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PLAN YOUR TRIP
Welcome to Bangladesh ................... 2Map .................................. 410 Top Experiences ........ 6Need to Know ................. 12If You Like... ..................... 14Month by Month ............. 16Itineraries ........................ 19Border Crossings ........... 22Boat Trips ........................ 26Regions at a Glance ....... 30
YOUR PLANNING TOOL KIT
Photos, itineraries, lists and suggestions
to help you put together your perfect trip
UNDERSTAND BANGLADESH
Bangladesh Today........... 148History .............................. 150Environment .................... 156Arts & Literature ............. 160Bangladesh Cuisine ........ 163
Bangladesh Today Two court trials of huge political significance dominated the most recentterm of office for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She was installed forher second nonconsecutive term as the country’s leader after her AwamiLeague (AL) party won a landslide victory in the December 2008 elec-tions. Less than two months later, she was forced to deal with one of the country’s most shocking events of recent times.
Border Guards Mutiny Bangladeshis watched in horror in February 2009 when live TV broadcasts re orted on a soldier mutiny at Dhaka’s head uarters of the Bang
ation: ,000 gest)
per
00
INDIABANGLADESH USA
population per sq km
≈ 30 people
Environment The Land Famous for being flat and wet, Bangladesh is, largely speaking, one massive piece of gorgeously green farmland criss-crossed by an unfeasilarge network of rivers. It’s a rural wonderland, and beautiful to beholdIn fact, there’s every chance that Bangladesh will be the most gloriousllush country you’ve ever visited.
There are two exceptions to these flatter-than-flat vistas, a though nether is any less green than the rest of the country. First there’s Sylhet, ithe northeast, with its soft, rolling hills covered in ar -green, waist-higtea bushes Then there’s the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the far southeast;
a-y s a ar
n et ne
A Land of Rivers Bangladesh is awash with rivers; more than 700 of them ow through this small country and the result is a deliciously lush landscape with more shades of green than you ever imagined. Flooding is an annual feature and by the end of the summer huge swathes of Bangladesh are submerged under rising water levels, leaving rich al-luvial soils from which to grow next year’s harvests. There are almost as many kilo-metres of rivers in Bangladesh as there are roads, and travelling by boat is a way of life here. For the traveller, this provides a fabu-lous opportunity to see the country from a more unusual angle. Arrive at a town by bus and you’re confronted with traf-
c, fumes, noise and confusion. Arrive by boat and it’s almost like sneaking quietly through the back door. Even if you’re going nowhere in particular, travelling by boat along a river in Bangladesh is one of the most rewarding things you can do during your visit. This is one of the world’s most densely populated countries, but once you’re sitting on a small wooden rowboat, oating slowing down a country river, it’s
easy to imagine you have it all to yourself.
Warm & Welcoming Bangladeshis are famously friendly, and you are almost certain to receive a warm welcome everywhere you go. Feeling like you’re the centre of attention is, of course,
Welcome to Bangladesh
“All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!”TONY WHEELER, COFOUNDER – LONELY PLANET
PAGE
2
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147GET MORE FROM YOUR TRIP
Learn about the big picture, so you
can make sense of what you see
Border Crossings Most Popular Crossings Kolkata The twice-weekly train that con-nects Kolkata with Dhaka is comfortable and hassle-free. Apart from immigration formali-ties at the border, it’s direct and nonstop. Benapole Main border town on the road route to and from Kolkata. Has direct bus links to Dhaka, Khulna and Jessore. Burimari Bangladesh’s gateway to Darjeel-ing, with transport links via the Indian town of Siliguri. Entering Bangladesh, most people head to Rangpur, but there is a night bus to Dhaka. Tamabil Linking Sylhet with India’s north-east tribal states, Tamabil isn’t a place to linger, on account of the open mining that goes on around the border (cough! splut-ter!), but you’re only two hours away from Sylhet by bus. Akhaura The other major border for India’s northeast tribal states; the Indian side has an airport and a place to process Bangla-desh visas. The Bangladesh side has a train station with links to Dhaka, Srimangal and Chittagong.
