©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd “All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!” TONY WHEELER, COFOUNDER – LONELY PLANET Get the right guides for your trip PAGE PLAN YOUR PLANNING TOOL KIT 2 Photos, itineraries, lists and suggestions YOUR TRIP to help you put together your perfect trip Welcome to Bangladesh ................... 2 Welcome to Bangladesh Map .................................. 4 10 Top Experiences ........ 6 Need to Know ................. 12 COUNTRYCOUNOUNTRY • The original o If You Like... ..................... 14 • Comprehensivep • AdventurousAddventurous Month by Month ............. 16 A Landand of travelling Rivers along them is an experienceÀ c, fumes, noise and confusion. Arrive by not to be missed. From cross-river carboat ferrie ands it’s almost like sneaking quietly Bangladeshor creakingis awash old with paddle-wheel rivers; more steamers through to the back door. Even if you’re going than 700 ofthe them humble Á ow rowboat through or this traditional small woodennowhere in particular, travelling by boat country andyachts, the result it is said is a that deliciously there are lush more typesalong of a river in Bangladesh is one of the landscape boatswith morein Bangladesh shades of than green in thanany other most count rewardingr things you can do during you ever imagined. Flooding is an annual Itineraries ........................ 19 So whether you fancy a multiday adventureyour visit. This is one of the world’s most feature and by the end of the summer huge deep into the countryside or just a quickdensely jaun populated countries, but once swathes of Bangladesh are submerged around a city dock, get yourself downyou’re to a riv sittinge on a small wooden rowboat, under rising water levels, leaving rich al- ghat, and get involved. Á oating slowing down a country river, it’s luvial soils from which to grow next year’s easy to imagine you have it all to yourself. 10 harvests. There are almost as many kilo- Border Crossings ........... 22 metres of rivers in Bangladesh as there are Warm & Welcoming roads, and Tracking travelling by boat Tigers is a way of in life the here. For the traveller, this provides a fabu- Bangladeshis are famously friendly, and TOP lous opportunitySundarbans to see the country from you are almost certain to receive a warm welcome everywhere you go. Feeling like a more unusualThe angle. mangrove Arrive forests at a oftown the Sundarbans EXPERIENCES you’re the centre of attention is, of course, by bus and 2 you’re National confronted Park (p 71 with ) are hometraf- to the large Boat Trips ........................ 26 single population of tigers found anywhere in the world. There are around 400 Royal Benga tigers roaming the region, and boarding a boa in search of them is an undisputed highlight o a trip to Bangladesh. It’s possible to dip into t forest on a self-organised day trip from Mong Regions at a Glance ....... 30 but for a true adventure, and to increase your admittedly slim chances of seeing a tiger, boo yourself onto four-day boat tour from Khulna 1 Paharpur •# É Bogra Jamuna É •# •# River Chars Sona Masjid •# É É Ja m É É u É Rajshahi•# n Srimangal aRi •# É É ver É •#Kushtia Dhaka É •# É É Border Crossings É Chandpur •# REGIONALALL DISCOVERD PHRASEBOOKPPHRRASEBOBOOK Most Popular There are numerous points in Bangladesh where you can cross the border with India, M É e É Crossings but only six or seven are set up with immi- •# g Khulna hn Kolkata The twice-weekly train that con- gration facilities to service foreigners. At the Bagerhat É •# aRiver Rangamat • Cultural Best-of nects Kolkata with Dhaka is comfortable and time of research there was still no border • •# • INDIA # É hassle-free. Apart from immigration formali- crossing with Myanmar (Burma). É Hularhat The same system is in place for all of É É ties at the border, it’s direct and nonstop. Chittagong •# Benapole Main border town on the road these crossings (apart from the direct train É • Day trips & itineraries Photo-packed Ba É • route to and from Kolkata. Has direct bus to Kolkata), although differing levels of •# links to Dhaka, Khulna and Jessore. stringency are applied at each. •# Burimari Bangladesh’s gateway to Darjeel- If you’re leaving Bangladesh and entering Sundarbans National BAY OF BENGAL • In-depth Inspirational ing, with transport links via the Indian town India, the most important thing to remem- • Park of Siliguri. Entering Bangladesh, most ber is that you cannot get an Indian visa at people head to Rangpur, but there is a night any of the border towns, so you must have bus to Dhaka. already sorted this out, preferably in your Tamabil Linking Sylhet with India’s north- home country. Foreigners can