Destinations in Bangladesh – the northeast. About wetlands, rainforest, tea and holy men.

The city is considered the tea capital of the country and is located in the middle of the largest and most beautiful tea plantations in the world. A walk through it – which covers over 54,000 hectares – is a duty here, where the air with the aroma of tea, pineapple and lemon plantations is impregnated! Even today tea is the heart of the area. Approximately 60,000 tonnes are produced annually. One half is drunk in the country itself, the other half is exported. Srimangal is one of the deepest tea cultivation areas in the world and one of the hottest. Tea prefers higher and cooler areas, so the extensive plantations are always planted with trees. The idyllic area is perfect for biking.
Train trip to Srimangal, around Srimangal, in the Lawachara National Park and to the HumHum Waterfall on our YouTube channel
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• Lawachara National Park – the last rainforest of Bangladesh (1,250 ha). His undisputed star is the Hoolock Gibbon – the only great ape species of the subcontinent.
• HumHum Waterfall – in the middle of the Rajkandi Sanctuary. The jungle with all adversity wants to be mastered, if you want to the waterfall, and that is a challenge, but worth it!
• Baikka Beel – a Beel is part of a Haor (wetland). Baikka Beel is part of the Hail Haor, which is the domicile of migrating birds and, depending on the season, to tens of thousands.
• Srimangal Town – the center of the small town is definitely worth a walk. Especially in the late afternoon, when bazaars and markets have opened.
• Tea Research Institute – is located in the middle of a tea plantation of Finlay, which is not open to the visitor. The “hoo-ha” around the tea is definitely worth seeing!

Opened in 2005, this 243-hectare national park is located in Habiganj district, 1.5 km east of Srimangal. “Satchari” means “seven rivers” and in fact there are seven small rivers in the national park. About twenty-four Tipra families live in an ethnic village within the national park. In the evergreen mixed forest there are more than 200 different tree species. These are the habitat for a species-rich population of wild animals such as junglefowl, red-headed trogon, Oriental pied hornbill, pygmy-woodpecker, Phayre’s langur, capped langur, hoolock gibbon, moon bear, Bengal slow loris, southern pig-tailed macaque, red-cheeked rope squirrel and Indian muntjac.
In the national park on our YouTube channel
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The area, about 15 km west of Srimangal, can also be reached very well by bike. The evergreen mixed forest is rich in rare plant and animal species. The forest currently houses 37 species of mammals, 167 bird species, 7 amphibian species, 18 reptile species and 638 plant species. Some of the inhabitants are Indian leopard, Phayre’s langur, capped langur, Bengal slow loris, hoolock gibbon, fishing cat, small Indian civet, moon bear, Asian elephant, Indian pangolin and Asiatic jackal. It is one of the few natural forests still in good condition. However, pillage and illegal deforestation is a permanent threat to the conservation area in the immediate vicinity of the Indian state of Tripura. The forest is also well-known for its abundance of birds. To the album

The City of Shrines – meaning the tombs of the Holy Hajrat Shah Jalal and Hajrat Shah Poran. Both have an almost magical attraction. Even today – more than six hundred years after the death of Hajrat Shah Jalal – his shrine is visited by countless pilgrimages to all parts of the country. In Sylhet secular ambitions meet with religious satisfaction and the time seems to be slower here. The inhabitants use every opportunity for a chat and many travelers are often of the opinion that this is the most pleasant city in South Asia. Sylhet is different. It is partly like a village – but in the much too big dress of a city. Nevertheless, due to its proximity to England, it is likely to be the most cosmopolitan of all the cities in the country.
The shrine of Hajrat Shah Jalal on our YouTube channel
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• Kean-Bridge – overhangs the Surma but not an architectural miracle, rather a mis-construction because their steep driveways overcame every rickshaw driver. A worthwhile act.
• Ali Amjad Clock Tower – the unofficial landmark of Sylhet on the north bank of the Surma/Kean Bridge. Built in the late 18th century, it bears the royal seal of the old Bengal.
• Murari Chand College – the “MC College” was the first university in Sylhet from 1892 and was often voted the best educational institution in the country.
• Madhabkunda Waterfall – the most famous of all waterfalls located in Borolekha Thana, about 3 km from Dakhinbagh attracts many tourists.

