Places

 Madhabkunda
 
Bangladesh natural beauty has many features. On of the main attraction of these features are the mesmerizing water falls. And the main water fall of Bangladesh is the water fall of Madhabkunda. The height of the water fall here in Madhabkunda is 61m or 200 ft. It’s the highest waterfall among all the other waterfalls of Bangladesh. What makes it the most desirable waterfall destination is the surrounding environment of the road to the waterfall.

Madhabkunda is located about 5 km from Kakhinbage railway station in Barlekha Upazilla, district of Moulavibazar, Sylhet division. The journey to the Madhabkunda is an enthirilling experience and it’s so exotic that one may go to Madhabkunda only for the journey. It’s the whole road is surrounded by the worlds biggest tea garden, picturesque hills and maze like roads through the hills.

You can travel to Madhabkunda by road and rail. As described before one should travel by road to enjoy its natural beauty. You can go to Madhabkunda from Dhaka via Sylhet or via Moulavibazar. It will take 8 hours to reach to the destination. There are both AC and Non-AC buses available for Sylhet or Moulavibazar from Dhaka. From Sylhet and Moulavibazar public buses go regularly to Madhabkunda all day long. If you travel by train it will take 1-2 hours less to reach destination but will miss the exciting experience of the natural scenic beauty of environment beside the road. Train will get you as far as Kulaura and than you will have to take public bus for visiting the waterfall.

Normally tourists go to Madhabkunda don’t stay for the night but if you want to gain the experience of spending a night in jungle like environment you can do that too. For staying at night there is a motel of Bangladesh Porjoton Corporation and also a Bunglow of district council. To stay at the Bunglow you need to book before you go to Madhabkunda from Mulavibazar zilla parishad office.

All the mobile phone operators have their network there except that other modern communication system is pretty scarce in Madhabkunda.
The nature is so beautiful and pleasant here that Madhabkunda is one of the best natural resorts of Bangladesh for relaxation of one’s mind and physic. So every one who wants to travel in Bangladesh must visit Madhabkunda; without visiting here Bangladesh travel will not be fulfilled.

 

Jaflong

Jaflong: is a natural tourist spot in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. It is located in Gowainghat Upazila of Sylhet District and situated at the border between Bangladesh and the Indian state of Meghalaya. It is just below the mountain range. Jafflong, famous for its beauty, boulders, betel nuts and is home of the Khasi tribe. It’s about 60 km to the northeast of Sylhet town and takes two hours drive to reach there. Jaflong is also a scenic spot nearby amidst tea gardens and rate beauty of rolling stones from hills.
Nestled at the foot of the Khasia-Jainta hills, it is a place of pristine loveliness. The Piayin river slices through Jafflong and the river is woven tightly into the lives of the local people. A riverboat trip is one of the main attractions. Although the boatmen are used to fleecing tourists, and will charge exorbitant sums, a bit of haggling will get you an engine boat for Tk. 250. The whole family will fit in, and the clear waters of the Piyain will soon be rushing past as the boat heads towards the Zero Point -- the border between India and Bangladesh.
The Indian town of Dauki Bazar can be seen on the mountain. Duing the rainy season torrents of water can be seen gushing down the mountain forming small waterfalls. Visitor also see a enormous beautiful waterfall on the way of Sylhet to Jaflong. But that are all in Indian side.The spot where most tourists gather is called Bollar (boulder) Ghat. Boulders have become Jafflong's bane. With stone mining companies using heavy machinery to extract stones from the river and that treated Jafflong's natural beauty. Efforts are underway to preserve the area as an ecopark.
Visitors who venture to the far side of the river can see the little Khasia villages or “Punjees”. The Khasia, the indigenous people of the hills, live in total harmony with Jafflong's idyllic beauty. The punjees consist of cute houses on bamboo stilts. A walk through the Khasia Punjees will take you through large plantations of Paan (betel leaf) and Supari (betel nut). The Khasia once practiced a pagan religion, and old records portray them as a fierce and warlike tribe. But nowadays the Khasia lead a simple and quiet life growing paan-supari and fishing. Many of them have converted to Christianty.
The forest walk will take you to the palace of the Khasia king. It's a modest wooden affair but in the grounds you can catch sight of one of Sylhet's vanishing attractions -- an orange grove.
Tamabil is the border area with India and is 05 km before Jaflong. If you intend to visit Shilong of India then you will have to cross this border by completing your customs formalities. To go to India you require valid Visa.
Sripur is another beautiful tourist spot where you can see the waterfall with great tide falling form the hills. Besides the enchanting views of the area, one can also have a glimpse of the waterfalls across the border of India. Very Big stones sometimes are coming in this waterfall in Sripur. After completion of visiting Jaflong and Tamabil you must visit Sripur on the way to go back to Sylhet. It's only 7-8km from Jaflong on the same road to Sylhet a sub road entered into Sripur waterfall. Here you can see the stone collection and orange garden if you go inside Sripur crossing the hills.
On the way back from Jafflong, don't forget to stop at Jaintapur. Jaintapur is famous for its megalithic archaeological ruins. Jaintiapur is only 5 km. from Jaflong, a scenic spot amidst tea gardens. Jaintapur was the capital of Jainta Kingdome at 18th century. Jainta Rajbari was the palace of Kings of Jainta, it's just adjacent of Jainta Bazar. Though the condition of this king's palace is already damaged enormously but a huge number of tourists visit here due to the historical background of Jainta Kingdom. At about 35 km. northwest of Sylhet town, linked by rail, road and river is Chhatak, the seat of Assam Bengal Cement Factory, Chhatak is famous for orange garden.

