The novelist Tahmima Anam has described her native Bangladesh as a “beautiful, bruised” country. It certainly has its problems, including the devastating floods it experiences owing to its location on the Ganges Delta. But she is right about its beauty too, says Kate Eshelby in the FT. There’s the 120km-long beach of Cox’s Bazar, where you can walk for hours passing nothing but fishing boats “shaped like crescent moons”. And there are the floating markets of Barisal, and the “tiger-prowled” Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest on Earth. And yet, it sees few tourists, and some of its loveliest areas lack for hotels. That’s why Royal Bengal Tours has started offering “home-stay” itineraries, so that visitors can explore more widely while also getting a sense of daily life in the country.
Bangladesh is roughly the size of England and Wales, but home to 170 million people, making it one of the world’s most densely populated countries. Its flat, fertile floodplains are largely given over to rice cultivation, but fragments of subtropical forest survive in the hilly northeast. In Lawachara National Park, you can stay in the village of Lawachara Punji, a 20-minute walk through the jungle. Your host, Papia Sultana, lives in a mud-walled house with handmade wooden beds, and cooks “delicious” meals such as butter catfish with local wild vegetables. There’s wonderful wildlife to see, including western hoolock gibbons and capped langurs. And there’s much else to do around the nearby town of Srimangal, including cycling tours of local tea plantations and birdwatching in the wetlands of Hail Haor.
The northwest has a particularly “rich” architectural heritage. In Puthia, there’s a marvellous complex of Hindu temples built between the 17th and 19th centuries, and nearby is Paharpur, a seventh century Buddhist monastery city that is simply magnificent.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A week-long trip costs from £1,200pp, excluding flights (royalbengaltours.com).
-
Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
-
October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Mustardy beans and hazelnuts recipeThe Week Recommends Nod to French classic offers zingy, fresh taste
-
Susie Dent picks her favourite booksThe Week Recommends The lexicographer and etymologist shares works by Jane Goodall, Noel Streatfeild and Madeleine Pelling
-
6 incredible homes under $1 millionFeature Featuring a home in the National Historic Landmark District of Virginia and a renovated mid-century modern house in Washington
-
The Harder They Come: ‘triumphant’ adaptation of cinema classicThe Week Recommends ‘Uniformly excellent’ cast follow an aspiring musician facing the ‘corruption’ of Kingston, Jamaica
-
House of Guinness: ‘rip-roaring’ Dublin brewing dynasty period dramaThe Week Recommends The Irish series mixes the family tangles of ‘Downton’ and ‘Succession’ for a ‘dark’ and ‘quaffable’ watch
-
Dead of Winter: a ‘kick-ass’ hostage thrillerThe Week Recommends Emma Thompson plays against type in suspenseful Minnesota-set hair-raiser ‘ringing with gunshots’
-
A Booker shortlist for grown-ups?Talking Point Dominated by middle-aged authors, this year’s list is a return to ‘good old-fashioned literary fiction’
-
Fractured France: an ‘informative and funny’ enquiryThe Week Recommends Andrew Hussey's work is a blend of ‘memoir, travelogue and personal confession’
