Tourism in Bangladesh


Bangladesh's tourist attractions include historical monuments, resorts, beaches, picnic spots, forests and tribal people, wildlife of various species. Activities for tourists include angling, water skiing, river cruising, hiking, rowing, yachting, and sea bathing.
In the northern part, comprising the Rajshahi division, there are archaeological sites, including the temple city Puthia in Rajshahi; the largest and most ancient archaeological site, Mahasthangarh in Bogra; the single largest Buddhist monastery, Paharpur in Naogaon; the most ornamental terracota Hindu temple, Kantaji Temple, and many rajbaris or palaces of old zamindars.
In the south-eastern part, which is the Chittagong Division, there are natural and hilly areas like Chittagong Hill Tracts, along with sandy sea beaches. The most notable beach, in Cox's Bazar, is a contender for the title of longest unbroken sandy sea beach in the world.
is the longest natural unbroken sea beach in the world.
In the south-western part, mainly the Khulna Division, there is the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest of the world with royal Bengal tiger and spotted deer. The historically and architecturally important sixty domed mosque in Bagerhat is a notable site.
In the north-eastern part, Sylhet division, there is a green carpet of tea plants on small hillocks. Natural reserved forests are great attractions. Migratory birds in winter, particularly in the haor areas, are also very attractive in this area.
Ministry of Tourism and The Civil Aviation Ministry designs national policies for the development and promotion of tourism. The Ministry also maintains the Beautiful Bangladesh campaign. Bangladesh Government has formed Tourist Police unit to better protect local and foreign tourists as well as look after the nature and wildlife in the tourist spots.

Economic impact

The World Travel and Tourism Council reported in 2013 that the travel and tourism industry in Bangladesh directly generated 1,281,500 jobs in 2012 or 1.8 percent of the country's total employment, which ranked Bangladesh 157 out of 178 countries worldwide. Direct and indirect employment in the industry totalled 2,714,500 jobs, or 3.7 percent of the country's total employment. The WTTC predicted that by 2023, travel and tourism will directly generate 1,785,000 jobs and support an overall total of 3,891,000 jobs, or 4.2 percent of the country's total employment. This would represent an annual growth rate in direct jobs of 2.9 percent. Domestic spending generated 97.7 percent of direct travel and tourism gross domestic product in 2012. Bangladesh's world ranking in 2012 for travel and tourism's direct contribution to GDP, as a percentage of GDP, was 142 out of 176.

Cox's Bazar

Cox' Bazaar is a small town located in the Chittagong division on the southeast coast of Bangladesh. This small sea side town is famously known for its longest natural sea beach. Cox's Bazaar has got its name from the officer of British East India company Captain Hiram Cox. Cox' Bazaar is the most popular in Bangladesh and one of the top in Cox's Bazaar is the huge Buddhist Monastery called Aggmeda Khyang. Cox's Bazaar has the longest sea beach with the beautiful surfing waves, Buddhist temples, delicious seafood. Tourist can enjoy some beach activities like swimming and surfing. For newly wed couple it can be a great spot in Bangladesh.
Cox's Bazar is a seaside town, a fishing port and district headquarters in Bangladesh. It is known for its wide and long sandy beach, which is considered by many as the world's longest natural sandy sea beach. The beach in Cox's Bazar is an unbroken sandy sea beach with a gentle slope. It is located south of the Chittagong Seaport. Cox's Bazar is also known by the name Panowa, whose literal translation means "yellow flower". Its other old name was "Palongkee".

St. Martin's Island

St. Martin's Island is a small island in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula, and forming the southernmost part of Bangladesh. There is a small adjoining island that is separated at high tide, called Chhera island. It is about 8 km west of the northwest coast of Myanmar, at the mouth of the Naf River. The first settlement started just 250 years ago by some Arabian sailors who named the island 'Zajira'. During British occupation the island was named St. Martin Island. The local names of the island are "Narical Gingira", also spelled "Narikel Jinjira/Jinjera", which means 'Coconut Island' in Bengali, and "Daruchini Dip". It is the only coral island in Bangladesh.
The city of Chittagong has many high end, private hotels such as the Hotel Agrabad, the Hotel Well Park Residence, The Peninsula Chittagong, the Hotel Harbour View, the Hotel Meridian, and Avenue Hotels and Suites.
The JW Marriott, Westin and Radisson Blu are among the upcoming five-star hotels in Chittagong city.

Bandarban District

Bandarban is a district in South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of the Chittagong Division and Chittagong Hill Tracts. Bandarban is regarded by many tourists to be one of the most attractive travel destinations in Bangladesh. Bandarban, or in Marma or Arakanese language as "Rwa-daw Mro" is also known as Arvumi or the Bohmong Circle. Bandarban town is the hometown of the Bohmong Circle Chief who is the head of the Marma population. It also is the administrative headquarters of Bandarban district, which has turned into one of the most exotic tourist attractions in Bangladesh.

