Photography Trip Around Dhaka

$70 per person

A photography trip around Dhaka is way more interesting than anyone can imagine. Bangladesh is a land of stories, and chaotic Dhaka would be a compact of all genres for a photographer.

Venturing into the heart of Old Dhaka, the historical district of Bangladesh’s vibrant capital city is like stepping back in time. Its narrow streets, bustling markets, and ancient architecture exude a unique charm that beckons photographers seeking to capture the essence of this captivating place.

Embarking on a photography trip around Old Dhaka is an immersive experience that unveils a tapestry of cultural heritage and living history. The district is dotted with architectural marvels like the Lalbagh Fort, Ahsan Manzil, and the Armenian Church, each holding stories of a bygone era waiting to be documented.

Wandering through the labyrinthine alleyways, photographers encounter an endless array of captivating scenes. The bustling Sadarghat River Port provides a glimpse into the city’s vibrant riverine life, where wooden boats navigate the Buriganga River against the backdrop of majestic sunsets. The bustling Buriganga River is a rich source of evocative street photography, capturing the daily lives of the hardworking boatmen and merchants who depend on its waters.

The narrow streets of Old Dhaka are a treasure trove of candid moments and unique characters. The fragrant spice markets, vibrant fabric shops, and sizzling street food stalls create a feast for the senses, offering ample opportunities for street and documentary photography. Each corner reveals a new story, as people from diverse backgrounds and professions converge, creating a kaleidoscope of cultures and traditions.

The rich cultural heritage of Old Dhaka is best experienced during festivals like Eid-ul-Fitr, Durga Puja, and Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year). These celebrations infuse the district with an electrifying energy, as the streets come alive with vibrant processions, traditional music, and colorful rituals. Photographers have the chance to capture moments of joy, devotion, and communal harmony during these festivities.

While exploring Old Dhaka, photographers should also make time to engage with the locals. Interacting with the residents and hearing their stories adds depth and authenticity to the visual narrative. The people of Old Dhaka, with their warm hospitality and strong community spirit, can provide invaluable insights into the district’s rich cultural tapestry.

A photography trip around Old Dhaka is a rewarding endeavor that promises a treasure trove of captivating images. It offers an opportunity to explore the intersection of history, culture, and everyday life while honing one’s photographic skills. Whether you’re a professional photographer or an enthusiast, Old Dhaka invites you to discover its hidden gems through the lens, capturing moments that will evoke a sense of wonder for years to come.

Basic Plan
^$ 70
Per person trip price starts from
- 1 PAX – 160
- 2 PAX – 90
- 4 PAX – 80
- 6+ PAX – 70
Book Now!

Day Trip

Dhaka

Old Dhaka

Destination

Photography trip to Bangladesh
Departure

Your hotel/ residence (anywhere in Dhaka city)
Departure Time

Usually at 7:00 AM (5 AM, for sun rising shots, we are flexible adjust timing according to your convenience and interests)
Return Time

7:00 PM or later, depending on your energy and interests.
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 transfers

All entrance fees and local permits

All Museum Tickets

All rickshaw/ cycle / boat / local transports

Bottled water, soft drinks and seasonal fruits during the sightseeing

Expert English-Speaking Guide

Lunch

Trip as per itinerary

Typical Souvenir
Not Included

Accommodation in twin sharing basis as per itinerary

All air, bus, train and launch tickets as per itinerary

Any activity not mentioned in the itinerary.

Dinner

Gratuities

Local guide/ escort/ experts/ academics

Personal expenses

From Our Gallery

Stories are in every step in Dhaka

A photographer will be easily overwhelmed by endless stories in Dhaka

Ahsan Manzil is standing on the bank of Buriganga River

a photographer should not miss Gabtoli terminal and cattle market in dhaka

Chaotic new market in Dhaka should not be missed by any tourists

Bettel is the most common and traditional drug in Bangladesh

Country boat cruise on Burigonga river in Sadarghat

See how a rickshaw can be fully loaded with human and goods

Walking through the Hindu streets of old dhaka

stunning eyes of Bangladeshi Muslim women wearing hijab

Must try the unique Bagorkhani during your trip to old dhaka

nice portrait of a bearded old man in Bangladesh

old dhaka has the best samucha in the world

traditional colorful glass bangels in Bangladesh

Visiting a mish market in Kawran Bazar during old dhaka trip

floating school for brick field workers children in Bangladesh

Country boat fully loaded with water melon on a river near dhaka

Tour Itinerary:

Your guide and driver will come to pick you up from your hotel/ residence and drive to Karwan Bazar, a centrally located wholesale market in Dhaka. This is a very colourful, vibrant and happening place. Morning is the perfect time to roam around to catch the rhythmic chaos. This is a good place to see the colours of the typical market of Dhaka as well as businesses activities and life around.

A wonderful walk along the railway track township is recommended by Kawran Bazar, also interesting to see how the people ride on the roof of the train at Tejgaon Train Station. If you want, we can also visit a daycare centre for the babies of the workers.

Continue driving towards Gabtali Bus terminal to visit a bricks factory on the other side of the river. Manual efforts are the main engine to run such factories, and the workers are mostly seasonal migrant labours from the coastal and other rural areas of Bangladesh. Most of the worker comes with their family and children to work and stay at the factory premises. Man and women work side by side, the older child looks after, the younger brother and sister of the family or picks some entry-level jobs at the same factory, which means no education. Thus much innocent life doesn’t get any chance to change their life.

There are many ships always in the queue to be unloaded of various goods they have carried from far ways different parts of Bangladesh. The goods are stone, coals, sand or cement materials. Again, it’s the human effort to unload from the boat and load them into the trucks or pile them at a certain place.

Drive through the Gabtali embankment towards Sadarghat, and we will spend the rest of the day in these areas. Photowalk of this area will be through Kamrangir Char, recycling industries, Sadarghat river port, shipbuilding yards, local garments factories, Dholaikhal old motor parts markets, spice markets, typical old Dhaka residential area and most famous food streets. Kamrangir Char is one of the most established slums in Dhaka. After the walk around the Kamrangir Char and recycling areas, embark on a country boat for about an hour cruise on the Burigonga river and disembark by the Ship Building yard. Incredibly skilled workers are at shipbuilding by hand, farming and primary structure are made with bamboo, and the metal takes place one after another. After visiting a local garments factory, take a boat again to cross the river and walk along with the spice market and one of the most older quarters of Dhaka. It will be mostly a lot of street walks during the trip today. If you are allowed by the time, your guide will lead you through Dholaikhal Automobile Recycling and the old parts market area, Shakhari Bazar, Tanti Bazar Hindu street and Bongshal.

Light lunch will be served at a local restaurant in a convenient location in Old Dhaka. Or maybe, depending on the time and your photographic enthusiasm, we may offer you a fruit lunch to cover more places. We are always flexible even to reschedule the program according to your wish, so the trip is even more interesting. You are welcome to share your ideas/genres or any specific interests. You will be arriving home in the early evening.

[We also offer golden light photography tours on request. In that case,, pick up time would be between 4:30 AM-5:00 AM, depending on the location of your hotel and the first place we will go for sunrise shoots]

A solo photographer can also do this trip by motorbike.

Tour Location

Location of this tour will be on the spot decided according to your interested genre of photography.

Comments:

Natasa G

June 13, 2015 at 6:24 pm

a rare find!
Jun 2015 • Couples
Royal Bengal Tours is a rare find in the area as it is not so easy to get professinal tour operator in the area. Wheter a lone traveler or on a professional trip in Bangladesh, especially in Dhaka, you will find your service there.
Verberckt D

June 17, 2015 at 6:27 pm

Multi-Day reporting and leisure visiting
Jun 2015 • Solo
Extremely professional services in terms of efficiency and achieved results. Excellent field knowledge, fully used to work with journalists and having a great flexibility while getting things done in a tight timeframe.

Also very knowledgeable of the city and country for offering relaxing recreational pauses.

Very competitive prices for tourist, traveller or professional alike.

