The New Nation - Internet Edition

Md. Sazedul Islam

Bangladesh, land of enchanting beauty, is endowed with almost all the natural potentials to attract tourists. All her six seasons vibrate with fairs, festivals, mirth and merriment. All riverine beauty, colourful tribal life and simple village life of the friendly millions are main motivational factors for the potential visitors.

Though one of the world's small countries, Bangladesh boasts of certain world class attractions and assets. Bangladesh offer ample opportunity to tourists for rowing, angling, jungle trekking, sun and sea-bathing and above all to be in and amidst the pristine nature. Bangladesh is heir to rich cultural legacy.

In 2000 or more years of its chequered history, many illustrious dynasties of kings and Sultans have ruled and disappeared and left their mark in the shape of magnificent cities, monuments, the desolate ruins which are still visible in places throughout the country. The archaelogolical treasures of Mahasthangarh, Pahapur Buddhist Vihara, a world heritage site and Salbana Vihara at Mainamati and sixty-domed grand mosque at Bagerhat, also a world heritage site, World War-ÐÐ cemetery at Comilla, Kantaji's temple of Dinajpur, the Hindu temples of Chandranath at Sitakund, Adinath at Mahashkhali, Sonargaon and Dhakeshwari in Dhaka bear testimony to its devotional past.

Most outstanding places in Bangladesh also include Cox's Bazar Beach, Dhaka, Kaptai, Chandanpura mosque, Kuakata, Rangamati Lake, tribal life, Sylhet Tea Garden and wildlife of Sundarbans. Other places of tourist attractions are Shilaidaha Kuthibari(Kushtia, a memory place of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore), Sagordari in Jessore, Mujibnagar memorial, Gandhi Asram, Jamuna Bridge, Trishal and Sri Chaitanya Temple.

Above all, simple and friendly people of Bangladesh along with its tribes isolated from modern society by their own distinct culture and way of life make Bangladesh a distinguished and unique attraction for tourists. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC), national tourism organization of the country, has renovated the existing tourist facilities and created new facilities at important tourist spots.

The tourist facilities created so far include hotel, motel, cottage, youth hostel, restaurant, duty-free shop, land and water transport at different tourist spots. BPC offers sightseeing, cruising, excursion, readymade and tailor-made all inclusive guided package tours in and around Dhaka and other places of interest through out the country. The tropical climate has made the country luxuriant in vegetation. Mango, lichi, banana, coconut and jack fruit trees are common sights everywhere in the country. Animals such as elephants, bear, bisons, monkeys abound in the hill districts of Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban. Like the Sundarbans, the hilly area is an ornithologist's paradise.

Birds both migratory and resident are a feast to the beholder's eyes. Varied reptiles like sea turtles, tortoises, crocodiles, pyhton and cobra are but common sights. Herds of spotted deer in Sundarbans are wonderful sights to see. In capital Dhaka, there are lot of attractive places for visit. These are Lalbagh Fort, mosques, temples, churches, central Shaheed Minar, Suhrawardi Uddyan, National Memorial, National Mausoleum, Mukti Juddha Museum, Ahsan Manjil Museum, Fork Art Museum, Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, National Poet's Graveyard, Martyred Intellectuals Memorial, Bahadur Shah Park/Victoria Park, Old High Court Building, Buddhist Monastery, Bangabhaban, Ramna Green, Shakhari Bazar, Baldha Garden, National Botanical Garden, Dhaka Zoological Garden, National Park and Sonargaon.

The commercial capital and largest international seaport of Bangladesh, the healthy city (as declared by UNESCO), Chittagong is located in a picturesque hinterland of large hill forests and lakes. It is really an amazing vacation spot. Its green hills and forests, broad sandy beaches and fine cool climate always attract holiday makers. It combines the hum of a restless seaport with the pleasure of a charming hill-town with its undulating topography. In Chittagong, there are many attractive places. These are World War II Cemetery, Foy's Lake, Ethnological Museum, Bayezid Bostami Mazar, Court Building Museum, Patenga Beach and Sitakunda. Cox's Bazar is a conglomeration of miles of golden sands, towering cliffs, surfing waves, rare conch shells, colourful pagodas, Buddhist temples and tribes and delightful seafood. It is the tourist capital of Bangladesh having the world's longest unbroken (120 km) smooth, sandy, shark-free beach slopping down to the blue waters of Bay of Bengal against the picturesque background of a chain of hills covered with deep forests. Cox's Bazar is of the most attractive tourist spots in the world. The beach is good for bathing, sun bathing and swimming.

The breathtaking beauty of the setting sun behind the waves of the sea is captivating. Visits to the fascinating picnic spots at Himchhari, Teknaf, Buddhist Temple at Ramu and nearby island of Sonadia, St Martin island, inani beach and Maheshkhali are memorable experiences of one's life time. Kuakata is rare beauty scenic spot on the southern most tip of Patuakhali district. It has a wide sandy beach from where one can get the unique opportunity of having a glance of both sunrise and sunset. Parjatan holiday homes at Kuakata offers a number of facilities for the tourists. Kuakata is the places of pilgrimage of the Hindu and Buddhist communities.

Many devotees arrive here during the festival of Rush Purnima and Maghi Purnima. All these extraordinary events in addition to panoramic beauty make the beach more attractive to the visitors. Three hill districts---Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari---are paradise for nature lovers. These districts offers dazzling beautiful spots where nature has been least disturbed. Far from congested, polluted and madding crowd of the plains, its scenic and calm spots offer rare opportunities to the tourists.

Sundarbans, the abode of majestic Royal Bengal Tiger is located 320 km southwest of Dhaka and is the biggest mangrove forest. These deeply dense mangrove forests are criss-crissed by a network of rivers and creeks. Tourists find here tides flowing in two directions in the same creek and often tigers swimming across a river or huge crocodiles basking in the sun. Other wildlife in this region are chetah, spotted deer, monkey, python, wild-boar and hyenas. The UNESCO has declared Sundarbans a world heritage site.

Sylhet, a land of devotion and nature's bounties is in the northeast of Bangladesh. Sylhet is the foremost tea granry of the country. The tea gardens mile after mile like a green carpet spread over the slopes of the hills are a feast to the eyes of travelers. Tourist attractions in Sylhet are: the shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal, Jaintapur, said to be the capital of ancient kingdom, Shahi Eidgah, Madhabkunda (famous for its fascinating waterfall, temple of Sree Chaitannya Dev and Tamabil-Jaflong which is glimpse of the waterfall across the border inside India from Tamabil and stones rolling down the sides of hills or to the plains is beholder's delights.