Rangamati

Rangamati is one of the top to visit in Bangladesh. It is famously known as the lake city of Bangladesh located at 77 kilo meter from Chittagong. Rangamati has some famous to visit like Kaptai Lake, Rangamati Town, Indigenous Museum, and Hanging Bridge. Rangamati is a district of Chittagong hill tracts area, this area is surrounded by plenty of small hills and lakes. Tourist can enjoy boat ride for spending their day also can visit the nearest Buddhist Monastery. Travelers can easily go there from Chittagong to Rangamati by bus, taxi, and private cars. It can be a low budget spot also.
Rangamati is the administrative headquarters of Rangamati Hill District in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Kaptai lake, the hanging bridge and Pablakhali reserve forest are some of the notable locations to visit in Rangamati.

Khagrachari District

Khagrachari is a district in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Division and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Its local name is "Chengmi". Khagrachari is also known as Phalang Htaung or the Mong Circle and Bandarban.
There are many tourist places in Khagrachari like Alutila Cave, Alutila Tourists spot, Richhang waterfall, Yonged Buddha Bihar, Dighinala Touduchhori Waterfall and others.

Patenga beach

Patenga is a sea beach located 14 kilometres south of the port city of Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is near the mouth of the Karnaphuli River. Patenga is a popular tourist spot. The beach is very close to the Bangladesh Naval Academy of the Bangladesh Navy and Shah Amanat International Airport. Its width is narrow and swimming in the seas is not recommended. Part of the seashore is built-up with concrete walls, and large blocks of stones have been laid to prevent erosion. During the 1990s, a host of restaurants and kiosks sprouted out around the beach area. Lighting of the area has enhanced the security aspect of visiting at night. It is guarded by large stones to protect it from tsunamis.
A tourist attraction near Patenga beach is the Butterfly Park.

Foy's Lake

is a human-made lake in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The lake was once just a lake and spillway constructed by Assam-Bengal Railway engineer. It was dug in 1924 and was named after the English engineer Mr. Foy. The lake is next to Batali Hill, the highest hill in Chittagong Metropolitan area. An amusement park, managed by the Concord Group, is located here.

Heritage Park

There is a heritage park called Shaheed Zia Memorial Complex and Mini Bangladesh at Chandgaon which reflects the most notable structures and instances of Bangladesh. This 71-metre tower in Mini Bangladesh in Chittagong has a restaurant on the top that rotates once every 90 minutes. The museum includes a revolving restaurant. One can perceive of the country's architectural beauty, ethnic traditions and archaeological inheritance through having a glimpse of the heritage park. Replicas of major structures of the country include Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, National Memorial of Savar, Ahsan Manzil, Curzon Hall of Dhaka University, Paharpur Monastery, Kantajew Temple of Dinajpur, Lalbagh Fort and Sona Masjid. The park also has different rides for children.

Ethnological Museum of Chittagong

The Ethnological Museum of Chittagong located in Agrabad, established in 1965, is the only ethnological museum in the country, and presents the lifestyles and heritage of various ethnic groups of the country. The museum authority collected rare elements used in everyday lives of different ethnic groups, of which some had already become extinct while others were on the verge of extinction. The museum contains four galleries and a small hall. Three galleries of the museum feature diverse elements of twenty nine ethnic groups in Bangladesh, while the rest of the gallery displays the lifestyles of some ethnic groups of India, Pakistan and Australia.

WWII cemetery and Circuit House

The War Cemetery on Badshah Mia Road contains the graves of 755 soldiers, and is protected and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. There are a number of museums in Chittagong. The most prominent is the Zia Memorial Museum which is housed in the old circuit house building. President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated there on 30 May 1981. This commemorative museum houses the late President Ziaur Rahman's mementos and personal belongings. It was established in 1993 with 12 galleries.

Sylhet Division

Bichnakandi

Bichnakandi is a village in Rustompur Union in Gowainghat Upazila of Sylhet District. In recent years there has been an influx of tourists to its river.

Jaflong

Jaflong is a hill station and popular tourist destination in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. It is located in Gowainghat Upazila of Sylhet District and situated at the border between Bangladesh and the Indian state of Meghalaya, overshadowed by subtropical mountains and rainforests. Jaflong is famous for its stone collections and is home of the Khasi tribe.

Madhobpur Lake

Madhobpur Lake is a lake of Srimangal in Maulvi Bazar District of Bangladesh. It is one of the popular tourist spot in Bangladesh.

