What to see around Dhaka

Attractions in and around Dhaka;

Sadarghat (Riverfront): “If all the rivers of Bangladesh were the road, then Sadarghat would be the main bus terminal”, this port is very well connected to all parts of the country through the river. About 200 large and small passenger launches (motorized boats) & 40,000 people depart and arrive at the terminal every day. At this place the scene of hundreds of taxi boats laden with passengers and merchandise crossing the river is fascinating. A panoramic view of the busiest river from the roof of a waiting ship would make your day.

Lalbagh Fort: Foundation was started in 1678 A.D. by Prince Mohammad Azam, son of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb who was the then Viceroy of undivided Bengal. As per early illustrations, the Burigonga River flowed right in front of the southern gate. Three main buildings are the main attractions of this fort today, the tomb of Bibi Pori in the centre, a small mosque on the western side, governor’s former residence to the left which also contains an audience hall. This fort has been converted into a small museum containing some Mughal-era artifacts.

Ahsan Manzil (Pink Palace): Located on the north bank of the Buriganga river in Dhaka an example of the nation’s rich cultural heritage and holds a small collection of one of Dhaka’s oldest aristocrat families. The palace first served as a government trading center. Lord Curzon, the former British Viceroy of India, used to stay here when visited Dhaka. Afterward, it was sold to the Nawab family of Dhaka mid-19th century and was converted into a private residence. Today’s restored Ahsan Manzil is a monument of immense historical beauty and is very famous to the locals for hangout. It is now converted into a museum and has 23 galleries in 31 rooms displaying portraits, furniture household articles, and utensils used by the Nawab families.

Star Mosque: The most endearing feature of this 19th-century masjid is its mosaic dictation. The inside and outside of this mosque is decorated with mosaic. Small chips of Chinaware-plate, cup etc., and pieces of colorful glass have been used for mosaic. Beautiful flower vases, flower branches, rosset, crescents, stars, and Arabic calligraphic writing have been used in the decoration of the mosque. All over the mosque, the motif of stars dominates the decoration, and the lady who donated the land for the mosque was called Sitara-Banu, which means ‘Star’ in English and Tara in Bengali, so the mosque is called the Star Mosque (Tara Masjid).

Armenian Church: The Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection, located on church road in Armanitola, is named after the Armenian Colony which settled here in the early 18th century. It was built in 1781 by Bishop Ephraim, on the ruins of an earlier chapel and later in 1837. Nowadays the church is a rare oasis of peace and tranquility inside Old Dhaka, and masses are held during Easter and Christmas. There is a chapel with a broad balcony upstairs, and a cemetery housing the graves of several Armenians who died here.

Dhakeshwari Hindu Temple: The national and most prominent Hindu temple at Dhaka from which a popular legend ascribes the origin of the city. The 11th-century temple is also known as the oldest Hindu temple in the city. Situated at the point where the most ancient fortifications meet with the new and vibrant city of Dhaka. The temple is regularly used for various events, including day-long prayers which are common practice in Bangladesh on national holidays and birth & death anniversaries and wedding ceremonies.

Curzon Hall: One of the best examples of Dhaka’s brick architecture & a happy blend of European and Mughal elements, particularly noticeable in the projecting facade in the north which has both horse-shoe and cusped arches. It is now the science department of the University of Dhaka was meant to be a town hall and was named after Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, who laid its foundation in 1904.

National Art Gallery: Situated in the Shilpakala Academy premises, represents a collection of folk art and paintings by Bangladeshi artists.

Rickshaw Painting: Dhaka is also a city of rickshaws, human paddled with bamboo, and wooden crafts on a metal frame, which usually looked very colorful with the famous painting all around. It looks very beautiful for painting and colorful paper wrapped around the body and the painting is a very creative task for a rickshaw maker. It is always the reflection of the painter’s dream on the back of the tin sheet and the frame of the body. The painting subject could be natural scenery, film posters, animals, or religion. The artist’s choice and test may differ due to the regional cultural influences on the painter’s mind. The Rickshaw painting industry is in an alarming situation due to Modern technology and developments. It is worth having a piece of rickshaw painting as a souvenir while visiting Bangladesh. There are only two painters alive and living in Dhaka city, unfortunately, they both are in critical health situations at present. We can help you to get one before they are all finished.

