Beauty of Bandarban
By Hasanul Banna Joy
Bangladesh is bestowed with an ample amount of places to explore. From beautiful natural sites to historical places, the country has much to offer for a pleasing and learning experience.
Among the eye-catching places, the most remote and least populated Bandarban is a popular destination for its adventurous, distinctive and scenic landscape. The beauty of its forests, numerous waterfalls, tallest peaks and lifestyles of 15 different ethnic groups attract tourists from both home and abroad. One must visit Bandarban at least once!
In the middle of November, I made a plan to tour the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and finally decided to visit a few places in Bandarban district. My friends, Didar and Shoib, also joined my planned tour.
Bandarban was new to us, therefore, we collected adequate information from the internet and watched some documentaries on youtube about the area.
We collected tickets from S Alam bus service and started off on our journey on a Thursday night. By road, the distance from Dhaka to Bandarban is 318 kilometres. Though a little jam troubled us at Kanchpur Bridge, we reached our destination by 6:30 am the next morning. On the way, the bus stopped at a highway restaurant in Comilla. We had some light food. However, the high prices bothered us a bit.
After reaching Bandarban town, we managed to find rooms at the Bangabandhu Smrity Pathaghar guest house. Jahangir Alam, who looks after the guest house, welcomed us.
Bandarban town is very small and it could easily be covered on foot.
There is a four-wheeled common public transport in Bandarban, locally known as chander gari (moon car). We decided to visit nearby places by chander gari. Alam, who also works as a guide, helped us to hire one for Tk 700 for the whole day.
After breakfast, we went to visit Rupali Falls near the town. Located in Raicha village, the 6-metre high falls is one of the most dazzling sites in Bandarban.
Bandarban roads are zigzag. Sometimes, our vehicle was going uphill and sometimes downhill. Later, we went to see another amazing tourist spot, Meghla Parjatan Complex. Located at the gateway of Bandarban town, Meghla features a mini safari park, a zoo, boat cruises, and a hanging bridge. It is popular among all for picnics.
Afterwards, we went to visit the Buddha Dhatu Jadi, which is commonly known as the Bandarban Golden Temple. It is located at Pulpara,10 km from Bandarban town. The temple has the second largest Buddha statue in Bangladesh. Set atop a 60-metre hill, the temple exhibits unique Arakanese architecture (South-East Asian style) and houses Lord Buddhas dhatu (material remains of a holy person). It is believed in Buddhism that the worship of dhatu brings peace and joy to the heart.
The temple was shut for nine months and reopened recently. We found it closed, but got some information from the locals. In the local language, the Buddhist temple is known as Kyang. The construction work started in 1995, and was completed in 2000. The temple is a flawless creation of contemporary architecture, incorporated with the designs of Buddhist culture and heritage.
There is a pond on the high hillside, which is said to be the pond of God. There are smaller statues and a golden bell set on a dragon within the temple grounds. There is also a museum inside. There are a dozen Buddha statues installed on the outside of the temple. Aye Mung, a local man, informed us that the statues are made in the styles of Tibet, China, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bhutan, Myanmar, Korea and Japan. He added that every year thousands of pilgrims and visitors from all over the world visit the temple.
We left Pulpara to visit Nilachol, the place of clouds, which is also known as Tiger Hill. Situated in Tigerpara,
5 km from Bandarban town, Nilachol is about 610 metres above sea level. When we reached the top, we could see an aerial view of Bandarban town, including a birds eye view of the Golden Temple.
A local Bengali man told us that Nilachol is the most thrilling place in Bandarban town. He added that in the rainy season, visitors can walk through the clouds up there! Every day, thousands of people come to Nilachol to enjoy the golden sunset in the evening.
A tourist spot has been set up at Nilachol by the Bandarban district administration, thus, food and accommodation facilities are available there. Among the local seasonal fruits, papaya, banana and pineapple were abundantly available. We stayed there until the evening and enjoyed the beautiful sunset.
There are other remarkable places to visit in Bandarban district, like the magnificent Shoilo Falls, Nilgiri Hill, Chimbuk Hill, Ali Kadam, Boga Lake, Keokradong, Tajingdong, etc.
Thanchi thana, the remotest area in eastern Bangladesh, is also a beautiful place. Sangu River, Nafakun Falls and Raja Pathor are the sites to visit there. Thanchi is nearly 73 km from Bandarban town. By bus, it takes about four hours to reach this most remote area.
Travel lovers can enjoy the beauty of Bandarban hill district this winter. Happy travelling!
Photos: Courtesy