Ratargul Swamp Forest

Ratargul Swamp Forest is a freshwater swamp forest located in Gowainghat, Sylhet. It is the only swamp forest located in Bangladesh and one of the few freshwater swamp forest in the world. The forest is naturally conserved under the Department of Forestry, Govt. of Bangladesh.
The evergreen forest is situated by the river Goain and linked with the channel Chengir Khal. Most of the trees growing here are the Millettia pinnata. The forest is submerged under 20–30 feet water in the rainy season. For the rest of the year, the water level is about 10 feet deep.

Dhaka division

Dhaka Division is an administrative division in Bangladesh. Dhaka is the largest and capital city of Bangladesh.

Lalbagh Fort

Lalbagh Fort is an incomplete 17th century Mughal fort complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This fort stands proudly before the Buriganga River in the southwestern part of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The construction was started in 1678 AD by Mughal Subahdar Muhammad Azam Shah. For long the fort was considered to be a combination of three buildings, with two gateways and a portion of the partly damaged fortification wall. Recent excavations carried out by the Department of Archaeology have revealed the existence of other structures.

Ahsan Manzil

Ahsan Manzil is a wonderful ancient building, located on the bank of the river Buriganga, in old Dhaka at Kumartoli, Islampur area. It was a residential palace for Dhaka Nawab Family. The structure of this palace was started in the year 1859 and was finished in 1869. It is constructed in the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture. To preserve the cultural and history of the area, the palace became the Bangladesh National Museum on 20 September 1992.

Shaheed Minar

The Shaheed Minar is a national monument in Dhaka, Bangladesh, established to commemorate those killed during the Bengali Language Movement demonstrations of 1952. On 21 February 1952, dozens of students and political activists were killed when the Pakistani police force opened fire on Bengali protesters who were demanding equal status for their native tongue, Bengali. The massacre occurred near Dhaka Medical College and Ramna Park in Dhaka. A makeshift monument was erected on 23 February by students of University of Dhaka and other educational institutions, but demolished on 26 February by the Pakistani police force. The Language Movement gained momentum, and after a long struggle, Bengali was given equal status with Urdu. To commemorate the dead, the Shaheed Minar was designed and built by Hamidur Rahman, a Bangladeshi sculptor. The monument stood until the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, when it was demolished completely during Operation Searchlight. After Bangladesh gained independence, it was rebuilt. At present, all national, mourning, cultural and other activities held each year, regarding 21 February, have been centred around the Shaheed Minar.

Jatiyo Smriti Soudho

Jatiyo Sriti Shoudho or National Martyrs' Memorial is the national monument of Bangladesh is the symbol in the memory of the valour and the sacrifice of all those who gave their lives in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.

Jatiya Sangshad

Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban was created by American architect Louis Kahn. Construction was started in 1961 and completed on 28 January 1982 with the total cost was about 32 million dollars. It is situated at Shre-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka. Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban was used for the first time on 15 February 1982 as the venue for the eighth session of the second parliament of Bangladesh. Since then, it has been used for the Bangladesh National Assembly.

Tourist attractions in Dhaka

Somapura Mahavihara

Somapura Mahavihara in Paharpur, Badalgachhi Upazila, Naogaon District is among the best known Buddhist viharas in the Indian Subcontinent and is one of the most important archaeological sites in the country. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

Mahastangar

Mahasthangarh is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites so far discovered in Bangladesh. The village Mahasthan in Shibganj thana of Bogra District contains the remains of an ancient city which was called Pundranagara or Paundravardhanapura in the territory of Pundravardhana. A limestone slab bearing six lines in Prakrit in Brahmi script, discovered in 1931, dates Mahasthangarh to at least the 3rd century BC. The fortified area was in use till the 18th century AD.

Behula Lakshindar Basor Ghor

Behula is the protagonist in the Manasamangal genre of Bengali medieval epics. A number of works belonging to this genre were written between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries. Though the religious purpose of these works is to eulogise the Hindu goddess Manasa, these works are more well known for depicting the love story of Behula and her husband Lakhindar.

Tajhat Palace

Tajhat Palace is a magnificent european-style palace located at Tajhat, Vicinity of Rangpur. It is located about three kilometers south east of the city center. Built by the hindu Zamindar named Maharaja Kumar Gopal Lal roy in early 20th century, it now symbolizes the history and culture of northern Bangladesh. At present the Palace is used as Rangpur Divisional Museum.

Kantajew Temple

Kantajew Temple at Kantanagar, is a late-medieval Hindu temple in Dinajpur, Bangladesh. Built by Maharaja Pran Nath, its construction started in 1704 CE and ended in the reign of his son Raja Ramnath 1722 CE. It is regarded as one of the greatest examples on Terracotta architecture in Bangladesh and once had nine spires, but all were destroyed during the 1897 Assam earthquake.

Varendra Research Museum

Varendra Museum is a museum, research centre and visitor attraction in Rajshahi town and maintained by the University of Rajshahi.

