Lonely Planet Bangladesh

Paul Clammer

Description

#1 best-selling guide to Bangladesh* Lonely Planet Bangladesh is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Cruise the Sundarbans spotting deer and tigers; stand amid the chaos of old Dhaka; or visit the lush Chittagong Hill Tracts, all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Bangladesh and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet Bangladesh: Colour maps and images throughout Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, environment, arts, literature, cuisine, culture Over 35 maps Covers Dhaka, Dhaka Division, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Chittagong Division, Sylhet Division and more The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Bangladesh , our most comprehensive guide to Bangladesh, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less travelled. About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, gift and lifestyle books and stationery, as well as an award-winning website, magazines, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves in. TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves, it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia) *Best-selling guide to Bangladesh. Source: Nielsen BookScan. Australia, UK and USA

Sujets

• Bangladesh

Informations

• Publié par: Lonely Planet
• Date de parution: 01 décembre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781786572011
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 31 Mo

Extrait

Bangladesh

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Bangladesh
Bangladesh's Top 10
Need to Know
If You Like
Month by Month
Itineraries
Border Crossings
Boat trips
Regions at a Glance

On The Road

Dhaka
Sights
Activities
Tours
Festivals & Events
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Dhaka Division
Sonargaon
Dhamrai
Mymensingh
Around Mymensingh
Khulna & Barisal
Khulna
Sundarbans National Park
Mongla
Bagerhat
Jessore
Kushtia
Barisal
Kuakata
Rajshahi & Rangpur
Rajshahi
Puthia
Sona Masjid (Gaud)
Bogra
Mahasthangarh
Paharpur
Rangpur
Dinajpur
Chittagong Division
Chittagong
Chittagong Hill Tracts
Cox's Bazar
St Martin's Island
Maheskhali Island
Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary
Comilla
Sylhet Division
Sylhet
Ratargul
Sunamganj
Srimangal & Around

Understand

Understand Bangladesh
Bangladesh Today
History
Environment
Arts & Literature
Bangladeshi Cuisine
People & Culture

Survive

Directory AZ
Accessible Travel
Accommodation
Activities
Customs Regulations
Electricity
Embassies & Consulates
LGBT Travellers
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
Maps
Money
Opening Hours
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Visas
Volunteering
Women Travellers
Work
Transport
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Health
Before You Go
In Bangladesh
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers

Table of Contents

Language
Welcome to Bangladesh

Bangladesh is south Asia's greenest jewel – a country braided with rivers, with a rich culture waiting to be explored by pioneering travellers.


A Land of Rivers
Welcome to river country. Bangladesh is braided together by more than 700 rivers, producing a deliciously lush landscape with more shades of green than you ever imagined. Travelling by boat is a way of life here, and provides a fabulous opportunity to see the country from a more unusual angle. This is one of the world’s most densely populated countries, but once you’re slowly floating downriver on a small wooden rowboat, it’s easy to imagine you have it all to yourself. Whether you're travelling to hectic Dhaka or to the Sundarbans' mangrove forests, boats large and small will help you explore Bangladesh's riches.

Hidden Riches
The mangrove forests and tigers of the Sundarbans National Park are Bangladesh's most famous attraction, but the country has a host of lesser-known attractions that are waiting to be discovered. Highlights include the Buddhist remains at Paharpur and the 15th-century mosques and mausoleums of Bagerhat, both of which are Unesco World Heritage Sites. While modern Bangladesh is majority Muslim, its hill tracts are still home to Buddhist and Christian Adivasi tribal peoples, while temples in Dhaka and beyond attest to the influence of Hindu culture on the country.

Warm & Welcoming
Getting off the beaten track is something of a travel cliché these days, but Bangladesh is somewhere that tourism remains in its infancy. It's easy to get the sensation that you're breaking ground here, even if your pioneering spirit is frequently attended to by being the centre of attention. Bangla culture is famously welcoming – rarely will you have cause to suspect the ulterior motives that can sometimes bedevil travel in other parts of south Asia. If you enjoy making friends, mixing with locals and travelling without bumping into too many other tourists, then this is probably just the country to explore.

Slow Down
Be prepared to embrace Bangladesh in all its possibilities and quirks. This isn't a destination to be rushed. Poor infrastructure and an undeveloped tourist industry means that you’ll be left frustrated if you’re trying to travel in too much of a hurry. So slow down; don’t try to pack too much into your itinerary. Bangladesh isn’t a tick-the-sights-off-the-list type of country. It’s a place to relax, meet people and discover new ideas and ways of life. Taking your time will allow the country to reveal the best of itself at its own pace, as sure and steady as the rivers that flow through its veins.

