The baroque decoration and the elaborate painting on the plaster of the building are really eye catching.

Lok Shilpa Jadughar (Folk Art and Craft Museum) of Sonargaon was established by Bangladeshi painter Joynul Abedin on March 12, 1975.

It will cost you BDT20 to enter the museum area. It’s a vast area, and will take you lots of time to round the area. You’ll find an art gallery of “Zainul Abedin” inside the museum area. There are two Exhibition Galleries inside the museum. Both of them consist of some status showing the local life of Bangladeshi people, for example, farming, woman working etc. Also, you’ll find the miniature version of the several boats from my country, which is now a day vanished after competing with the mechanical vehicles.
Duration: 2 – 3hrs

Panam Nagar – The old city

Ancient Painam, a locality now in Sonargaon upazila of Narayanganj district. It is about 2.5 kilometer to the north of Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Mograpara point. It is said to have been the site of Hindu capital city of Sonargaon emerging in the seventh decade of the thirteenth century. The Panam area formed part of the Muslim metropolis developed on the south of the old city, and perhaps constituted the place of residence of the early Muslim governors’. After the Mughal conquest of Sonargaon (1611) the Panam area was connected with the ruling metropolis by the construction of highways and bridges. Panam still possesses three brick bridges belonging to the Mughal period: Panam Bridge, Dalalpur Bridge and Panamnagar Bridge.

Panamnagar, a unique township, stretched in a single street 5 meter wide on the average and 600 meter in length. All the buildings have the character of urban street front houses and are lined up on either side of this street which ends up at the Panam bazar. Fifty-two houses exist in dilapidated and disused condition having 31 in the north side of the street and 21 on the south. Panamnagar appears to be well protected by artificial canals all around. Two fairly wide canals run parallel to the street on its either side and joined by a narrow canal on the western side over which is the entrance bridge (Panamnagar Bridge). On the eastern side, the canal on the south swerves rightward and goes eastward crossing the north-south road that passes through the Panam bazar. The northern canal, the Pankhiraj Khal, runs eastward to meet the Meghna-Menikhali stream.
Duration: 1-2hrs

Nearby Restaurant: 
1.Kolapata Restaurant, Mograpara Chourasta, Soanargaon, Cell: 01760144144
2.Khaja Restaurant, Mograpara Chourasta, Sonargaon, Cell: 01815708079
3.Melin Kabab, Soup & Biryani House, Mograpara Chourasta, Sonargaon, Cell: 01816586220
4.Cafe Sonargaon Hotel & Restaurant, 1no. Gate of Museum,Ichapara, Cell:01819932696
5.Ruposhi Bangla Restaurant, 1no. gate of Museum, ichapara, Cell: 01712289708
6.Tazmahal Hotel, 1no. gate of Museum, ichapara, Cell: 01819167894

Transportation: Taxi, Car, Microbus, Minibus – Rent for whole day 4000 – 5000BDT

Content: offroadbangladesh & Photo: google

03 Days, 02 Nights in Sreemangal

Day-01: Tea Plantations, and Tribal Villages

• Pick up from the hotel at 06.30 H, transfer to Airport Railway Station, and take 07.12 H Parabat Express to Srimangal. Our guide at Dhaka will help you board the train and find your seats. Arrive Srimangal around 12.30 H. Upon arrival, our guide at Srimangal will meet you at the train station, and transfer you to the resort.
• After check-in, freshen up, and lunch, visit tea gardens and a tribal village in Srimangal.
• After dinner, we’ll take you to Nilkontho Tea cabin to taste the famous 7 layer tea of Srimangal.
• Overnight at Srimangal.

Day-02: Lawachara National Park, and Cycling

• Early morning, go for a rewarding wildlife trekking through the Lawachara National Park. We take the 03 hours trail for the maximum opportunity to see wildlife, specially the Hollock Gibbons for which this forest is famous for.
• Return to the resort, have lunch and take some rest.
• Cycling through the trails of beautiful tea gardens rests of the day. People who love cycling, Srimangal could be a heaven for them. Trails through the tea gardens are scenic and also not very extreme. You’ll also be cycling through the rubber plantations, pineapple gardens, lemon orchards, and village roads. You’ll be cycling until the sun set. If you prefer not to do cycling, we’ll take you in sightseeing by car.
• Overnight at Srimangal.