Beside being fabulous persons to discover the chosen tours, they are a valuable source of information about the country and its people. Any part of the country can be explored due to an excellent network throughout the country.

Thank you for the great work and time.
NS NG

December 12, 2016 at 2:06 pm

Photography tour of Dhaka
Dec 2016 • Friends
Two of us who are keen photographers decided to travel to Dhaka for a 4-day photographic trip. We discussed the itinerary with Jewel and we left him to decide for us the places we should visit. The places we visited included Sadarghat, Old Dhaka, ship building yard, market places, brick factory, Bihari slum, Kanchpur area to photograph labourers unl;oading coal and sand, etc. The human interests in these places and many others represent a part of Dhaka where many tourists might not see. All in we were very happy for Jewel to guide us and show us the places with great human interests. We will definitely use him again should be go back to Bangladesh
Arild H | Trondheim, Norway

January 4, 2017 at 2:01 pm

Great guide with photo skills
Jan 2017 • Business
I have had the pleasure to use Jewel from Royal Bengal Tours at two different occasions, both tailormade “photo safaris” into the daily life of Dhaka. Both times gave maximum value for money and time. Having very limited time available, Jewel managed to arrange the tours in a way that gave me great photo opportunities and experiences in general in a very efficient way. He is knowledgeable and pleasant to be with, and he understands the photographer angle. I will use him the next time as well!
Kristian B | Sofia, Bulgaria

February 1, 2018 at 1:30 pm

Old Dhaka with an expert guide
Feb 2018 • Solo
I have contacted Royal Bengal Tours for an organized half day photography tour of old Dhaka. I had the chance to be the only candidate for this day a bit out of season, and I benefited from the whole availability of Jewel, whose name is not by chance. This guy loves his city, knows everything about it, speaks excellent English and has the rare talent to understand the type of person he has in front. He discussed in advance all his proposals for the itinerary and he shaped for me the perfect tour for stunning images of the colorful reality of this devastating city. Strongly recommended!
Vincent D

July 9, 2018 at 1:18 pm

A great day in Dhaka
Jul 2018 • Solo
I recently had a great day exploring Dhaka with Jewel. He was an excellent, patient, well informed and very engaged guide. He took me to places I would never have found or ventured into on my own. He was very knowledgeable and very good company. His English is excellent and he has a good sense of humour.

I would most certainly arrange future trips with Jewel and would highly recommend him to any going to Bangladesh.

He made a great effort to ensure I got want I wanted – which he did very successfully.
Munchkinette | Oxford

December 9, 2018 at 12:48 pm

Excellent!
Dec 2018 • Solo
Had a fantastic photography tour with Mithur as my guide. He was great – not only a photographer, so very understanding of what I’d like to see, but also extremely knowledgeable. We didn’t just photograph people, Mithur spoke to them about themselves which opened my eyes as to how hard people work for little money. The market, the brick factory, the coal boats and the shipyard were all fascinating. Who knew there were so many types of aubergine?! Thoroughly recommended! Wear closed shoes.
Lynda | santamonicaMom90402 Santa Monica, California

March 2, 2019 at 11:26 am

A+++++ UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE // BEST GUIDE EVER
Review of Royal Bengal Tours
Reviewed March 2, 2019
Royal Bengal Tours is my go to guide for Bangladesh. I visit every year. The staff communicates immediately when I submit my travel dates. The customer service, and meeting my expectations are outstanding.
I am a photographer and the guides accommodated my demanding schedule for sunrise and sunset times and places. I can’t say enough great things about this Bangladesh travel company.
bklyntraveler395 | Brooklyn, NY8

March 8, 2019 at 11:23 am

Amazing day in Dhaka
Mar 2019
Jewel of Royal Bengal Tours took three of us on a private walking tour of markets, railway tracks, ferries, and food treats in and around Old Dhaka. He is an experienced guide who knows and deeply loves the city, and it is a joy to get to see Dhaka like a local with him. He completely shaped the tour around our interests, made sure we got to take plenty of photos, helped us talk with people on the street, and in general made it a wonderful day. I can’t recommend him more highly.

Photography Trip Around Dhaka