There are numerous points in Bangladesh where you can cross the border with India, but only six or seven are set up with immi-gration facilities to service foreigners. At the time of research there was still no border crossing with Myanmar (Burma).
The same system is in place for all of these crossings (apart from the direct train to Kolkata), although differing levels of stringency are applied at each.
If you’re leaving Bangladesh and entering India, the most important thing to remem-ber is that you cannot get an Indian visa at any of the border towns, so you must have already sorted this out, preferably in your home country. Foreigners can get an Indian visa in Dhaka (p 167 ) and Chittagong (p 112 ), but it’s a bureaucratic nightmare, and many travellers leave the visa office empty handed.
If you’re coming into Bangladesh from India, note that you cannot get the same vi-sa-on-arrival that you can get if you fly into Dhaka airport, but you can get Bangladesh visas in Kolkata and Agartala (Akhaura), as well as in New Delhi.
If you’re leaving Bangladesh you have to pay a Tk 300 departure tax (see the boxed text p 24 ) and you are supposed to have picked up a change-of-route permit from the Immigra-tion and Passport Office in Dhaka. The depar-ture tax is critical, but the permit isn’t asked for these days, so in practise you don’t need it.
Be aware that visa regulations for Bangla
1
and travelling along them is an experience not to be missed. From cross-river car ferriesor creaking old paddle-wheel steamers to the humble rowboat or traditional wooden yachts, it is said that there are more types of boats in Bangladesh than in any other countrSo whether you fancy a multiday adventure deep into the countryside or just a quick jaunaround a city dock, get yourself down to a riveghat, and get involved.
Tracking Tigers in the Sundarbans 2 The mangrove forests of the Sundarbans
National Park (p 71 ) are home to the largesingle population of tigers found anywhere inthe world. There are around 400 Royal Bengatigers roaming the region, and boarding a boain search of them is an undisputed highlight oa trip to Bangladesh. It’s possible to dip into tforest on a self-organised day trip from Mongbut for a true adventure, and to increase youradmittedly slim chances of seeing a tiger, booyourself onto four-day boat tour from Khulna
10 TOP EXPERIENCES
Dhaka
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SundarbansNationalPark
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9 781741 794588
99625
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bangladesh-7.indd 2bangladesh-7.indd 2 29/08/2012 8:24:31 AM29/08/2012 8:24:31 AM
©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY
Daniel McCrohan
#_p34
Dhaka
p57Dhaka Division
p87
Rajshahi & Rangpur p133
Sylhet Division
p106Chittagong Division
p66
Khulna &Barisal
YOUR COMPLETE DESTINATION GUIDE
In-depth reviews, detailed listings
and insider tips
SURVIVAL GUIDE
Directory A–Z .................. 166Transport ......................... 175Health ............................... 181Language ......................... 188Index ................................. 203Map Legend ..................... 207
VITAL PRACTICAL INFORMATION TO
HELP YOU HAVE A SMOOTH TRIP
ON THE ROAD
Accommodation Generally speaking, the quality of accommodation in Bangladesh is poor, although this is reflected in extremely affordable prices. It’s proba-bly wise to lower your expec-tations of comfort and clean-liness before you come, to avoid being too disappointed. Only in Dhaka, and at a handful of other exceptional places around the country,
uld we find accommoda-that was genuinely very
We have marked these o icon.
onal-
Directory A–Z
PAGE
32
PAGE
165
Look out for these icons:
Our author’s top recommendation
Every listing is recommended by our authors, and their favourite places are listed first
A green or sustainable option No payment
required
On the Road
See the Index for a full list of destinations covered in this book.
