Satchari National Park

About 60km southwest of Srimangal on the Dhaka–Sylhet Hwy is the small Satchari National Park (formerly known as the Telepara Forest Reserve). This 243-hectare park is part of a much larger protected region. Although less popular than Lowacherra, it is a superb slab of tropical forest with a higher diversity of plants and animals than Lowacherra, and with far less human disturbance.


There are a number of marked walking trails of between 30 minutes and three hours, seven streams, a population of hoolock gibbons, fishing cats, Phayre’s langur, jungle fowl, pygmy woodpeckers and oriental pied hornbills.

The Satchari National Park is on the south side of the main road, about 1km east of the Satchari bus stop and Telepara Tea Estate, where the highway takes a sharp left bend. You could get the driver of the Dhaka–Sylhet bus to drop you off here, if you don’t mind missing the early hours when bird-watching is best. Alternatively, get a bus from Srimangal and walk to the trail head 1km away. To return to Srimangal, flag down one of the Dhaka–Sylhet buses, or walk back to Telepara Tea Estate and catch one there.

A Visit to Kuakata

This isolated beach at the southern tip of the delta, about 100km from Barisal, was named by the original Mogh (Rakhine) Buddhist settlers whose ancestors remain today. Kua means ‘well’, and kata means ‘dug’.


The river mouths east and west of the beach ensure that the sea is rather murky, and sharks drying on racks along the beach similarly don’t augur well for swimming. Though Kuakata isn’t the archetypal turquoise, tropical ocean, the vibe is right. The town suffered heavily at the hands of Cyclone Sidr in November 2007.

There is a Buddhist temple close to the Parjatan Motel, about 100m from the beach on a slightly raised mound. The ugly tin-walled shrine holds a much prettier 100-year-old statue of Buddha, said to be the largest in the country. The nearby forestry reserve is pleasant but succumbing to illegal logging. Some travellers report that hiring a fisherman to take you to nearby forested islands is a fun excursion.

Kaptai Lake

Kaptai Lake is a man-made lake in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is located in the Kaptai Upazila of Rangamati District of Chittagong Division. The lake was created as a result of building the Kaptai Dam on the Karnaphuli River, as part of the Karnaphuli Hydro-electric project. The Kaptai Lake's average depth is 100 feet (30 m) and maximum depth is 495 feet (151 m).

History

Construction of the reservoir for the hydro-electric plant began in 1956. As a result, 54,000 acres (220 km2) of farmland in the Rangamati District went under water and created the lake.

The hydro-electric project was funded by the United States. The project was finished in 1962. International Engineering Company and Utah International Inc. received the contract for construction of the dam. The dam is 670.6 meters long, and 54.7 meters high. The dam has a 745 feet (227 m) long spillway containing 16 gates. Through the spillway 5,250,000 cusec of water can pass every second.

The land that went under water as a result of the dam construction, was 40% of the total arable land in the area. Along with that, 29 square miles (75 km2) of the Government-owned forest, and 234 square miles (610 km2) of other forest land went under water. About 18,000 families with a total of almost 100 thousand people were also displaced. The palace of the king of the Chakmas was also flooded and is now under water.

The National Shaheed Minar

The Shaheed Minar is a national monument in Dhaka, Bangladesh, established to commemorate those killed during the Language Movement demonstrations of 1952.

On February 21, 1952, dozens of students and political activists were killed when the Pakistani police force opened fire on Bengali protesters who were demanding equal status to their native tongue, Bangla. The massacre occurred near Dhaka Medical College and Ramna Park in Dhaka. A makeshift monument was erected on February 23[1] by students of University of Dhaka and other educational institutions, but soon demolished on February 26[2] by the Pakistani police force.

The Language Movement gained momentum and after a long struggle, Bangla was given equal status as 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, during which the Pakistani Army estimates they inflicted 26,000 civilian deaths, while other organizations such as National Geographic estimate casualties numbering over 3 million.[citation needed] After Bangladesh gained independence, it was rebuilt.

Today, the Shaheed Minar is the centre of cultural activities in Dhaka. Every year, the Language Movement is remembered at the monument.