Decorations on a cycle-rickshaw | TIM GERARD BARKER/GETTY IMAGES ©


Why I Love Bangladesh
By Paul Clammer, Author
It's the cycle rickshaws that do it for me in Bangladesh. They're works of art, from their brightly decorated handlebars and the struts of their canopies to their painted backs, displaying anything from mosques to Bangla film stars. To a soundtrack of bicycle bells, they weave their way through roads as if the words 'traffic jam' were unknown. It doesn't matter if you're in the smallest village trying to find some ancient mosque or in an upscale neighbourhood of Dhaka looking for a swanky restaurant – if you want to get anywhere, then a cycle-rickshaw is the quintessential Bangladeshi way to arrive.
Bangladesh's Top 10

River Trips
Rivers are the lifeblood of Bangladesh. More than 700 of them crisscross the country, and travelling along them is an experience not to be missed. From cross-river car ferries or creaking old paddle-wheel steamers to the humble rowboat or traditional wooden yachts, it is said that there are more types of boats in Bangladesh than in any other country. So whether you fancy a multi-day adventure deep into the countryside or just a quick jaunt around a city dock, get yourself down to a river ghat, and climb aboard.

Boats in Dhaka | DANITA DELIMONT/GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Tracking Tigers in the Sundarbans
The mangrove forests of the Sundarbans National Park are home to the legendary Royal Bengal tiger and boarding a boat in search of them is an undisputed highlight of a trip to Bangladesh. For a true adventure, and to increase your admittedly slim chances of seeing a tiger, book yourself onto a four-day boat tour from Khulna. Even if you don't see one, the birdlife and scenery are real Bangladeshi highlights.

RUDRA NARAYAN MITRA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Surfing in Cox's Bazar
Every Bangladeshi will proudly tell you that Cox's Bazar has the longest natural beach in the world. What they might not reveal is that it's home to the country's nascent surfing scene. The waves that roll in from the Bay of Bengal are suitable for beginners all the way to those looking to catch livelier breaks. At the end of a day at the beach, chill in the evening with a plate of fresh seafood that the area is celebrated for.

JOHN SEATON CALLAHAN/GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Chittagong Hill Tracts
With most of the country being flat as a paddy field, the forested mountains of the Chittagong Hill Tracts dominate the landscape. It’s an undoubtedly stunning region, but it also offers a cultural diversity found nowhere else in the country. Around a dozen Adivasi (tribal) groups live here, and more than half the population is Adivasi. Many have closer ties to the people of Myanmar (Burma) than to Bengalis, and visiting their villages to learn about their different ways of life makes a trip out here more than just a chance to gawp at spectacular scenery.

PONIR'S PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Old Dhaka
For some, the assault on the senses is too much to handle, but for others, the unrivalled chaos that is squeezed into the narrow streets of Old Dhaka is the main attraction of a stay in the capital. No matter where you’ve come from, or what big cities you’ve visited before, Old Dhaka will knock you for six with its manic streets, its crazy traffic and its nonstop noise and commotion. But the food is fabulous, the historical narrative fascinating and the sheer weight of humanity absolutely unforgettable.

MACIEJ DAKOWICZ/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO ©


Top Experiences
Riding the Rocket
Steeped in almost 100 years of history, Bangladesh’s famous paddle-wheel steamer may not be the fastest thing on the waterways these days, but it gets more and more romantic each passing year. There are four remaining Rockets – all built in the early part of the 20th century – and although you can no longer ride them all the way from Dhaka to Khulna, you can still take long overnight trips on them. Book yourself a cabin to Barisal , put your feet up and watch Bangladesh float by.

LUIS DAFOS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO ©


Top Experiences
Swamp Safaris in Ratargul
Hidden under the canopies of an evergreen tropical forest, the swampy bayous of Ratargul form an enchanting landscape of silent water channels that you can explore by a wooden dinghy boat. Known to be Bangladesh’s largest freshwater swampland, these outlying marshes are a perfect day trip out of Sylhet and can be accessed by a village road that cuts through some amazing tea plantations and forests.

MD. AKHLAS UDDIN/GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Touring Ancient Mosques in Bagerhat
With the largest concentration of medieval mosques and mausoleums in all of Bangladesh, sleepy Bagerhat is a splendid open-air museum that documents the heydays of the region’s Islamic history. Peppered with graceful domed mosques, this Unesco-protected town with a friendly population is a delight to explore on foot. There’s even a crocodile-infested pond here to capture your imagination!

Shait Gumbad Mosque | UNIVERSAL STOPPING POINT PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Rickshaws
There are cycle-rickshaws all over Asia, but in Bangladesh they’re arguably more colourful, more prevalent and more integral to everyday life than anywhere else. Designs are an art form in their own right and riders take great pride in making theirs look best. Almost every town and city has a huge fleet and it’s pretty much impossible to avoid travelling on one at some stage. And why would you want to avoid it? They’re cheap, fun, environmentally friendly and are often the quickest way to get through the busy streets.

BELINDA MEGGITT/THE MULTIMEDIA TRAVELLERS/GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Exper