DHAKA . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
DHAKA DIVISION . . . . 57Sonargaon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59Dhamrai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60Mymensingh . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Around Mymensingh . . . . . .63Birisiri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64Around Birisiri. . . . . . . . . . . .65
KHULNA & BARISAL . .66KHULNA DIVISION . . . . . . . . 68Khulna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68Sundarbans National Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Mongla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Bagerhat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Jessore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Kushtia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81BARISAL DIVISION . . . . . . . . 83Barisal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83Kuakata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
RAJSHAHI & RANGPUR . . . . . . . . . . 87Bogra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89Mahasthangarh . . . . . . . . . . 91Paharpur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92Rangpur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93Dinajpur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96Rajshahi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99Sona Masjid (Gaud) . . . . . . 102Puthia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Natore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104Pabna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
CHITTAGONG DIVISION . . . . . . . . . . 106Chittagong . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108Bandarban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113Rangamati . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117Cox’s Bazar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Around Cox’s Bazar . . . . . . 127St Martin’s Island . . . . . . . . 128Comilla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
SYLHET DIVISION . . 133Sylhet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Sunamganj . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Srimangal & Around . . . . . 139
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OUR STORYA beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their fi rst travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.
Today, Lonely Planet has offi ces in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’.
Daniel McCrohan Daniel first fell in love with Bangladesh way back in 1998 and has since made multiple trips here, chalking up many months’ worth of Bangla-travel. He has worked extensively throughout Asia (his adopted home since leaving England more than eight years ago), but particularly enjoys this region, one of the few parts of South Asia, he says, that still has yet to be properly discovered by travellers. Daniel has worked on more than a dozen other Lonely Planet
guides including India, Tibet and China. He also cohosted the Lonely Planet television series Best in China. You can follow his Asia travels on Twitter (@danielmccrohan), or through his website (danielmccrohan.com).
Read more about Daniel atlonelyplanet.com/members/danielmccrohan
OUR WRITER
Although the authors and Lonely Planet have taken all reason-able care in preparing this book, we make no warranty about the accuracy or completeness of its content and, to the maxi-mum extent permitted, disclaim all liability arising from its use.
Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty LtdABN 36 005 607 9837th edition – December 2012ISBN 978 1 74179 458 8© Lonely Planet 2012 Photographs © as indicated 201210 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Printed in SingaporeAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, and no part of this publication may be sold or hired, without the written permission of the publisher. Lonely Planet and the Lonely Planet logo are trademarks of Lonely Planet and are registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Lonely Planet does not allow its name or logo to be appropriated by commercial establishments, such as retailers, restaurants or hotels. Please let us know of any misuses: lonelyplanet.com/ip.
Itiner-aries
Whether you’ve got six days or 60, these itineraries provide a starting point for the trip of a lifetime. Want more inspiration? Head online to lonelyplanet.com/thorntree to chat with other travellers.
Dhaka
Khulna
Bagerhat
SundarbansNationalPark
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River
ÉINDIA
ÉÉ
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One WeekSampling the Sundarbans
One week is just enough time to dip into Dhaka before going on the boat trip of a lifetime through the tiger-filled mangrove swamps of the Sundarbans.
Ease yourself into Dhaka by spending your first day in the more upmarket neigh-bourhood of Banani before delving into the chaos with a sightseeing tour of Old
Dhaka on day two. Don’t miss Sadarghat for a rowboat trip on the Buriganga River. You haven’t got time to ride the Rocket (you’ll need an extra two days for that). Instead,
take an overnight bus to Khulna to meet up with your Sundarbans tour company, which you’ll need in order to properly explore the Sundarbans National Park. Then relax on the deck of your boat and enjoy three days of tiger-tinged river adventure before floating back to Khulna.
Consider a day trip to Bagerhat before taking the bus back to Dhaka for one final day in the capital.
Note that you will need to have booked your Sundarbans trip at least three weeks in advance, so start planning this one from home.
19
Dhaka
Khulna Bagerhat
SundarbansNationalPark
INDIA
Meghna
River
Sona Masjid
PaharpurJamunaRiver Chars
Jamuna
River
Hularhat
Kushtia
Rajshahi
Bogra
Srimangal
Bandarban
Chandpur
Chittagong
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One MonthBest of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is relatively small, so if you have a full month you can see pretty much all the main highlights. This tour takes in Dhaka, the Sundarbans and part of history-rich Rajshahi before whisking you over to the east to sample the tea estates of Srimangal and the forested mountains of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Your first job when you arrive in Dhaka is to book your cabin on the Rocket for your ferry ride the following evening. Tickets in hand, you can spend the rest of that day and the next taking in the sights of Old Dhaka before leaving on the 6pm boat.