National Memorial: Located at Savar, about 35 km north-west of the capital city, was built to commemorate the millions killed in the struggle for the country’s independence in 1971. The monument is composed of seven isosceles triangular pyramid-shaped structures, representing the seven different conflicts that happened during the Pakistan period, between 1952 to 1971. This amazing architecture seems to change its configuration from different angles. Jahangirnagar University and its sprawling campus is also located nearby, which is a paradise bird watcher over the winter, some magnificent architecture of famous Bangladeshi architect Muzharul Islam, still stands on the University campus.

Sonargaon: The first capital of east Bengal, about 29 km southeastern direction from Dhaka. The historic Sonargaon means “Golden Town”. From the 13th to 17th century it was the capital of the Muslim rulers of East Bengal where a mint was also set up. Panam City was the center of the upper-middle-class Hindu Merchants of Sonargaon. It was an important center for the manufacture of the finest muslin, cotton cloth, and different types of jute products in India. That reigning king was Isa Khan Masnad-i- Ala who, along with his daring son Musa Khan, were among the most powerful Bara-Bhuiyans of Bengal. In 1608, with the establishment of Dhaka as the provincial Mughal capital of Bengal, its fame for excellent cotton fabric continued undiminished until foreign competition ruined its trade. The golden city of the past, for a few decades Sonargaon was like a ghost town in which the atmosphere of the Hindu zamindars (Landlords) lingers among the old mosques, rajbari, and architecture that survived the decline. Still, you will find much to see here, well-maintained Folk Art Museum, Panam Nagar, and Goaldi Mosque area worth visiting.

Other please to check out In&And around Dhaka:

Old high Court Building,  Boro Katra, Choto Katra, Sat Masjid (Seven Dome Mosque), Khan Md Mridha Mosque, Suhrawardy Uddyan, Shahid Minar (Martyr’s Monument), Liberation War Museum, National Museum, Dhamarajikha Buddhist Monastery, Intellectual Martyr’s Monument, Bagabandhu Seikh Mujib Museum, Bhasani Navotheater, National Botanical Gardens, Dhaka Zoo.

 Shopping / Place to buy a souvenir, handicrafts: Bangladesh is indeed shopper’s paradise with a rich tradition in handicrafts at throw away prices. While muslin of Dhaka has gone into history, other products as cotton, silk, jute, wood, contemporary paintings, gold, silver, brassware, leather goods, traditional dolls, and readymade garments also received deep appreciation from around the world  over the past centuries. In addition, Bangladesh are famous for pink pearl. Most of the shopping center around the diplomatic zone (Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara) are fixed price shop having verity of women and men’s traditional and western wear. If you want to try the rest of the malls, good luck with your bargaining capability. New Market, the oldest shopping complex located at chaotic and south-western part of the city, mostly to cater the needs of the population of Dhaka City but it is now attracting shoppers even from outskirts. . One of the unique features of Dhaka New Market is shopping at open air and in a spacious atmosphere. Any of the three high arched gate will lead you to organized rows of shops for books & stationery, watches, clocks & spectacles, leather goods & travel kits, grocery shops, clothes, jewellery, electrical equipment/ tools, there are few service shops of tailoring, fast food, photography, camera reaper shop etc. Recommended for a short visit to tourists, you could not stop looking around.

Aarong: Arguably Bangladesh’s most famous brand; Aarong belong to the world largest NGO call BRAC, which was founded by a Bangladeshi, features clothing and home décor items among its constantly evolving inventory. Aarong has its journey in 1978 and quickly grew into one of the country’s most beloved and renowned brands. A fair trade ethos is embraced and all profits are channelled back into NGO’s support programs. There are many outlets in different areas of Dhaka as well as some other prominent cities, it’s easy to take home a piece of authentic Bangladesh folk craft!

Traditional patterns and materials are mated with a modern sensibility to create products that are attractive, vibrant and timeless. Choose from clothes, bags, shoes, toys, rugs and much more. A limited collection of nakshi kantha items including women’s wear and wall hangings are available. Nakshi kantha is a traditional and free hand embroidered quilt made of discarded clothing, but Aarong’s versions are stitched with new material, Designs are very much based on vintage motifs. Jatra & Arannya @ Kamal Ataturk Avenue, Road 11 in Banani both side full of local boutique shops are also recommended to check out.

