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Architecture Tour of Bangladesh
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Architecture Tour of Bangladesh is a unique interactive tour program for architects and people passionate about architecture, art, culture and nature. While visiting an architecture site, visitors often forget the life and culture around the site. This trip is the perfect blend of architecture, people and their fascinating culture. We named this trip “a journey through the living architecture of Bangladesh.”
We are the first and only operator to offer this trip once a year in October. This tour requires a lot of permission from the government, private organizations, and individuals for site visits and interactive sessions. Bangladesh has developed a highly prolific contemporary architecture scene in the course of a few decades, which is unknown to the world. This tour presents a variety of architectural senses of Bangladesh from different periods and orientations of local life, culture, nature, politics and history. Therefore, Architect participants would always be our first priority for this trip, and we want to keep the group size smaller.
A spectacular body of work has arisen, which can easily stand the comparison to the architectural creation in the West, both in terms of its quality, versatility and originality. The fact is, the world hardly knows any! Architectural establishments from Bangladesh rarely get published in Western architectural magazines, books, and even online.
A stunning building by a Western architect: Louis Kahn’s National Assembly Building in Dhaka, has brought an exception to this rule. This building is one of the great mythical masterpieces of 20th-century modernism, world-famous and yet visited by only a few. But maybe at least as interesting as the building itself is the cultural dialectics out of which it emerged and how it eventually empowered the unfolding of contemporary Bangladeshi architecture.
We are the pioneer in accomplishing some unique architecture tours in collaboration with the Swiss Architecture Museum under the leadership of Architect Niklaus Grabber (former professor of ETH, Zürich). We were lucky to be a part of various national and international architectural research and exhibition over the last few years. ‘Bengal Stream – the vibrant architectural sense of Bangladesh‘ is one of the remarkable exhibitions that took place in Switzerland (2017-18), French (2018-19) and Germany (2019) and Bangladesh (December 2022). Since then, we have invited many European architects and have traveled through the noble of architecture and fascinating culture of Bangladesh.
We could never achieve this alone without the encompass support of the local architectural community from every aspect. Their dedication and understanding of Bangladesh’s architectural tourism development have been the main energy behind the efforts of this trip. This tour requires a lot of special permits, attention and participation from renowned Bangladeshi architects and many notable characters of different levels. Therefore, we would like to dedicate this trip only to the worldwide architectural community.
As the world is changing every moment, the itinerary of this trip will not be the same every year. The published itinerary on our website is more of a rough travel plan to have an idea about the trip. And the per-person trip price will also vary from the total number of participants, type of hotels and all other subsequent services involved according to the latest trip itinerary of the applicable year.
The signup ceremony for this trip will end a minimum of three months before the trip departure dates. Participants must sign up by depositing $500 as soon as they have decided to join this trip, and our team will coordinate all other necessary information from time to time, along with the minimum and maximum trip costs range without the international flights.
This is not only a trip, but a very special ceremony for architects around the world to get together in Bangladesh for new learnings…
Day 1: Welcome to Bangladesh
Meet and greet your guide on arrival at the airport. Your guide will offer you a city orientation according to the available daylight. Night stay at a hotel in Dhaka.
Day 2: Surfing through the architectures of Muzharul Islam, Kashef Mahbub Chowdhury, Marina Tabassum, Konstantinos Doxiadis, Richard Edwin Vrooman, Ehsan Khan, Bob Buie, Daniel Dunham, and Bashirul Haq.
Day 3: Muzharul Islam – Pioneer of Bengali Modernism. The Capitol complex of Louis I Kahn, and the wonderful brick architecture of Nahas Ahmed Khalil and Raziul Ahsan.
Day 4: Paul Rudolph, Richard Neutra and Muzharul Islam’s Architecture in Mymensingh.
Day 5: Railway workshop, Anna Heringer’s rural development project in the North-western region, most beautiful brick terracotta architecture on a Hindu Temple. Night stay at an NGO place designed by Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury influenced by an ancient Buddhist archaeological site.
Day 6: Country boat trip on Brahmaputra River, Chars (shifting river islands), people, agriculture and Raised Settlement by Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury.
Day 7: Ancient and modern architecture of the Bogra region; a UNESCO world heritage site, the first city from the 3rd century B.C.; and a project of architect Saif Ul Haque and Tigerman.
Day 8: Puthia temple complex and traditional silk process of Rajshahi.
Day 9: Experience a train journey to Khulna through beautiful landscapes. Late in the afternoon embarking on an adventurous trip to Sundarbans Mangrove Forest.
Day 10: Sundarbans – Forest between Land and Sea
Day 11: Sundarbans – The Beautiful Forest
Day 12: Living with Tides and Tigers – People of the Sundarbans Forest. Disembark in Mongla and continue exploring Bagerhat’s UNESCO World Heritage Site and driving to Barisal.