At Bollar Ghat there are local cottage industries that cater to tourists. Local artisans carve souvenirs out of stone, and shopkeepers sell everything from mementos to sarees. Despite the large number of people who flock to Jafflong every day there are no good places to stay and no restaurant worth its tablecloth. Visitors are well advised to carry their own food from Sylhet.

How to go: Sylhet city is roughly 230 km from the capital and it is a smooth 4-5 hour drive. First-rate highway restaurants along the way mean you can stop for a breather as often as you like. Train journeys take slightly longer, but can be fun as the line passes through the Lawachara national forest range Sylhet International Airport is half an hour's flying time from Dhaka, and most of the private airlines as well as Biman offer several daily flights. Transports are available form Syhlet town to Jaflong. Don’t forget to take food.
For accommodation at Sylhet town, some reasonably good hotels are available.
Attractive tourist place at Sylhet division: The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal and Shah Paran, Lawachara National Park, Madhabkunda Waterfall, Srimongol,

 Hakaluki Haor

The numerous permanent and seasonal freshwater lakes and marshes of the flood plains are known as haors, baors and beels. A haor is a bowl-shaped depression between the natural levees of a river, or a succession of such depressions. Most are found ineastern Mymensingh and Sylhet, in a region known as the Haor Basin.
Hakaluki Haor is a marsh wetland ecological system of Eastern Bangladesh in an area bordering Assam, India. It is one of Bangladesh's largest and one of Asia’s larger Haor. Some 190,000 people live in the surrounding Hakaluki haor area. The surface area of Hakaluki Haor is 181.15km2, of which 72.46km2 (40.01%) is within the territory of Barlekha Upazila. It contains about 47 major haors and more than 6,000 beels, or freshwater lakes, nearly half of which are seasonal. Hakaluki Haor itself is a complex of more than 80 inter-connecting beels located in the Maulvi Bazar district. During the dry season, the beels cover an area of approximately 4,400 ha. However, during the rainy season, the entire area gets flooded, and the beels are united as one large lake, or haor, with an area of approximately 18,000 ha. This makes it the largest haor in Bangladesh. Hakaluki haor is a highly significant site for a wide variety of waterfowl.  The haor is partly under the jurisdiction of Barlekha Upazila. Barlekha is an  Upazila of Maulvibazar District in the Division of Sylhet.
Hakaluki Haor was designated an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) by the Director General of the Department of Environment, as the ecosystem is considered to have reached a critical state. It also is a protected Ramsar site of international importance for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands.
Its overall significance is perhaps best expressed with reference to the various criteria for inclusion as a Ramsar site. "It is a particularly good representative example of a wetland which plays a substantial hydrological, biological or ecological role in the natural functioning of a major river basin85" (Ramsar Criterion 1.c); "It supports an appreciable assemblage of rare, vulnerable or endangered species of plant or animal, or an appreciable number of individuals of any one or more of these species." (Criterion 2.a); "It is of special value for maintaining the genetic and ecological diversity of a region because of the peculiarities of its flora and fauna." (Criterion 2.b); "It regularly supports about 20,000 waterfowl." (Criterion 3.a); "It regularly supports substantial numbers of individuals from particular groups of waterfowl, indicative of wetland values, productivity or diversity" (Criterion 3.b).
It is important for wintering migratory birds. Every winter, tens of thousands of guest birds of about 150 species from Siberian and other cold regions flock to the haors. They include Bright and Rose King-duck, Pati-duck, Bali Hash, Lenja, Chity, Sorali, Boikal, Nilshir Piyan, Pantamukhi, Pankouri, Buti-duck, China, Rangamuri, Black-duck, Peributhi, Chokachoki, Giria, Khonjona, Patari, Dolpipi, Water-hen, North-Giria, Dahuk, Patibatan, Common-chill, Cotton-Chill, Gergini, Cottontail, Pintail, Toughed Duck.
Winter is good for traveling. But its versatile beauty figured out individually in every season. There are very different experiences. Especially, in rainy season it takes youthful and significance looks.  Haors are flooded every year by the monsoon floods, and most retain some water throughout the dry season. In rainy its look like infinite water kingdom. Traveler enjoys a good time fully artificial free life with nature. It refreshes mind and body together.
If you're traveling from Dhaka, daily bus services (AC- Tk 400, non-AC TK 200) from Sayedabad Bus Terminal to Srimongal are available every couple of hours and take about 4 hours and even has a good direct train . Trains are available everyday from Kamalapur Railway station.   Traveler easily gets information from CWBMP office at kulaura. Or they can travel follow the road of kanongo bazzar via Barlekha.
In reasonable price deferent categories of hotel are available in Maulvibazar town and srimongal. Traveler also contract to stay at DFID Tea resort, Bangladesh tea board, Bhanugach Road, Srimangal, Maulvi Bazar, Bangladesh.
Another attractive place at Maulvi Bazar: Archaeological heritage Khoaza Mosque at Laghati village of Dasergram union (16th century), Madhav Mandir at Madhabkunda Waterfall. Manufactories  18 tea gardens in Barlekha, tribal  life, Sujanagar  is famous for producing incense and attar (essence of flowers).