Transportation from and to Dhaka

Road

Dhaka has a very good connection to the other parts of the country through highway and railway links. Five (N1, N2, N3, N5 and N8) of the eight major national highways of the country starts from Dhaka. This City is also directly connected to three longest routes of Asian Highway Network– AH1, AH2 and AH41 route. Dhaka also has highway links to the Indian cities of Kolkata, Agartala, Guwahati and Shillong. At present, an elevated expressway system is under construction, which would run from Shahjalal International Airport-Kuril-Banani-Mohakhali-Tejgaon-Shaatrasta – Moghbazar Rail Crossing-Khilgaon – Kamalapur – Golapbagh to Dhaka-Chittagong Highway at Kutubkhali Point. Second elevated expressway from Airport-Ashulia is currently undergoing feasibility study. There are 3 inter-district bus terminals in Dhaka, located at Mohakhali, Saidabad and Gabtoli.

Hopping that the arrival of MRT and a BRT would bring a good solution traffic congestion of this city. Cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws are the major mode of transport within metro area besides the public buses and other transports, about 5/6 hundred thousand rickshaw runs each day out of 7/8 hundred thousand rickshaws. Rickshaw transportation is relatively low-cost and environmentally friendly. The authority has overseen the replacement of two-stroke engine auto rickshaws with “Green auto-rickshaws” locally called CNG, runs on local compressed natural gas.

The Public buses are operated by state owned Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and by good numbers of private companies. Ride-sharing services like Uber, Pathao, Scooters, and privately owned cars are popular mode of transportation beside. Limited numbers of Taxis are also to be seen, subsequently It will be uplifted to 18,000 soon.

Air 

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (IATA: DAC, ICAO: VGHS), is the largest and busiest international airport in the country, located 15 kilometers north of Dhaka city center. The airport has a capacity of handling 15 million passengers annually within 1,981 acres (802 ha) of land area. Predicted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh to be enough until 2026. This airport has handled 6.1 million passengers, and 248,000 tons of cargo in 2014. An average air traffic movement per day is around 190 flights. It is the hub of all Bangladeshi airlines and domestic service flies to Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Cox’s Bazar, Jessore, Barisal, Saidpur. International services fly to major cities in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Rail

Kamalapur railway station is the central, largest and busiest among all railway stations in the city. Designed by an American architect Robert Boughey, it is situated in the north-eastern side of Motijheel, founded in the early 1960s and came into operation from 1969. State-owned Bangladesh Railway (BR) provides suburban and national services, and Dhaka – Kolkata international rail travel services by Maitree Express for the nations of both countries. Dhaka is very well connected with major cities – Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Rangpur by Regular express train services. Southern parts of Bangladesh soon to be under the Railway network, once the Ganges River Bridge construction is done.

In 2013, suburban services to Narayanganj and Gazipur cities were upgraded using diesel electric multiple unit trains. The Dhaka Metro Rail/ MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) feasibility study has been completed. A 20.1 kilometers (12.5 mi), $1.7 Billion Phase 1. Italian-Thai Development Public Company Ltd. and Sinohydro Corporation Ltd. has been doing all the civil works. Depot’s land is developing by JV and a Tokyo-based construction company.

First route of MRT will start from Uttara, northern suburb of Dhaka to Sayedabad, southern section of Dhaka. The route consists of 16 elevated stations each of 180m long. Construction has begun on 26 June 2016.

Waterways

Sadarghat River Port is the main river station in the city, located at the very southern part of Dhaka city, standing on the banks of Buriganga River serves for the transport of goods and passengers upriver and to other ports of the country. Inter-city and inter-district motor vessels and passenger-ferry services are used by many people to travel riverine regions of Bangladesh from the Dhaka. There are some passenger’s water bus services available on Buriganga River on Sadarghat to Gabtoli route back and forth. Hatirjheel and Gulshan Lakes has recently launched some passengers’ taxis services and provide connectivity between Tejgaon – Gulshan and Tejgaon and Rampura areas.