For all its colourful streetscapes, palate-tingling Bengali cuisine, vivacious neighbourhoods and buzzing craft and music scenes, Dhaka’s urban pressures can often take a toll on the body and mind of travelers. The city’s traffic is arguably among Asia’s maddest, its culture of public hartals (strikes) a national annoyance, and pollution levels often shoot through the sky.
Consequently, it’s no surprise that travellers passing through this tropical city sometimes feel the need to escape its bounds on a much-needed detour into Bangladesh’s serene and idyllic countryside. Here are five quick and easy day trips out of Dhaka, all offering a chance to get up close and personal with the fantastic heritage, culture and people of Bangladesh, while resting your senses from the chaos and din of the city.
Sleepy Sonargoan
A charming cluster of rustic villages dotted with ruins dating back several hundred years, Sonargaon was once a majestic seat of power for several historic dynasties ruling over eastern Bengal. Travel accounts from the 15th and 16th centuries describe Sonargaon as a city with broad streets, great mausoleums, and bazaars, where the finest textiles such as kantha (embroidered muslin) were produced and exported.
While the noble traders have long since departed, you can still get a sense of Sonargaon’s bygone splendour on a walk through Painam Nagar, a ghost village where grand mansions of merchant families stand silently in splendid decay. Moreover, take time for the 30-minute hike to Sadarbari, a magnificent rajbari (Raj-era estate mansion) housing an imposing collection of regional artefacts and folk art. The forest-draped Goaldi Mosque, a fine example of a single-domed pre-Mughal mosque, is one of Bangladesh’s oldest religious sites and a mere 15-minute walk away from Painam Nagar.
Practicalities: Frequent buses run between Sonargaon’s Mograpara bus stand and Dhaka’s Sayedabad bus stand (around two hours). Once there, you can explore the area by foot or rickshaw, and catch an early evening bus back to Dhaka (until 4pm).
Delightful Dhamrai
Home to the last of Bangladesh’s family-run bell-metal casting studios, Dhamrai is a great place to shop for exquisite bronze-ware made by the ancient lost-wax process of sculpting. A handful of studios in this quaint village are keeping the tradition of bell-metal artistry alive; the workshop of Sukanta Banik has the best pieces, ranging from elaborate renditions of Hindu gods such as Vishnu and Durga to ornamental horses and elephants, alongside decorative items such as lampstands, candelabras and wall hangings.
Additionally, Dhamrai also becomes an interesting outing during the Hindu festival of Rath Jatra (June/July). During this auspicious celebration, the village bursts alive with a riotous display of rituals, centered around the giant Jagannath Chariot that is hauled by villagers along Dhamrai’s main street.
Practicalities: To reach Dhamrai, hop on to a local bus from Dhaka (takes about one hour) that will drop you at the road junction leading to the village’s entrance; from there, you can simply explore on foot.
Royal Joydebpur
Immortalised in Bengali folklore as the setting for a major royal scandal in the 1920s, Joydebpur is a leafy sub-divisional settlement located about 30km north of Dhaka. As the story goes, a dead prince (or a near-facsimile impostor) returned to claim his estate after 12 years, triggering a protracted legal case that lasted until 1946.
The infamous Bhawal Rajbari – which was at the centre of proceedings – still stands, and while its interior is now given over to government offices, you can admire the graceful architecture of the mansion from the outside. About 5km north from here is Bhawal National Park, where a patch of forest nurtures a tiny population of peacocks, deer, fishing cats and pythons, providing a tranquil setting for boating, angling and hiking in the woods.
Practicalities: Buses run throughout the day between Dhaka and Joydebpur (around two hours). To visit Bhawal National Park, hire an autorickshaw from Joydebpur for a round trip.
Cultured Comilla
This lively town southwest of Dhaka is home to the atmospheric ruins of Mainimati, an ancient centre for Buddhist culture and learning. Less than 4km out of town are the Mainimati-Lalmai hills, where the landscape is dotted with approximately 50 archaeological sites dating from the 6th to the 13th centuries.
Foremost among these is the grand Salban Vihara, where visitors can explore 115 cavernous cells once used by Buddhist monks, and admire the remnants of fine terracotta reliefs and ornamental brickwork. The site also includes the Mainimati Museum, which features a remarkable collection of terracotta plaques, bronze sculptures, and religious artefacts.
Furthermore, it’s worth checking out the Comilla War Cemetery, which contains the graves of more than 700 soldiers who lost their lives in World War II, during the intense battles that took place in Bangladesh and the Indian northeast.
Practicalities: Semi-deluxe buses connect Comilla to Dhaka in approximately three hours, running throughout the day. Once in Comilla, you can hire an autorickshaw to visit the sights.
By River to Chandpur
This off-beat yet atmospheric day trip involves taking a launch from Dhaka’s Sadarghat ferry pier, and cruising down the Buriganga, Dhaleswari, and Meghna Rivers to reach the riverside town of Chandpur. The journey here is the destination, as the boat ride offers a peaceful window onto the scenic beauty of riverine Bengal and a chance to connect with friendly local passengers.
Keep your camera handy – abundant photo opportunities present themselves, ranging from expansive river vistas to scenes of hulking merchant ships and tiny fishing boats bobbing idly on the water, along with flocks of seabirds chasing after propeller surf in search of an easy meal.
Practicalities: After enjoying lunch and stretching your legs along Chandpur’s riverfront, taking the boat is the best option to return to Dhaka (buses can be unpredictable). You can travel in a simple deck chair or opt for a deluxe cabin. Launches depart hourly from Sadarghat from dawn to dusk, with the journey taking about four hours each way.
