Bandarban is a district in
South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of the Chittagong Division and Chittagong
Hill Tracts. One of the three hill districts of Bangladesh and a part of the
Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bandarban (4,479 km²) is not only the remotest district
of the country, but also is the least populated.
Bandarban
lies, by bus, eight hours away from Dhaka, two hours from Chittagong
and three hours from Cox's Bazaar. It is also possible to get there
by a six-hour bus ride from Rangamati. The Buddha Dhatu Jadi, the Buddhist
temple in Bangladesh, located in Balaghata, 4 km from the town. This place
attracts many tourists every year. This Buddhist temple is made completely in
the style of South-East Asia and houses the second largest statue of Buddha
in Bangladesh.
The waterfall named Shoilo Propat at Milanchari is another place
tourists like to visit. The numerous Buddhist temples, known as kyang in
local tongue, and bhihars in the town include the highly notable the Rajvihar
(royal vihar) at Jadipara and the Ujanipara Bhihar. Bawm villages around Chimbuk,
and Mru villages a little further off, are also lie within a day's journey from
the town. Prantik Lake, Jibannagar and Kyachlong Lake are some more places of
interest. Boat ride on the river Sangu is one of the main attractions here for
tourists. Locate merely there is no better
place in which to experience the magic of the Hill Tracts than in the hilly
small town of Bandarban, which fabrication on the Sangu River, The river is the
centre of local life: bamboo rafts up to 500m long, steered by a single
solitary boatman, float leisurely downstream, while country boats make slow
trips to neighboring villages. A good number
residents belong to the Buddhist Marma tribe.
The town itself, which has a couple
of appealing sights, isn’t overly attractive, but the surrounding countryside is
some of the finest in Bangladesh and offers one of the few opportunities to
really escape the masses. Instead of the honking of horns and awe-struck stares
of the masses you’ll have nothing much to listen to but birdsong and the only
things likely to be fluttering about you will be bright, droopy winged
butterflies. All up this is not a town to rush through in a hurry.
At the checkpoint before coming into town, officials may request that you call
upon the district commissioner. His office is just around the corner from the
Hotel Purabi. So all of are welcome to visit your own time in beautifully
Bandarban.
So Best of Luck: Zahedul Islam, Lama, Bandrban.