Sit back and enjoy the lazy 20-hour river trip to Hularhat. Having disembarked mid-morning, grab a rickshaw to the bus stand, then a bus to Bagerhat, where you can spend the afternoon admiring the Islamic ruins before hopping on another bus to Khulna where you’ll meet your Sundarbans tour company. Note: you will have had to have booked your Sundarbans trip at least three weeks in advance.
The next morning, board your boat and enjoy three or four days of unrivalled river ad-venture as you track tigers in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans National Park.
Back in Khulna, take a bus north, pit-stopping in Kushtia – the cultural capital of Bengal – before continuing on to Rajshahi.
Take a day trip to Sona Masjid to see the scattered ruins of the ancient city of Gaud before catching a bus to Bogra.
Not much to see here – although you could consider an unusual day trip to the sand chars on the Jamuna River – but Bogra is only a day trip away from the Unesco-protected Buddhist ruins of Paharpur.
Catch a bus from Bogra back to Dhaka, but don’t dally; the next morning you’ll be river-bound again, this time a morning ferry from Dhaka’s Sadarghat to Chandpur before catching the train to Chittagong.
Sort out your permit for the hill tracts region while you’re in Chittagong, then spend four or five days exploring Rangamati and Bandarban before heading back to Chittagong.
Take the scenic day train to Srimangal where you can rent a bicycle to enjoy the sur-rounding tea estates, forest reserves and Adivasi villages before catching the train back to Dhaka.
20
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The Ruins of the Northwest
Exploring Chittagong
Two WeeksRuins of the Northwest
This tour points you towards the old-er side of Dhaka before exploring the dusty ruins of history-rich Rajshahi and Rangpur.
Spend your first day visiting the museums and Raj-era architecture of Central Dhaka before diving into the living history of Old Dhaka. Try to track down the hard-to-find ruins of Bara Katra and Chota Katra in among the chaos of the bazars. A day trip to Sonargaon makes an easy day three before you set off by bus to the temple-strewn vil-lage of Puthia, en route to Rajshahi.
Day trip from Rajshahi to Sona Masjid, to see the scattered ruins of the lost city of Gaud, before catching the bus to Bogra. The ruined settlement of Mahastangarh makes a fun half-day trip before you head to the Unesco-protected Buddhist ruins of Pahar-pur, where you can stay the night.
From Paharpur, take a bus to Dinajpur (via Jaipurhat and Fulbari) so you can visit the stunning Hindu temple of Kantanagar before heading to nearby Rangpur, which has a sprinkling of Raj-era architecture, a top-class guesthouse and a daily train to Dhaka.
Two to Three WeeksExploring Chittagong
The most diverse region of Bangla-desh, Chittagong has mountains, for-ests, Adivasi villages, elephants and even beaches. This tour has the lot.
After a day visiting the must-see sights of Dhaka, hop on a morning ferry to Chand-pur, from where you can catch a train to Chittagong. Sort out your permit for the hill tracts here before taking a bus to laid-back Rangamati for a couple of relaxing days by Kaptai Lake. From Rangamati, take a bus to Bandarban, the heart of the Chit-tagong Hill Tracts, and the best place to base yourself for hiking.
After your hill-tracts exertions, take the bus to Cox’s Bazar where you can rest up by the beach – but don’t forget to visit Ma-heskhali Island.
Heading further south, catch a bus to Teknaf Game Reserve, home to some of Bangladesh’s few remaining wild elephants, before riding the waves to St Martin’s Is-land for a more shanty beach experience.
The restrictive ferry schedule means you’ll need two days to get back to Dhaka from here, via Cox’s Bazar (bus) and Chit-tagong (train), although you could fly back from Cox’s Bazar, or take a night bus, if you’re pushed for time.
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