Day 13: Backwater trip in Barishal and overnight ferry journey to Dhaka
Day 14: Mingling and bargaining; fascinating shopping experience and a cultural evening.
Day 15: We will say goodbye to meet again.
This itinerary is just a starting point. You can tailor it to your specific interests and preferences. We can squeeze the architecture tour into a couple of days and stretch it up to a 20-day-long excursion filled with architecture and culture side by side.
- $ 0
monthly
15 Days
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Destination
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Dress Code
Casual, comfortable athletic clothing, closed shoes, hat. Warm jacket during the winter (November to February). Raincoat/ umbrella during the rainy season (May to August). Full sleeves are always necessary while visiting any religious place, mosque, temple, church or a trip during Ramadan. -
Included
AC vehicle with experienced chauffeur for sightseeing and transfersAccommodation in twin sharing basis as per itineraryAll air, bus, train and launch tickets as per itineraryAll entrance fees and local permitsAll Museum TicketsAll rickshaw/ cycle / boat / local transportsBottled water, soft drinks and seasonal fruits during the sightseeingExpert English-Speaking GuideLocal guide/ escort/ experts/ academicsLunchTrip as per itineraryTypical Souvenir -
Not Included
Any activity not mentioned in the itinerary.DinnerGratuitiesPersonal expenses
From Our Gallery
Not a trip, truly a vibrant architectural scene of Bangladesh
Come for a cultural exchange
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Day 1: Welcome to Bangladesh
Upon arrival at Dhaka International airport, Meet and greet your guide and transfer to the hotel for refreshments. Your guide will offer a city walk around Kanwar Bazar, Hatirjheel Lake in the afternoon. Late afternoon visits to the Home and studio of architect Bashirul Haq and some of his creations. Depending on the group size, accommodation would be arranged at Ambrosia guest house or at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.
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Day 2: Old Capital, Jamdani Saree weaving and a short river cruise by local country boat.
Leave Dhaka after breakfast at 8:00 AM for Sonargaon – the first capital of Bengal. On the way, we shall take our first stop in Nawapara Jamdani village. This is where the magic fingers are at weaving traditional Jamdani sari, which is an incredible artwork with a narrow future due to the cheaper productions of modern technology. Continue drive to the old capital of Bengal – Sonargaon; Panam Nagar, beautiful Sadarbari, well-maintained Folk-Art Museum are well worth visiting. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant. Continue to Buiddyer Bazar for a refreshing country boat cruise on the Meghna (One of the major rivers in Bangladesh) River for a couple of hours. This river trip will include an interesting walk to explore the primitive Char village life. Char is a temporary sandy shifting island formed by river erosion and sedimentation. There are thousands of chars in Bangladesh up from the northern part till to the south coast. Life on the Char is minimal; access to the medical care centre and education is very tough, impossible in some areas. You will return to your hotel by late in the afternoon.
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Day 3: Architecture and Architect Day around Central Dhaka
Today's visit will include some remarkable buildings of Architect Muzharul Islam, Kashef Mahbub Chowdhury and Marina Tabassum around the Shahbag and Ramna Park area. Dhaka Art School, Department of fine art, central library complex, TSC Building, Curzon Hall, BUET Campus, Mohila Samity Complex, if time permits; Kamalapur Railway Station and BCIC building of B. Haque.
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Day 4: Muzharul Islam - Pioneer of Bengali modernism
Morning visit to Kahn central Hospital and Capitol complex by L.I.Kahn, Muzharul Islam's building, SOS Youth Village, Herman Gmeiner School. Afternoon visits to the IAB building.
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Day 5: City Tour of old Dhaka and Burigonga River
Old Dhaka Tour in the morning, New Market, Lalbag Fort and Burigonga River. Meeting local architects in the Dhanmondi area in the afternoon.
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Day 6: Muzharul Islam, Paul Rudolph and Richard Neutra's Architecture around Mymensingh
Leave Dhaka at 4:30 AM for Mymensingh by reserved vehicle. Visit Muzharul Islam, Paul Rudolph and Richard Neutra buildings and Community-Based Medical College building in and around Mymensingh town. Late afternoon drive to Gazipur for overnight stay at Bhawal Resort.
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Day 7: Modern Architecture for Rural Development
After an early breakfast, leave the hotel/ resort at 8 AM for Loom Shed (about an hour drive) and Aga Khan Award-winning Mosque in Gazipur. We may have a chance to visit a modern garments factory in the same area. Continue driving towards Savar to visit Muzharul Islam's buildings in Jahangirnagar University. Arcadia School of Saif U Haque is only an hour driving distance. Overnight stay at a hotel in Uttara.