Srimongol

Srimongol, Sylhet, the tea capital in Bangladesh is one of the places in and around the valley of Sylhet which the travelers coming from different parts of the world like to visit. The long stretch of green that is going to greet to you as far as you look gives a soothing feeling that is hard to forget. The lush green mountains covered with rich tea-plantation are a relief from the concrete jungle that we get to see in the cities. Srimongol, Sylhet famous for its tea-gardens is visited by travelers form all over the world as you rarely get to see such a beautiful sight.

The velvet carpet of the tea-plants enhances the beauty of Srimongol in Sylhet. The travelers can also take a look at how tea is processed at the Tea Research Institute. A huge quantity of tea is produced by Bangladesh and also exported to different parts of the world. Srimongol is all the more well-known as most of the tea-estates that you get to hear about in Bangladesh lies here as a result of which it has earned the epithet of 'The Land of 2 Leaves and a Bud'.

Srimongol also famous as the 'camelia' houses the largest tea-estate in the world. The terraced tea-gardens along with rich vegetation of rubber, pineapple and lemon plantations form a stunning landscape which is hard to find. As you enter the tea-gardens the sweet smells of he tea-plants will greet you along with spectacular beauty.

Those of you who wish to get a better view of the tea-gardens can prefer to stay at the garden itself as there are hotels placed conveniently here. The experience of staying amidst tea-gardens is so deep that it will keep lingering in your minds long after you have left the place.

travel.mapsofworld.com provides information on the Srimongol, Sylhet.

 

The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal

The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal, Sylhet is one the mos frequently visited tourist attractions in Sylhet. The travelers from all over the world come to Bangladesh and take back home a comprehensive idea about the rich cultural traditions of the country. The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal, Sylhet is not only a favorite tourist destination for the followers of Islam but for everyone as it throws much light on the life of this great saint. The historical relic of The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal, Sylhet built in the memory of the saint who has passed away for than 600 years ago is a favorite haunt for people of various caste and creed.

The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal in Sylhet is the chief historical interest in and around Sylhet. The shrine is visited by tourists from different places who make their journey from far away regions. The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal has a legend attached to it. The legend goes on to say that the great saint had come down from Delhi to preach the teachings of Islam in the region.

He defeated the contemporary Hindu king, Raja Gour Gobindo and transformed all of his witchcraft followers into catfishes. The common belief is that, those catfishes can still be seen swimming away in the tank which is placed just adjacent to the Shrine Swords. The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal, Sylhet still preserves the robes worn by the holy saint as well as the Quran, the holy book of Islam.

travel.mapsofworld.com provides information on The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal, Sylhet.