Bagha Mosque

According to an inscription on the mosque's central entrance, bagha Mosque was Built by Sultan Nusrat Shah in 1523. Bagha Mosque is a richly decorated monument originally roofed over with ten domes which collapsed long ago. It is built of bricks with stone plinth, lintels and pillars. Recently this mosque was rebuilt carefully to its original form. The inscription is now preserved in Karachi, Pakistan.

Barisal Division

Kuakata Beach

is a sea beach on the southernmost tip of Bangladesh. Located in Patuakhali District, Kuakata has a wide sandy beach about south of Dhaka, and about from the district headquarters. Kuakata beach is long and wide. 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. 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 threatened by logging and deforestation. The forest can be reached by foot or bike along the beach.

Khulna Division

Sundarbans

Sundarban literally meaning as beautiful forest for its famously largest mangrove forest in the world. It is the number one site in Bangladesh. deer are widely seen in Sundarbans
The Sundarbans is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. The Sunderbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, most of which is situated in Bangladesh with the remainder in India. Sundarbans South, East and West are three protected forests in Bangladesh. This region is densely covered by mangrove forests, and is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger.

Mosque City of Bagerhat

The Mosque City of Bagerhat is a formerly lost city, located in the suburbs of Bagerhat city in Bagerhat District, in the Khulna Division of southwest of Bangladesh. Bagerhat is about southeast of Khulna and southwest of Dhaka.
Originally known as Khalifatabad and nicknamed the "mint town of the Bengal Sultanate", the city was founded in the 15th century by the warrior saint Turkish general Ulugh Khan Jahan.
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. The site has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 under criteria, "as an outstanding example of an architectural ensemble which illustrates a significant stage in human history", of which the Sixty Pillar Mosque, constructed with 60 pillars and 77 domes, is the most well known. Apart from these monuments, UNESCO also includes the mausoleum of Khan Jahan, the mosques of Singar, Bibi Begni, Reza Khoda, Zindavir among the unique monuments.

Architecture

Religious

Bangladesh has many places of worship. Capital Dhaka is known as the city of mosques.
Some famous Religious Place of Worships and visitor attractions are:
at Bogra
Bangladesh Last House, the last house of Bangladesh located in the Bangladesh–India border at Jointa Hill Resort, this is a popular tourist destination.

Nature tourism

Bangladesh has geographical diversity, which resulted in varieties of nature tourism.
Bangladesh is home to several well-known mammals including the Bengal tiger, the Asian elephant, the hoolock gibbon and the Asian black bear. The saltwater crocodile found in Sunderban is the largest of all living reptiles, The king cobra is the world's longest venomous snake and the reticulated python is the longest among all snakes. The country has roughly 53 species of amphibian, 19 species of marine reptiles, 139 species of reptiles, 380 species of birds, 116 species of mammals, and 5 species of marine mammals. In addition to the large bird count, a further 310 species of migratory birds swell bird numbers each year. The vast majority of these creatures currently dwell in an area of land that is approximately in size. The dhole, also called the Asiatic wild dog, is now endangered by habitat, prey-species loss, and human persecution. Notable animal species that have disappeared from Bangladesh are the one- and two-horned rhinoceros, the gaur, the banteng, swamp deer, nilgai, Indian wolf, wild water buffalo, marsh crocodile and common peafowl.
The world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans is located in Southwestern Bangladesh. Sundarbans National Parks are UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hill stations

Bangladesh offers a wide range of tropical beaches. Cox's Bazar is known for its wide and long sandy beach which is considered as the world's longest natural sandy sea beach.
Some of the other famous tourist beaches are:
The islands of Bangladesh are scattered along the Bay of Bengal and the river mouth of the Padma. There are more than 30 islands in Bangladesh.
Some famous tourist attractions are:
In January 2011, two short films titled Beautiful Bangladesh: School of Life were produced by Bangladesh Tourism Board. Both films show a tourist's journey through Bangladesh. The durations of the films were 10 and 3 minutes. The 10-minute-long film was directed by Moinul Hossain Mukul and the 3-minute-long film was directed by Gazi Ahmed Shubhro. Concept and script by Syed Gousul Alam Shaon.

Shopping

While muslin of ancient Dhaka has gone into history, other products such as contemporary paintings, wood works, shital pati, bamboo decoration pieces, cane and conch shell products, gold and silver ornament, cotton, silk, gold, silver, jute, reed, brass ware, traditional dolls and leather goods also receive deep appreciation of the lovers of arts and crafts now and over the past centuries. In addition, Bangladesh is famous for pink pearl.
Jamuna Future Park is the 12th largest shopping mall in the world. Bashudhara City inaugurated in 2004 is one of the largest shopping malls in sub-continent.

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