1

hi Willem....pretty sure you will need to take the boat & bus from Ruma back to Bandarban then take another bus from there to Alikadam. Can't remember exactly how long that bus takes but it is something like a half day - 4 or 5 hours maybe, with a lunch stop along the way (I can give you more info tonight when i check my notes from last tirp there in Jan this year).
You could trek from Ruma to Alikadam but would have to arrange that thru a tour company and travel with a guide.
Also not sure if you will be allowed to stay in Ruma if you go there without a guide....maybe you are doing it as a day trip from Bandarban..?? At Ruma there is an army checkpoint you must check in at and also a police checkpoint slightly out of the village that you must also check in at, if you are staying o/night.
Also...not sure if you will be allowed to visit Mru villages around Alikadam without a guide....??? (there are also Tripuri and Tangchangya living in/close to Alikadam)

2

Second :

Hotel Mijan, East Rajabazar, Sunamgonj
Hotel Palace, Station Rd., Sunamgonj.

3

hello My friend, if you have a map of Bangladesh, you will have idea about Ruma Bazar & Alikadam route. this two places belong to the same district but unfortunaly , there is no road communication from Ruma to Alikadam direct except hiking and it will take two days to reach from Ruma to Alikadam. the comfortable journey will be ruma back to Bandarban then Alikadam with is close to coxs bazar region.

I could give a another option:
only for visiting the Mru tribe, you not need to go to Alikadam.
from Ruma if you go by hiking further Kawkaradang , you can see the real mru people who r living with their old traditions. i have been in those two places, if its better to stay ruma region where you can meet more that 3 tribe among them Tripura is a special tribe to explore.

4

Sunamjong don't have good hotels, but with a good price you can stay in Sylhet with 25 -35 USD good hotel, hotel Metro International , hotel suprime international, Suktara Eco Resort, Nazim gar Resort from where it takes around 2 hours to go to Sunamgong.

5

Willem...5 hours by bus from Bandarban to Alikadam, so you could do it in the same day from Ruma if you got the first boat back from Ruma to the ??? Ghat and the bus back to Bandarban.....last time I got a 2pm bus from Bandarban arriving Alikadam at 7pm (with a meal stop).
If you have to choose between the 2 places Alikadam is the better, with Mru, Tripuri, & Tangchanyga people there...the tribal market day in Alikadam is also better than Ruma....some great Mru villages close to town, but as I mentioned, I doubt you will be allowed to visit them without a guide (same issue with the villages around Ruma)

6

Hi 'Exploringtribal'

Thanks for your reply. Can you be more specific on what you say about the Mru villages around Ruma?
Where to go, how to go, how far,...
Would be very nice to hear about you.

Thanks,
Willem

7

sorry for my late reply. i was in hill track for a week o that i cannot write to you , sorry for that.
here is some info about the Mru villages and markets :
from Ruma if you go further to Boga lake ()22km far from Ruma by takes 2 hours by car to reach bogalake, near to boga lake at the foothold , one hour trekking you will find three mru villages,
but if i say you bandarban to Ruma , then at around 2 hours drive near the chimbuk hill Chimbuk para, Bagan Para, Amphu Para, Sharon para and more than 5 to 6 villages towards Bandarban - chimbuk - Thanchi route.
on the other hand Bandarban - chimbuk- ruma route,Himagri para, Dolian para, and a Murung market where reachable by fourwheel and the distance will be 50 km in both routes takes 3 hours maximum.
for further clearfication feel free to ask us...

8

Also sorry for my late reply :-) I also was not at home.
Thanks for your info. Do you know also about the Mru villages near Alikadam?

9

I have travel a few times only in Alikadam, so i don't have much more abut it..

10

Willem....there are a bunch of Mru villages close to Bandarban, but they do get more tourists, including groups of Benagli tourists....the ones further away should be okay.