Kuakata Known as Daughter of the Sea.

Kuakata; Locally known as Sagar Kannya (Daughter of the Sea) is a panoramic sea beach and village on the southernmost tip of Bangladesh. Located in the Patuakhali district, Kuakata has a wide sandy beach from where one can see both the sunrise and sunset. It is about 320 Kilometers south of Dhaka, the capital, and about 70 Kilometers from the district headquarters. The Kuakata beach is 30 km long and 6 km wide. On 13 September 2007 government had announced a red alert in Kuakata as caution for a possible Tsunami.

The name Kuakata originated from the word 'Kua'-the Bengali word for “Well” which was dug on the sea shore by the early Rakhine settlers in quest of collecting drinking water, who landed on Kuakata coast in the eighteenth century after being expelled from Arakan (Myanmar) by the Mughals. Afterwards, it has become a tradition of digging Well in the neighborhoods of Rakhaine tribes for water.

Kuakata offers a full view of the sunrise and sunset from the same white sandy beach in the water of the Bay of Bengal.

Locally known as Shagor Kannya (Daughter of ocean), the long strip of dark, marbled sand stretches for about 30 km. The long and wide beach at Kuakata has a typical natural setting. This sandy beach has gentle slopes into the Bay of Bengal. Kuakata is also a sanctuary for migratory winter birds.

On the eastern end of the beach is Gongamati Reserved Forest, an evergreen mangrove forest and snippet of the original Kuakata. When the Rakhines settled in the area in 1784, Kuakata was part of the larger Sundarbans forest. However, the Sundarbans is now at a distance of one-hour by speed boat. As a mangrove forest, Gongamati, like the Sundarbans, offers some protection against tidal surges, however it too is being threatened by logging and deforestation. The best way to reach the forest is by foot or bike along the beach, where a flock of flag flying fishing boats can be seen trawling the coast. Choosing to visit Gangamati in the late afternoon is a perfect time to watch the sun caste shadows on the abstract exposed mangrove roots.

Kuakata is the place of pilgrimage for both Hindu and Buddhist communities. Innumerable devotees arrive here at the festival of 'Rush Purnima' and 'Maghi Purnima'. On these two occasions the pilgrims take holy bath at the bay and participate in the traditional fairs. One may also visit the 100 years old Buddhist Temple where the statue of Goutama Buddha and two wells of 200 years old are located.

The government and local business owners have made significant developments over the years to attract tourist to its shores. Nowadays, local people are more supportive to the tourists and communications have improved significantly. A new Police station was built in 2007. Accordingly, the law and order situation in the open beach, even at night, has improved significantly.

Transportation: 
It is about 320 Kilometers south of Dhaka, the capital, and about 70 Kilometers from the district headquarters. Getting in Kuakata is a 2 phase journey. first one is from DHAKA to BARISHAL. There are lauch & bus service available for this journey. The 2nd phase is to travel from BARISHAL to KUAKATA. There are some bus service available in the Barishal Launch Port. These buses render daily trip to KUAKATA. This trip takes about 5-6 hours due to bad road condition. In this 2nd phase trip there are 5 Ferries.

Ahsan Manzil, One of The Historical Place in Bangladesh.

Ahsan Manzil was the official residential palace of the Dhaka Nawab Family. This magnificent building is situated at Kumartoli on the banks of the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The construction of this palace was started in 1859 and was completed in 1872. It was constructed in the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture. It has been designated as a national museum.

In Mughal era, there was a garden house of Sheikh Enayet Ullah, the landlord of Jamalpur porgona (district), in this place. Sheikh Enayet Ullah was a very charming person. He acquired a very big area in Kumortuli (Kumartuli) and included it in his garden house. Here he built a beautiful palace and named it “Rongmohol” (Rangmahal). He used to enjoy here keeping beautiful girls collecting from the country and abroad, dressing them with gorgeous dresses and expensive ornaments. There is a saying that, the foujdar of Dhaka (representative of mughal emperor) in that time was attracted to one of the beautiful girls among them. He invited Sheikh Enayet Ullah in a party one night and killed him in a conspiracy when he was returning home. That girl also committed suicide in anger and sorrow. There was a grave of Sheikh Enayet Ullah in the north-east corner of the palace yard which was ruined in the beginning of 20th century.
 