A Visit To Jaflong

Jaflong is a natural tourist spot 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. It is just below the mountain range. Jafflong, famous for its beauty, boulders, betel nuts and is home of the Khasitribe. It’s about 60 km to the northeast of Sylhet town and takes two hours drive to reach there. Jaflong is also a scenic spot nearby amidst tea gardens and rate beauty of rolling stones from hills.

Nestled at the foot of the Khasia-Jainta hills, it is a place of pristine loveliness. The Piayin river slices through Jafflong and the river is woven tightly into the lives of the local people. A riverboat trip is one of the main attractions. Although the boatmen are used to fleecing tourists, and will charge exorbitant sums, a bit of haggling will get you an engine boat for Tk. 250. The whole family will fit in, and the clear waters of the Piyain will soon be rushing past as the boat heads towards the Zero Point -- the border between India and Bangladesh.


The Indian town of DaukiBazar can be seen on the mountain. Duing the rainy season torrents of water can be seen gushing down the mountain forming small waterfalls. Visitor also see a enormous beautiful waterfall on the way of Sylhet to Jaflong. But that are all in Indian side.

The spot where most tourists gather is called Bollar (boulder) Ghat. Boulders have become Jafflong's bane. With stone mining companies using heavy machinery to extract stones from the river and that treated Jafflong's natural beauty. Efforts are underway to preserve the area as an ecopark

Visitors who venture to the far side of the river can see the little Khasia villages or “Punjees”. The Khasia, the indigenous people of the hills, live in total harmony with Jafflong's idyllic beauty. The punjees consist of cute houses on bamboo stilts. A walk through the Khasia Punjees will take you through large plantations of Paan (betel leaf) and Supari (betel nut). The Khasia once practiced a pagan religion, and old records portray them as a fierce and warlike tribe. But nowadays the Khasia lead a simple and quiet life growing paan-supari and fishing. Many of them have converted to Christianty.

The forest walk will take you to the palace of the Khasia king. It's a modest wooden affair but in the grounds you can catch sight of one of Sylhet's vanishing attractions -- an orange grove.

Tamabil is the border area with India and is 05 km before Jaflong. If you intend to visit Shilong of India then you will have to cross this border by completing your customs formalities. To go to India you require valid Visa.

Sripur is another beautiful tourist spot where you can see the waterfall with great tide falling form the hills. Besides the enchanting views of the area, one can also have a glimpse of the waterfalls across the border of India. Very Big stones sometimes are coming in this waterfall in Sripur. After completion of visiting Jaflong and Tamabil you must visit Sripur on the way to go back to Sylhet. It's only 7-8km from Jaflong on the same road to Sylhet a sub road entered into Sripur waterfall. Here you can see the stone collection and orange garden if you go inside Sripur crossing the hills.

On the way back from Jafflong, don't forget to stop at Jaintapur. Jaintapur is famous for its megalithic archaeological ruins. Jaintiapur is only 5 km. from Jaflong, a scenic spot amidst tea gardens. Jaintapur was the capital of Jainta Kingdome at 18th century. Jainta Rajbari was the palace of Kings of Jainta, it's just adjacent of Jainta Bazar. Though the condition of this king's palace is already damaged enormously but a huge number of tourists visit here due to the historical background of Jainta Kingdom. At about 35 km. northwest of Sylhet town, linked by rail, road and river is Chhatak, the seat of Assam Bengal Cement Factory, Chhatak is famous for orange garden.


At Bollar Ghat there are local cottage industries that cater to tourists. Local artisans carve souvenirs out of stone, and shopkeepers sell everything from mementos to sarees. Despite the large number of people who flock to Jafflong every day there are no good places to stay and no restaurant worth its tablecloth. Visitors are well advised to carry their own food from Sylhet.

How to go: Sylhet city is roughly 230 km from the capital and it is a smooth 4-5 hour drive. First-rate highway restaurants along the way mean you can stop for a breather as often as you like. Train journeys take slightly longer, but can be fun as the line passes through the Lawachara national forest range Sylhet International Airport is half an hour's flying time from Dhaka, and most of the private airlines as well as Biman offer several daily flights. Transports are available form Syhlet town to Jaflong. Don’t forget to take food.