ARTA Magazine

with loved ones at the fantastic resorts in Srimangal.
You can also halt in Sylhet and go from there as it’s
only two-hour ride to Srimangal.
To truly grasp the raw beauty of Bangladesh, you
must visit places like Lawachara Nation-al Park and
Madhabpur Lake. Lawachara is absolutely paradiselike;
luscious and green.
Madhabpur Lake is an eye-dazzling little natural
water body. It is filled with little hillocks. It looks
like the picturesque beauty when the violet lilies float
on shallow depths of the lake. Among all these, don’t
forget to have the seven-layer tea at Neelkontho Tea
Cabin.
But what makes hillocks of Bichanakandi - located
in Sylhet’s Goainghat upazilla - differ-ent from other
beauties of nature? It has recently become popular
among local and tourists as they can witness hillocks
change their colours from brighter shades of green to
lighter shades of blue.
Near the city of Sylhet, Ratargul is the country’s only
freshwater swamp forest. Many call it the Amazon of
Bangladesh. Koroch trees are one of unique elements
of the forest. Dur-ing monsoons, these trees, almost
40 feet in height, are submerged to a depth of around
20-30 feet.
The country is really the allure of travel enthusiasts.
Take Kuakata and Sundarbans as ma-jor instances.
Kuakata, locally known as Sagar Kanya (daughter
of the sea), is located in Patuakhali dis-trict of
Bangladesh. It has the long strip of marbled sand
beach (30 km long and 6 km wide) from where one
can get a full view of both the sunrise and the sunset.
On the eastern side of the beach, a long sandy bed
of red crabs scatter out. The beach has gently slopes
into the Bay of Bengal. It is also a home to migratory
birds that generally appear during winter.
The most precious trove of Bangladesh’s natural
beauty is Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove
forest. It is the kingdom of Royal Bengal tigers and
other wild animals like crocodile, different species of
snakes, monkeys, deer, etc. It is also home to a great
variety of plants like Sunduri trees.
Besides the serene places as mentioned above,
here are other recommended places you can visit
include: Kantoji Temple and Ramshagor Lake in
Dinajpur, Bogra’s Mohastangarh, Shona Mosque
in Chapainawabganj, Bagha-charghat Mosque in
Rajshahi, Paharpur Bud-dhist Vihara, Bagerhat’s
Shat Gambuj Mosque, Dhaka’s Ahsan Manjil and
some other historical spots – all of which will prove
to be a refreshing trip on the weekend.
At the end of the day, Bangladesh has really proven to
have some real potential for tour-ism. Since tourism
in Cox’s Bazar has drastically increased over the last
few years, it is almost inevitable that it will prove
to be the third largest sector in the country to earn
for-eign exchanges – after garment production and
manpower. Tourism is a multi-lateral sector because
through tourism, a variety o people are benefited
--hotels, transports, shops and restaurants.
In addition to this, this Bengali nation has earned
reputation across the world because of its unique
characteristic - the enchanting hospitality. Guest
entertainment is just like worship for people of the
country. They get immense pleasure by entertaining
guests. Around 90% of that happiness is through
serving tasty delicacies. Besides the rich cultural
heritage, the sweetness of mangoes and litchis,
panta bhat (rice soaked in water overnight) with fried
hilsa during Pahela Baishak, the first day of Bangla
New Year, Chittagong’s ‘mejban’, beef is cooked in
large batches, Khulna’s Choi jhaal, often used in
mutton and beef dishes, sutki, Bogra’s doi and other
traditional items also attract tourists. To summarise,
Bangladesh is not only home of nature but also
tradition. People equally care about the presentation
and garnishing of their dishes as equally as taste!
The country is truly a land of hospitality. Hospitality
is so important to the people here, that it
truly does sadden them when guests leave.
Md Mizanur Rahman Himadri
Journalist, The Daily Star
67