 

Probably in the period of Nawab Alibardi Khan around 1740 century, Sheikh Moti Ullah, the son of Sheikh Enayet Ullah, sold the property to the French traders. There was a French trading house beside this property. The trading house became wealthier after purchasing this property. In that time, French traders could do business here without paying any taxes by a decree from the emperor Awrangajeb. 

In that time, the French became very wealthy by doing business here in competition with the English and other European companies. They made a big palace and dug a pond for sweet water in the newly purchased property. The pond still exists in the compound of Ahsan Manjil which was called “Les Jalla” in that time. In the English-French war, French got defeated and all their properties were captured by the English. In the 22nd June of 1757, the French left the trading house with a fleet of 35 boats from the river station of Buriganga in front of Kumartuli.

In 1785, the French transferred the property to a French tradesman named Mr. Champigni, and retaken it at 1801. According to Paris agreement of 1814, the French claimed all their left properties at Dhaka, and in 1827 the property was again returned to the French. For the increasing power of the English, the French was forced to left subcontinent. They decided to sell all their properties in Dhaka. So in 1830, the trading house of Kumartuli was purchased by the established landlord of Dhaka Khwaja Alimullah.

After some renovation work, the trading house became the residence of Khwaja Alimullah. In his time, a stable and a family mosque was added in the compound. After his death, his son Khwaja Abdul Gani made a great flourish to the property, and named it “Ahsan Manjil” on his son Ahsan Ullah. In the east side of the old building, he made a new building with a different design, and also done great renovation work to the old building. Since then, the old building was called “Ondor Mohol” and the new building was called “Rong mohol”.

In the evening of 7 April 1888, a devastating tornado hit Dhaka city causing great damage. Ahsan Manjil was severely damaged and abandoned. An English engineer from Kolkata arrived here to examine the palace. He gave opinion that except the “Rangmahal”, all other parts of the palace have to reconstruct. So Khwaja Abdul Gani and his son Ahsanullah turned their full attention to rebuild the palace. Both of the building was reconstructed during that time with a new design and supervised by the local engineer Gobinda Chandra Roy.

The old French building was reconstructed to a two storied building keeping similarity to the Rangmahal. A gangway was made with wood connecting the first floor of two building. The most beautiful thing made in this time was the dome, which made the palace so beautiful.

After the death of Khwaja Ahsanullah in 1901, the glory of Ahsan Manjil was ended. His successors couldn’t continue the glory because of the internal family quarrel. They rented different parts of the palace to tenants, who actually made it a slum. In 1952, govt. acquired the property and left in supervision of the Dhaka Nawab court. In 1985, Dhaka National Museum acquired the property and made it a museum.

Nilgiri The Beautiful Place.

NilGiri is the highest hill resort of Bangladesh with amazing natural beauty. This Resort is located 47 km South-East of Bandarban town on Chimbuk Range at a height of 2400 feet from sea level. It has a high class residential accommodation that makes a difference.  This beautiful resort in the top of the mountain maintain by the Bangladesh Army.

Nilgiri

You will be amazed when you see that the cloudy sky often kisses the peak of the hill. Gentle breeze was blowing down the hill side and thin clouds were hanging around on their way to casual fly. Dimmed through the clouds, silver moon light was rolling down the folds and slopes.  It is Imagine the scene! Clouds are playing with you and you can touch them! This is the most attractive place of Bangladesh for those who love hills and clouds.

How to go: It is 47 KM away from Bandarban. If you get on a Bus from Dhaka at around 10 o’clock you will reach Bandarban at dawn. For better freedom one can rent a microbus or car from Dhaka. To save time you can reach Cox’s Bazaar by air for onwards move to Nilgiri by bus or rent a car. You have to stay at Bandarban hotel and next day you can move to Nilgiri.

Accommodation: The accommodation in Nilgiri, in fact, makes its difference. Good hotels are there at Bandarban city too. Accommodation and food for 3 days will cost near tk 10000. Conveyance will depend on means you choose from tk 7000 minimum to maximum tk 11000 if you go by plane to Chittagong. Army man can get special priority for the lodge and cottages. But if it is not booked by any army and the lodge may vacant any day, you can reserve it. But it is so scarce happening. Most of the time Nilgiri remains booked. So try to contact the authority before three month to stay here. The tent is ready for you for short notice but you know it is a busy tourist’s spot. So book this before you get there.