Day-03: Free Morning

• Morning is free to do anything you like.
• Transfer to the railway station, and take 10.31 H Jayantika Express to Dhaka. Arrive Dhaka Airport Station around 16.20 H, transfer to hotel, and say goodbye.
• End of the tour.

Best time to travel:
April – November: You’ll see female tribal workers picking tea on numerous tea gardens at Srimangal, which is very picturesque. Best time of the year to travel.
November – March: Weather is cool and comfortable, and less humid.

Itenary made by: nijhoom tours

Lawachara National Park – Rain Forest

Around 8km east of Sreemangal, on the road to Kamalganj, Lawachara National Park (known to locals as Shaymoli) is a wild and mysterious patch of tropical semi-evergreen forest absolutely crawling with life. Not only is this 1250-hectare park (which forms part of a 2740-hectare protected zone known as the West Bhanugach Reserve) one of the finest wildlife venues in the country, but it’s also one of the easiest to visit. Though the forest may look like a primeval jungle, it has been greatly influenced by the activities of humans, and as recently as 1920 it was managed as a timber-production plantation. Since then the forest has been largely allowed to revert to a natural state, and after years of mismanagement the government has finally got its act together and given the park firm protection, established a number of a visitor walking trails and is in the process of training up ‘eco-guides’.

The undisputed highlight of the park is the critically endangered hoolock gibbon –the subcontinent’s only ape species and one that you have a pretty good chance of seeing crashing through the trees. A further 19 mammal species have been identified including capped langur, the delightful slow loris, orange-bellied Himalayan squirrel and barking deer. The bird-watching here is equally superb and so far some 246 species have been recorded, with the blue-bearded bee-eater and the red-breasted trogon being big stars. Another highlight is the orchids, of which there are more than 20 varieties (the wet season is the best time to see them).

Remember though that this isn’t the open African savanna but a dense forest, and despite the impressive number of animals you would have to put in a good deal of effort to get anything other than a fleeting glimpse. One thing you won’t miss though are the insects, and rather than concentrating on the bigger mammals you will find your visit more rewarding if you focus instead on the bugs and birds. Of these bugs, the most visible are the ropelike columns of aggressive ants, the flamboyant butterflies and, maybe less welcome, the enormous orb spiders (also called banana spiders). You won’t be able to miss these black, red and yellow monsters hanging from Spiderman-sized webs between trees, but don’t worry, they might look like the devil incarnate but they are in fact harmless – or so we’re told!

There are three marked walking trails taking anything from half an hour to three hours, and the visitors center has printed booklets with walking maps and some pointers on things to look out for. You can also hire ‘eco-guides’ from here, but try and chat to them first as many don’t speak much English and have very little real knowledge of the plants and animals contained within the forest.

To access the reserve from Sreemangal, take the paved road east towards Kamalganj. The poorly marked turn-off to your left (north), which is easy to miss, is about 4.75km past the Tea Resort compound and another 2.75km beyond the well-marked turn-off for the Nurjahan and Madabpore tea estates. The dirt road into the forests, which crosses the railroad tracks, is less than 1km long and an easy walk. A bus from Sreemangal costs Tk 10.

Location: Sreemangal, Moulvibazar, Sylhet

ClimateTemp: 10 c to 33 c, Rainfall: 555 cm, Altitude:25 m

How to get there:
You can go from Dhaka to Sreemangal by bus or train service. Daily bus services are available from Dhaka to Sreemangal every hour from Sayedabad and take about 3.5 hours. The forest is located about 12km from the Sreemangal city. From the Sreemangal city, you can hire transport to go to the forest. It will be 20 minutes road drive from Sreemangal Railway Station.