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Day 8: Leave Dhaka for Anna Heringer around the North-western parts of Bangladesh
After an early breakfast, you will be transferred to the domestic airport to avail 7:30 AM flight to Saidpur. Upon arrival at Saidpur, avail of the reserved vehicle and drive Kantanagar Hindu temple – the finest example of ancient brick terracotta architecture in Bangladesh. Continue the journey through a beautiful landscape of the country to Anna's School in Rudrapur. We will now have a long and worthy drive (4h) to the Friendship Centre in Gaibandha. Overnight stay at the centre.
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Day 9: Architecture for Char development; Friendship Centre and Raised Settlements
It is beautiful to walk around the centre just before sunrise. Soon after breakfast at 8 AM, we will take a local rickshaw/ auto-rickshaw (20 Minutes) from the centre to a nearby river station for a daylong country boat cruise on Brahmaputra (Jamuna) River. You will be visiting the raised settlements (by Kashef M Chowdhury), Char villages and some schools around the Char. Overnight stay in Gaibandha.
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Day 10: Ancient and modern architectures of Bogra
Leave the centre/ hotel after breakfast at 8 AM by reserved car for Bogra (2 hours). House of Orient would be our first stop. Exploration continues through Mohasthangarh, the oldest Hindu City and nearby Vasu Bihar. We would slightly be in a rush to visit the SOS youth village, Tigerman and Muzharul Islam's buildings and if time permits to visit Community Centre by B.Haque. Overnight stay at a hotel in Bogra.
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Day 11: Highest Buddhist Stupa south of Himalaya and Housing by M. Islam
Leave the hotel after breakfast at 8:30 AM for Paharpur Archeological site. A local family will serve lunch at a nearby village. Continue driving towards the Joypurhat housing project of M. Islam. Drive to Saidpur Airport to avail a flight (ETD 4:50 PM) to Dhaka. Night stay at the same hotel in Uttara.
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Day 12: Welcome to Sundarban
Morning flight to Jessore; visit the Panigram project, Banchte Shekha Bricks building in Jessore. Continue drive for 3 hours to Khulna and embark on the houseboat for Sundarban nature trip for tew days. Soon after completing your boarding, the boat will start its cruise towards the south and anchor at a forest station for an overnight stay and complete necessary forest permission formalities and pick up some forest armed guards to accompany us throughout the trip.
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Day 13: Sundarbans – Forest between Land and Sea
Depending on the tides, the ship will resume its cruise towards the south until the coast of the Bay of Bengal, where we will be doing most of our forest activities. Before the sun sets, you will explore a narrow mangrove channel in a small rowboat to get a glimpse of the mangrove flora & fauna. Overnight and all meals onboard.
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Day 14: Sundarbans – The Beautiful Forest
After an early morning excursion on the small boat, you are invited to join an easy hike along the sea-facing beach. With the Bay of Bengal on one side and the jungle on the other, it becomes apparent how seasonal and climate-induced changes shape this ever-changing forest. The boat will meet you on the other end of the walk near the Kotka Forest Station. This is the ranger station in the Eastern Sanctuary, one of the three Sundarbans sanctuaries with UNESCO World Heritage Site recognition. A silent evening boat ride will allow you to get a closer look at some of the wildlife inhabiting the biologically most diverse mangrove forest in the world: overnight and all meals onboard.
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Day 15: Living with Tides and Tigers – People of the Sundarbans Forest
After the early morning exploratory boat trip, the ship will start cruising north through the mangrove forest. You will have the opportunity to observe fisherfolk at work in the channels using various fish, crab and shrimp catching gear. If time permits, you should not miss the chance to visit one of the communities along the forest fringes highly dependent on the Sundarbans resources. Overnight and all meals onboard.
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Day 16: Bagerhat – City of Past Glory
After breakfast on board, you will disembark at Mongla and travel by road to Bagerhat. The Historic Mosque City of Bagerhat is an ancient city, formerly known as Khalifatabad, founded by the Turkish general Ulugh Khan Jahan in the 15th century. Bagerhat contains some of the most significant buildings of the initial period of the development of the Muslim architecture of Bengal. After visiting the famed sixty-domed mosque (UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the mausoleum of Khan Jahan Ali, you will continue the scenic drive to Barishal by reserved vehicle and visit Kashef's Mosque in Agarpur on the way. Overnight stay at a hotel in Barishal.