Food Stuff: Nilgiri is mainly a rest house. It has a clean and healthy restaurant. So don’t worry about stomach! Rice, beef, mutton are prepared in bamboo without water is really mouth-watering. Every meal cost is about 200-500 BDT. They can provide various types of taste food.
 

Cox's Bazar, The Longest Sea Beach in The World.

Cox's Bazar (Bengali: কক্সবাজার Kaksbājār) is the world's longest sea beaches. The beach in Cox's Bazar is an unbroken 125 km sandy sea beach with a gentle slope. It is located 150 km south of the industrial port Chittagong.

Cox's Bazar is one of the most-visited tourist destinations in Bangladesh. The Government formed the Tourist Police unit to better protect local and foreign tourists, as well as to look after the nature and wildlife in the tourist spots of Cox's Bazar.

Daily non-stop flights are available from Chittagong and Dhaka. The journey by plane takes 60 minutes and the fare is BD taka.6000.00 and 3500.00 one way from Dhaka & Chittagong.

By bus it will take about 10-12 hours from Dhaka and 4-5 hours from Chittagong. The private AC Bus line named 'Greenline', 'Soudia', 'Hanif','TR Travels' 'Shamoli' and 'Amader Baghdad' are available from Dhaka and Chittagong. AC bus will take BDT 1400-1800 from Dhaka to Cox'sbazar. Moreover, many Non-AC services are also available from Dhaka and Chittagong costing from BD taka.350.00-750.00(from Dhaka) or BD taka 200.00-360.00 (from Chittagong).

The main bus terminal is a few kilometers east of the central town area, about a 15-20 minute / Tk 100-120 by electric bike known as 'Easy Bike' or CNG auto ride. Local buses head to Chittagong (Tk 120, 4 hours) and Teknaf (Tk 70, 3 hours).

The private bus companies have offices near 'Hotel Sea Queen' on the main road, and also down in the Hotel Motel Zone.During the tourist season bus tickets goes scarcity requires advance ticketing to avoid delayed staying,better to book immediately on arrival.

The Sundarban

The Sundarbans (Bengali: সুন্দরবন, Shundorbôn) is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world.[1] The name Sundarban can be literally translated as "beautiful jungle" or "beautiful forest" in the Bengali language (Sundar, "beautiful" and ban, "forest" or "jungle"). The name may have been derived from the Sundari trees that are found in Sundarbans in large numbers. Alternatively, it has been proposed that the name is a corruption of Samudraban (Bengali: সমুদ্রবন Shomudrobôn "Sea Forest") or Chandra-bandhe (name of a primitive tribe). But the generally accepted view is the one associated with Sundari trees.[1]

The forest lies in the vast delta on the Bay of Bengal formed by the super confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers across Saiyan southern Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. The seasonally-flooded Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests lie inland from the mangrove forests on the coastal fringe. The forest covers 10,000 sq.km. of which about 6,000 are in Bangladesh.[2] It became inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage suite in 1997, but while the Bangladeshi and Indian portions constitute the same continuous ecotope, they are separately listed in the UNESCO world heritage list as the Sundarbans and Sundarbans National Park, respectively. The Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans is estimated to be about 4,110 km², of which about 1,700 km² is occupied by waterbodies in the forms of river, canals and creeks of width varying from a few meters to several kilometers.

The Sundarbans is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The interconnected network of waterways makes almost every corner of the forest accessible by boat. The area is known for the eponymous Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes. The fertile soils of the delta have been subject to intensive human use for centuries, and the ecoregion has been mostly converted to intensive agriculture, with few enclaves of forest remaining. The remaining forests, pain together with the Sundarbans mangroves, are important habitat for the endangered tiger. Additionally, the Sundarbans serves a crucial function as a protective barrier for the millions of inhabitants in and around Kolkata against the floods that result from the cyclones that are a regular occurrence on this coast. Sundarbans have also been enlisted amongst the finalist in the New7Wonders of Nature.

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