get an Indian east tribal states, Tamabil isn’t a place to visa in Dhaka (p 167 ) and Chittagong (p 112 ), linger, on account of the open mining that but it’s a bureaucratic nightmare, and many goes on around the border (cough! splut- travellers leave the visa office empty handed. ter!), but you’re only two hours away from If you’re coming into Bangladesh from Sylhet by bus. India, note that you cannot get the same vi- Akhaura The other major border for India’s sa-on-arrival that you can get if you fly into northeast tribal states; the Indian side has Dhaka airport, but you can get Bangladesh an airport and a place to process Bangla- visas in Kolkata and Agartala (Akhaura), as desh visas. The Bangladesh side has a train well as in New Delhi. station with links to Dhaka, Srimangal and If you’re leaving Bangladesh you have to Chittagong. 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- Looking for other travel resources? 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 PAGE UNDERSTAND GET MORE FROM YOUR TRIP 147 Learn about the big picture, so you BANGLADESH can make sense of what you see Bangladesh Today........... 148 population per sq km History .............................. 150 BANGLADESH INDIA USA Environment .................... 156 ≈ 30 people Arts & Literature ............. 160 Bangladesh Today LONELYPLANET.COM APPS EBOOKS MAGAZINE Bangladesh Cuisine ........ 163 Two court trials of huge political significance dominated the most recent For travel information, Location-based Guidebooks For travel stories, term of office for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She was installed for her second nonconsecutive term as the country’s leader after her Awami League (AL) party won a landslide victory in the December 2008 elec- advice, tips & digital guides for the street for your reader inspiration & ideas tions. Less than two months later, she was forced to deal with one of the ation: country’s most shocking events of recent times. ,000 chapters gest) Border Guards Mutiny lonelyplanet.com/mobile lonelyplanet.com/ebooks lonelyplanet.com/magazine Environment per Bangladeshis watched in horror in February 2009 when live TV broad casts re orted on a soldier mutiny at Dhaka’s head uarters of the Bang 00 The Land Famous for being flat and wet, Bangladesh is, largely speaking, one mas sive piece of gorgeously green farmland criss-crossed by an unfeasi a- large network of rivers. It’s a rural wonderland, and beautiful to behold y In fact, there’s every chance that Bangladesh will be the most gloriousl s lush country you’ve ever visited. STAY IN TOUCH a There are two exceptions to these flatter-than-flat vistas, a though ne ar ther is any less green than the rest of the country. First there’s Sylhet, i n lonelyplanet.com/contact et the northeast, with its soft, rolling hills covered in ar -green, waist-hig ne tea bushes Then there’s the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the far southeast; AUSTRALIA Locked Bag 1, Footscray, Victoria 3011 twitter.com/ %03 8379 8000, fax 03 8379 8111 lonelyplanet ISBN 978-1-74179-458-8 99625 Paper in this book is certified USA 150 Linden Street, Oakland, CA 94607 facebook.com/ against the Forest Stewardship %510 250 6400, toll free 800 275 8555, fax 510 893 8572 lonelyplanet Council™ standards. FSC™ promotes environmentally responsible, socially lonelyplanet.com/ beneficial and economically viable UK Media Centre, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TQ 9 781741 794588 management of the world’s forests. %020 8433 1333, fax 020 8702 0112 newsletter bangladesh-7.indd 2 29/08/2012 8:24:31 AM PAGE ON THE YOUR COMPLETE DESTINATION GUIDE 32 In-depth reviews, detailed listings ROAD and insider tips Rajshahi & Sylhet Division Rangpur Dhaka Division p133 p87 p57 Dhaka #_ p34 Khulna & Chittagong Division Barisal p106 p66 PAGE SURVIVAL VITAL PRACTICAL INFORMATION TO 165 GUIDE HELP YOU HAVE A SMOOTH TRIP Directory A–Z .................. 166 Transport ......................... 175 Directory Health ............................... 181 A–Z Accommodation Generally speaking, the quality of accommodation in Language ......................... 188 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 Index ................................. 203 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 Map Legend ..................... 207 We have marked these o icon. onal- THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY Daniel McCrohan Every listing is recommended by our authors, and their favourite places are listed first Look out for these icons: Our author’s top A green or No payment recommendation sustainable option required See the Index for a full list of destinations covered in this book.