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Day 17: Backwater trip in Barishal and overnight launch/ Paddle Steamer to Dhaka
We will drive (40Km) to Banaripara by reserved transport. Here we embark on a country boat for rural life, experiencing a backwater channel cruise. Exploring life, people and their daily activities along the shore are charming. We will get off in some interesting village marketplaces and Schools in rural areas. There are some weekly floating vegetables, fruits, and timber markets on our route to explore. Thrilling to see how the manual labours load and unload all the giants' logs by hand and shoulder. The cruise is for 4/5 hours, but the impression is endless. Drive back to Barisal same way by reserved car to visit Muzharul Islam and Tigerman's buildings in the town before you avail the late afternoon/ overnight Rocket Paddle steamer (ETD 6 PM)/ regular ship (ETD 7-8:30 PM) to Dhaka. Overnight and dinner on board.
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Day 18: New Dhaka Walk
Explore some buildings around around Gulshan, Banani; Slum upgrading (Karail Basti), Gulshan Society Mosque, Aakash Prodwip Tower, Comfort Revery, City Plaza, Playpen School and Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Faidabad.
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Day 19: Mingling and bargaining
On your last day, we suggest a visit to the busy different market area, where everything from readymade garments to jewellery, saris, household items, books and art supplies are also sold nicest fair trade and women's cooperative stores that sell a beautiful array of locally and sustainably produced handicrafts.
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Day 20: We will say goodbye to meet again.
You will be transferred to the airport according to your departure time to avail flight back to your home.
Tour Location
Dhaka, Mymensingh, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Gaibandha, Bogra, Paharpur, Jessore, Sundarbans, Bagerhat, Barisal, Sonargaon
Rolf Meier | Switzerland
Two weeks guided tour on modern architecture in Dhaka and Northern Bangladesh
May 2018 • Solo
Jewel was a fantastic guide who tried to fullfill all our wishes. From morning untill night he organised all he could to show us as much as possible of his country. He did everything trying to let us also enter private housing. The programm was very tight but he always stayed in a good mood, did everything he could. He was very helpful in any way. The hapiness of his klients is very important to him.
I can recommend him very strongly and actually hope to get back to Bangladesh one day. Surely I will then ask him to be my guide again.
Walter K | Basel, Switzerland
An unforgettable travel
Feb 2019 • Friends
Our trip to Bangladesh focussed on modern architecture such as the famous National Parliament by Louis I Kahn, the prominent buildings of Muzharul Islam, the «founding father» of modern architecture in the young country (founded in 1971) and other eminent buildings of widely acknowledged local architects such as Basharul Haq . Our trip was organised and guided by Jewel’s Royal Bengal Tours. Thanks to Jewel we got to visit all impressive architectural sights in Dhaka we had planned to see and several other places in the countryside such as the « friendship center » near Gaibanda, the Agricultural University in Mymensing and more. Jewel and his driver Mobarak guided us safely and patiently through the heavy and noisy traffic and the beautiful landscapes (ricefields) . We had a great time in Bangladesh and learned a lot about the country. Our last days we spent on a boat in the beautiful Sunderban region at the board of the Indian ocean with its rich vegetation and fauna. Jewel is not only a very skilled and experienced guide but also a wonderful and caring person and friend. Thanks to him our trip was a great success and an unforgettable experience. We highly recommend his services to everyone who is interested to get to know the many jewels of Bangladesh!
Our Group “Louis Kahn for ever” from Switzerland (5 persons)
Regine Aeppli
Thrilling Bangladesh
Feb 2019 • Friends
Our trip to Bangladesh focused on modern architecture such as the famous National Parliament by Louis I. Kahn, the prominent buildings of Muzharul Islam, the „founding father“ of modern architecture in Bangladesh, and other prominent contemporary architects like Basharul Haq whom we had the chance to meet. Our trip was organized and guided by Jewel‘s Royal Bengal Tours. There was nothing Jewel wouldn’t do for us as long as it fitted into our travelling plans. He guided us to the many places of of architectural interest not only in Dhaka but also in the countryside for instance to „the friendship center“ near Gaibanda, the Agricultural University in Mymensingh with its large buildings by Robert Neutra, Paul Rudolph and Muzharul Islam. Everything Jewel did was very well prepared and of great interest for us. He and his excellent young driver Mobarak showed us their country and guided us safely through heavy traffic and noisy places while we sat peacefully in the back of the car enjoying what there was to see – among others the beautiful green landscapes and rice fields. The last days of our visit we spent in the Sunderbans at the shore of the Indian Ocean where we were looking for Bengal Tigers. Yet they were not hungry for us, they only left their footprints in the sand. – It was a wonderful and extraordinary trip. Not only did we find great architecture in Bangladesh but also gained a good friend – Jewel! We are very greatful for this unique experience. And we can recommend him to everybody who is interested to learn about Bangladesh. Thanks a lot, dear Jewel and good luck with your upcoming tours and your business.