Bangladesh

Dhaka is not a quiet, retiring place. The city, bursting with nearly 17 million people (most of whom often seem to be stuck in the same traffic jam as you), is a gloriously noisy and chaotic place, bubbling with energy.

It's a city that can sometimes threaten to overwhelm the casual visitor, but once you climb into the back of one of its myriad colourful cycle-rickshaws, Dhaka's charm starts to slowly reveal itself. Life flows from the boats on the Buriganga River to its unexpectedly green parks and university campuses. Mughal and British monuments speak of its history, its mosques and Hindu temples of its spiritual side, and the thriving arts and restaurant scenes – plus the rush to build new roads and a metro railway system – give a glimpse of the direction of future travel.

Dhaka isn't without challenges, but sooner or later you'll start to move to its rhythm and truly embrace this furiously beating heart of Bengali culture.

Dhaka

The vast alluvial floodplains of northwest Bangladesh were a cradle of ancient Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms that held sway over the region for centuries, before eventually succumbing to Islamic conquerors. Modern-day Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions – which cover this heritage-strewn region – are thus rife with the tumbledown walls of many splendidly decaying ruins from these bygone eras. Needless to say, it's enough reason for history and archaeology buffs to visit.

In a nutshell, the area contains some of Bangladesh’s finest rajbaris (Raj-era palaces), exquisitely decorated temples and the country's largest and most impressive Buddhist ruins. Small villages, colourful markets and remote communities living on fast-eroding sand islands all add to the allure of a trip to this part of the country. The idyllic rural landscape is stunning to boot, and lends a fantastic backdrop to the moss-hewn ancient architecture that steals the attention of your camera.

Rajshahi & Rangpur

Decidedly untypical of Bangladesh, both in topography and culture, this largely Buddhist Adivasi (tribal) stronghold is the homeland of the Jumma people. It's a stunning region of hills, ravines and cliffs covered with dense jungles of bamboo, creepers and shrubs, and dotted with tall, slender waterfalls. The whole region is full of the flavours of neighbouring Myanmar (Burma). It’s utterly fascinating and exceedingly beautiful. It also offers a chance to stretch the legs with some of the country’s best hiking on offer, though access is often limited for foreigners. There are three districts: Khagrachari, Rangamati and Bandarban. Most tourists visit only the latter two, which are the more scenic, and are the two we cover here. While it's generally safe to visit, all foreign visitors require a special permit, and the whims of officialdom can sometimes put a frustrating brake on which parts of the Hill Tracts are accessible to travellers.

Chittagong Hill Tracts

Friendly Sylhet is a divisional capital with a pronounced small-town feel, its congested streets and bustling roadside markets chipping in with requisite measures of sights, sounds and smells. The town, however, also gives off a strong underlying sense of economic prosperity. The majority of British Bangladeshis hail from here, and those with stronger ties to the homeland continue to visit their families regularly and pour money back into the local economy. This has helped create a city that is more modern than other comparable urban centres in Bangladesh. For tourists, it also means the availability of better hotels and restaurants, easier access to creature comforts and a disproportionately large local population that speaks good English. Sylhet, of course, is best known for its tea. This is where the country’s commercial tea production first began, and a few of the region's 130-odd tea estates are walking distance from the city centre.

Sylhet

Sylhet may be the primary city in the eponymous division, but sylvan Srimangal is the undoubted star of this region. Blessed with rolling hills carpeted with endless tea plantations, dense forest sanctuaries and a sprinkling of tribal villages, this place is bound to rank among your most treasured experiences in Bangladesh. The town itself is small, friendly and easy to manage, but it’s the surrounding countryside that’s the real draw, with hiking, wildlife-watching and, of course, tea-drinking all high on the agenda.

In the wake of travel advisories pertaining to the safety of foreigners at the time of research, cycling (once the most popular activity among tourists) was suspended in the region until further notice. This has somewhat dampened the experience for a lot of outdoorsy travellers, but most areas still remain open to hiking and general ambling.

Srimangal & Around

Cox's Bazar – named for an 18th-century British East India Company captain – is a place dear to most Bangladeshis' hearts. As everyone you meet will tell you, it's the longest continual natural beach on the planet (a whopping 125km), and the place where the country likes to come to relax.

You'll find tourist facilities here that are better than most places outside Dhaka, but don't expect a slice of southern Thailand. In fairness, the beach isn't a world wonder, but swapping the pollution of the cities for the fresh breeze off the Bay of Bengal is still invigorating, and the chance to see Bangladesh at play will give you a fun lesson in how the country likes to see itself.

Cox's Bazar

Chittagong is Bangladesh's second-largest city and the country's largest port, and as the gateway to the Chittagong Hill Tracts – one of the most beautiful and fascinating corners of the country – it's somewhere that many visitors pass through at some point. As well as a place to sort your travel permits for the Hill Tracts, it also makes sense to rest up here for at least one night if you're planning to hit the beaches of Cox's Bazar or St Martin's Island.

Chittagong

Rangamati is the most popular destination in the Chittagong Hill Tracts for Bangladeshi visitors, who come to enjoy the scenic splendour of Kaptai Lake, the country’s largest artificial lake, which was created in 1960 for hydroelectricity. The lake, dotted with islands, is unquestionably beautiful, and a boat trip across it is a fantastic way to spend a day out here, but it’s worth knowing that approximately 100,000 Adivasis – mostly Chakma – were displaced when it was created, and around 40% of the land they previously cultivated was submerged forever.

Rangamati

South along the coast from Cox's Bazar, St Martin's Island is Bangladesh's only coral island, and for once the beaches actually match the hype. The island is fairly small – about 8km in length and rarely more than 1km wide – so it’s easy to navigate. Rickshaws are available, but you can also just walk around it from beach to beach. The population lives primarily off fishing, but increasingly from the domestic tourism industry. As unregulated tourism booms, St Martin's is becoming an increasingly stressed environment.

The area around the jetty, on the northeast tip of the island, is called Narikeldia, where you'll find a few hotels and restaurants. From here you’ll pass through the small village of Uttarpara en route to West Beach, which is the nicest place to stay. The southern part of the island is called Dakshinpara. Even further south is Cherradhip, a thin strip of untouched land which is cut off from the rest of the island at high tide.