Where to stay: 
You will find some good hotels and restaurant at Sylhet and Sreemangal town to stay and have food.
Here is the list of 1 to 3-star hotels nearby Lawachara National Park

Some 5-star resort and hotel in Sreemangal:
Grand Sultan Resort
The Palace Resort

Content: Collected, photos: google, wikipedia

 

 

Dhaka New Market

Dhaka New Market, a unique shopping complex of the city with a long history, is located at Azimpur, with Mirpur Road on one side and Peelkhana Road on the other. New Market area is triangular in shape with three high arched entry gates on its south, east and north sides leading to rows of shops.

There are spaces for shops and a nice triangular lawn at the center and a mosque inside it with nice minaret. It was built in 50s as a shopping complex primarily to cater to the needs of the growing population of Dhaka city mainly in Azimpur Estate and Dhanmondi residential area. Eventually, it attracted shoppers from all other areas of the city and even from outside Dhaka.

The need for having a municipal market in the city was keenly felt when Dhaka became a provincial metropolis in 1905. Then in 1913 Yousuff Market was built in the Dhaka for the first time. Now there are 105 markets of Dhaka City Corporation, big and small, in the different parts of the city. Some are wholesale markets while some are retail markets. Among the DCC markets, New Market, Kawranbazar, Mohammadpur Krishi Market play a great role in the city. Every year, DCC develops and constructs many new shopping complexes for the city people.

The construction work of Dhaka New Market began in 1952 by C&B Department on 35 acres of land during the period of Nurul Amin, the then Chief Minister of East Pakistan. The market was completed in 1954. This heralded the beginning of a new era of development towards modernising Dhaka. Rickshaw ride or walking along the narrow lanes of old Dhaka for shopping was not a happy experience for families as old Dhaka was too conservative, noisy and crowded.

Dhaka New Market is still today a large complex with variety of stores around and inside it. The three high arched gates lead to organized rows of shops for books and stationery, watches, clocks and spectacles, leather goods and travel kits, grocery items, clothes, jewellery, electrical equipment etc and a few service shops of tailoring, fast food, photography etc. There is a running covered veranda in front of the shops. The market has a total of 468 shops. Visitors can find most of their requirements in these shops and that’s why this is a favourite place to almost everybody who like to go for shopping. You may gain fantastic experience buying something from here. It is the only market where one can bargain and people of all income levels can find things of their choice here. Even the merchants may serve you tea or cold drinks while you shop and your children can play around.

The unique feature of Dhaka New Market is shopping in open air and spacious atmosphere. Every shop is in the ground floor. In 50s and 60s, it was the most popular place for shopping as well as recreation. Young people, particularly college and university students in groups, donned in best attire, moved around in the evening for hours. Girls came in separate groups. For their, free-mixing with classmates especially boys outside was not permitted by the society.

In 80s, three more blocks were constructed on the north under Dhaka City Corporation, e.g., New Super Market for crockeries, Bonolata for kitchen market, Chandrima for varieties of items and D-block for groceries, each having over 1000 shops. The nice green park inside now houses a mosque at first floor level with 62 new shops under it.
The well-being of the merchants of Dhaka New Market is supervised by a bi-yearly elected committee comprised of 23 members called Dhaka New Market Byabosayee Samity.

Content: Collected

Location Map:

Old Town Iftar Bazar @Ramadan

Photo: The Daily Star
With the arrival of Ramadan, the age-old Chawk Bazar area in Old Dhaka has once again turned into the iftar hub in the city, bringing in food lovers from all over the capital with its offering of Ramadan-special delicacies.

Just after the Jumma prayers yesterday, hundreds of people were found gathering in the traditional iftar market to purchase mouthwatering items to break their first day of fasting in a different way.

Until 4pm, sellers hardly had time to breathe, serving the eager customers with kababs, rolls, roasts and naans.

Photo: dhakatribune
The fame of this traditional iftar market has grown over the years, attracting customers from not just Old Dhaka, but all around the city.

“I come here every year to buy iftar items as it makes the iftar spread at home different and more delectable. This is how my family and I begin our Ramadan,” said Jewel Rana, resident of Amin Bazar in Savar.

This year, however, two brand new items have been added to the already diverse array iftar items.

