Trip of the week: a home-stay tour of beautiful Bangladesh
Experience a unique insight into rural Bangladesh life with a new tour itinerary
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.
Subscribe to 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).
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'It may not be surprising that creative work is used without permission'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
5 simple items to help make your airplane seat more comfortable
The Week Recommends Gel cushions and inflatable travel pillows make a world of difference
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
How safe are cruise ships in storms?
The Explainer The vessels are always prepared
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Ed Park's 6 favorite works about self reflection and human connection
Feature The Pulitzer Prize finalist recommends works by Jason Rekulak, Gillian Linden, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 fantastic homes in Columbus, Ohio
Feature Featuring a 1915 redbrick Victorian in German Village and a modern farmhouse in Woodland Park
By The Week Staff Published
-
Drawing the Italian Renaissance: a 'relentlessly impressive' exhibition
The Week Recommends Show at the King's Gallery features an 'enormous cache' of works by the likes of Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael
By The Week UK Published
-
Niall Williams shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The Irish novelist chooses works by Charles Dickens, Seamus Heaney and Wendell Berry
By The Week UK Published
-
Patriot: Alexei Navalny's memoir is as 'compelling as it is painful'
The Week Recommends The anti-corruption campaigner's harrowing book was published posthumously after his death in a remote Arctic prison
By The Week UK Published
-
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: a 'magical' show with 'an electrifying emotional charge'
The Week Recommends The 'vivacious' Fitzgerald adaptation has a 'shimmering, soaring' score
By The Week UK Published
-
Bird: Andrea Arnold's 'strange, beguiling and quietly moving' drama
The Week Recommends Barry Keoghan stars in 'fearless' film combining social and magical realism
By The Week UK Published
-
Kate Summerscale's 6 favorite true crime books about real murder cases
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Helen Garner, Gwen Adshead, and more
By The Week US Published