One of the shops, called Dhakaiya Twists, has introduced a special sandwich called Safa Sandwich. The sandwich is made with a unique filling of vegetables and chicken and costs Tk75, shop owner Nazir Hossain said.

The other new addition is Tawa Cha, a special chicken kabab that tastes like sausage. It is available at Talha Delhi Kabab and costs Tk80-160, depending on the amount of purchase.

Photo: The Daily Star

The regular iftar items have their own fan bases as well. Of them, Boro Baper Polay Khay tops the list and is selling at Tk400, while suti kabab is available at Tk400, chicken roasts at Tk160-220, depending on size and quality, roast quail bird at Tk 50-80, jali kabab at Tk 40-60 apiece, Shahi Jilapi at Tk160 per kg, mutton kabab at Tk620, fried pigeon at Tk220, fried duck at Tk450, shahi halim for Tk350, doi bora at Tk 160-240, depending on quantity.

Besides the food items, a variety of drinks are available as well. Among them, drinks at Beauty Lassi Shop are the most popular, and their faludas are a special attraction.

Sources at Chawk Bazar said at least 700 shops are installed that sell iftar delicacies throughout the month of Ramadan. To give an idea of how big their iftar collection is, vendors said one would find it rather difficult to buy all the different types of food that are sold at the market in one go, as buying some of each different item would cost Tk20,000, at least.

Report: Mohammad Jamil Khan – dhakatribune

Best places to visit in Bangladesh

 

 

01. Sundarbans Mangrove Forest

Sundarbans in the largest mangrove forest on earth and a UNESCO world heritage site. Sundarbans is located in between two neighboring countries – Bangladesh and India. Majority of the forest is located in Bangladesh. It is home of the last remaining Bengal tigers in the world and many other wildlife. Environment of Sundarbans is tranquilizing and visiting this forest could be an once in a lifetime experience. That is why Sundarbans comes as number one on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

 

© Photo: Jean-Christophe Huet on Flickr

02. Chittagong Hill-Tracts

Chittagong Hill-Tracts area is a naturally beautiful place full of beautiful hills. It is home of many tribal group of Bangladesh. This is the best place in Bangladesh for adventure travel. You can trek deep inside the hills for many days here if you can manage permission from the local authority. Also you can meet different tribal groups in this region and see their lifestyle. The most beautiful river in Bangladesh called Sangu river is located in this area. A boat ride in Sangu during monsoon could be a great experience. Chittagong hill-tracts comes as number two on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

 

© Photo: Raw Hasan

03. Srimangal

Srimangal is the tea capital of Bangladesh, located in the north-eastern part of the country. You’ll find lush green tea gardens anywhere you go here. This is one of the few places in the country where if you look around, you may not find any other people anywhere except you. A really nice and calm place. Cycling through the trails inside the tea plantations here could be one of the best thing you can do in Bangladesh. Also worth visiting is the Lawachhara National Park, and trek to Hamham waterfalls. You can easily spend few days here with the nature. Srimangal comes as number three on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

 

© Photo: Fahad Faisal in Wikipedia

04. Rangamati

Rangamti is a district of Chittagong Hill-Tracts area. Main reason to visit this place is the Kaptai Lake. It is a naturally beautiful man made lake surrounded by beautiful hills. Best thing to do at Rangamati is enjoying boat ride on the Kaptai Lake for the whole day. Rangamati is also home of many tribal groups. You can visit their handicraft market here to buy some fine quality handmade fabrics. There is a Buddhist monastery called Rajban Bihara which is also worth visiting. Rangamati comes as number four on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

 © Photo: Raw Hasan

05. Paharpur

In the north-western part of Bangladesh, there is a tiny little place called Paharpur, which holds the most impressive archeological site in Bangladesh called Somapuri Mahabhihara, a UNESCO world heritage site. It was the second largest Buddhist monastery south of Himalayas on 8th century. On it’s prime time, monks from all over the world used to come here for higher education. It was one of the best Buddhist monasteries in the world on that time. Paharpur comes as number five on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

© Photo: Wikipedia

06. St. Martin’s Island

St. Martin’s Island is a beautiful coral island of Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. For the beach lovers, this is the best place to visit in Bangladesh. Local tourists go to visit this island mostly on a day trip. After they leave in the afternoon, it becomes really quiet. You can stay in any resort with a private beach, and relax in the island for couple of days when become tired of traveling for several weeks in the whole country. St. Martin’s Island comes as number six on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

© Photo: Raw Hasan

07. Gaur

Gaur is a ruined city from ancient and medieval period, located in the India-Bangladesh border. The city was on it’s prime time during 12th to 14th century. It became the capital of the whole Bengal region. It was a very rich and wealthy city in the medieval period, which was finally abandoned because of cholera. Some of the beautiful mosques of Gaur are still remaining hidden behind the mango orchards. Archaeological department of Bangladesh has done some amazing restoration work to some of these mosques. This is an amazing place to visit for the history lovers. Gaur comes as number seven on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

© Photo: Neerod

08. Sylhet

Sylhet is a naturally beautiful place in the north-eastern part of Bangladesh, close to the Meghalaya state of India. It has many beautiful places to visit. Green-water canal Lalakhal, stone collecting area Jaflong, Ratargul swamp forest, and many of it’s tea gardens are the attractions to visit Sylhet. You can also meet some different tribal people in Sylhet, specially in Jaflong. Here you can meet the Khasia tribal people who grow betel leaves in the forest. Sylhet comes as number eight on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

© Photo: Raw Hasan

09. Barisal

Barisal is a unique place located on the heart of Ganges Delta. Life in Barisal is fully based on river. Main attraction to visit Barisal is to experience the unique life and culture of the people of this region. You can visit it’s many floating markets, bazaars, schools, and villages to experience the unique culture of Barisal. Monsoon is the best place to visit this region when it’s numerous rivers and canals become full of water and nature become very green. Also it is time for the floating guava markets, which are very photogenic. Barisal comes as number nine on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

© Photo: Raw Hasan

10. Puthia

Puthia is a small village in Rajshahi full of beautiful Hindu temples. Largest number of historical temples in Bangladesh are found in Puthia, some of which are very well maintained. These temples are unique in design. Some of them are ornamented with beautiful terracotta plaques describing epic Hindu stories. This is a must visiting place if you visit Bangladesh. Puthia comes as number ten on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

© Photo: Raw Hasan

11. Mosque City Bagerhat

Bagerhat is a city founded in 15th century by a Turkish general, formerly known as Khalifatabad. It is full of beautiful historic mosques, among which 60 Dome Mosque is the most famous. This whole city is recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site. The historic city, listed by Forbes as one of the 15 lost cities of the world, has more than 50 Islamic monuments which have been found after removing the vegetation that had obscured them from view for many centuries. Bagerhat comes as number eleven on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

© Photo: Mermaid Beach Resort

12. Cox’s Bazar

Cox’s Bazar is the longest unbroken sandy beach in the world, 125 km in length. It is the most popular tourist spot among the locals in Bangladesh. Perfect place to relax in the end of a long trip. To avoid the crowd, stay on a resort with their own private beach. The Wholesale Fish Market in Cox’s Bazar would be an interesting place to visit while you are here. Cox’s Bazar comes as number twelve on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

© Photo: Simon Roozendaal

13. Sonargaon

Sonargaon was the old capital of Bengal in the medieval period. It was a mint capital beside Gaur. Although gone is the heritage of the old capital, there still are some interesting thing to spend a day in Sonargaon. The main attraction to visit Sonargaon would be the abandoned merchant city Panam Nagar. Built on the colonial period, this was a city of wealthy Hindu merchants to fled to India during a riots after the partition in the sub continent. They intended to return someday, which never happened. Now this is a fully abandoned city of 52 houses built on a single street.

Other attractions of Sonargaon is 15th century Goaldi Mosque and the Folk-arts and Crafts Museum. Sonargaon comes as number thirteen on our list of the best places to visit in Bangladesh.

Content : nijhoom tours