60 km northeast of Sylhet, right on the eastern border with India, on the Goyain River, in the lap of the Khasia Mountains, framed by rainforest and tea plantations – Jaflon. The Goyain feeds from many smaller rivers, all of which have their origins in the Himalayas. Countless tons of rubble and rock are washed into the Goyain, which in turn deposits them in this picturesque valley and is the hard day's work of the stone fishermen. This enables intensive insights into the working life of people, because the extraction of the raw material takes place under quite adventurous circumstances, which are unlikely to have changed over time.To this day indigenous but already assimilated village communities of the Khasia tribe live in the forests of Jaflon, which can be visited, there is also an idyllic tea plantation.
In Jaflon on our YouTube channel
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• Jaintapur – “Betel, water and women are Jaintapuri” a line of a rhyme about the once wealthy capital of the Jainta empire (7th-16th centuries) 5 km before Tamabil. Witnesses to the turbulent history are rare and rather run down, like the palace and temple of Jainteswari (now more of a dirty public convenience). Nevertheless, some of the remains in Jaintapur are of enormous historical interest: the only megaliths discovered in Bangladesh.
• Tamabil – the border crossing to India (state of Meghalaya) is 10 km before Jaflon. Border traffic, formalities and activities of the countless trucks are interesting here. No visas are issued!
• Sripur – two or three kilometers towards Jaflon. Waterfalls (depending on the season), rainforest, beautiful surroundings and India in sight. Always worth a stop!

Apparently “floating villages” at the end of the rainy season. Lakes as big as seas. Tourists? Wrong! But water, birds and again birds. A “Fly In” for migratory birds of all kinds and a highlight for nature and bird friends. Tanguar Haor is a wet biotope. The north-east consists of one-third of these areas – if you want a seasonal lake plate with huge dimensions but never more than 2 meters deep (depending on the season). These wetlands represent not only a particular geographic feature of the country, but in their entirety they form an immensely important and internationally important ecosystem. A boat trip on the waters is nature and tranquility - only interrupted by the birds’ shindy. To the album

Lalakhal, a small hamlet in the extreme north-east of Bangladesh, nestled on the Jaintia Hills of the Indian state of Meghalaya – the last foothills of the mighty Himalaya. Lalakhal was once a part of the ancient Jaintia kingdom of Jaintiapur. So far, so good – the bang is the area. The Sari, a lively mountain river with crystal clear, emerald green waters, is among the most beautiful in the country, lush green forests, blue sky, clouds and the mountains complete the scenario. There is a perfect panorama as far as the eye can see. During the monsoon, the view becomes spectacular. Countless shades of green, yellow and brown from trees, forests and rice fields can “mesmerize” the visitor. To the album

• Sari River – an absolute “must do”! With your own kayak, or with motocraft, there is hardly a more beautiful river cruise!
• Sylhet – easy to reach from Lalakhal and already described above. The same applies to the next point.
• Jaflon & Tamabil – also good to reach and also described above.

The only freshwater swamp forest in Bangladesh – of which there are very few in the world anyway – is located about 26 km north of Sylhet. During the rainy season, the water is about six to ten meters high, otherwise it fluctuates around three meters, only in winter, the water drains off completely. 73 plant species are native to the swamp forest and 80 percent of its surface is covered by a leafy roof. Snakes and blind snakes, monkeys and water monitors are at home here year-round, mongooses in the dry season. The upper floor offers the habitat, among others, for herons, kingfishers, parrots, hair birds and eagles and hawks. The forest also serves as a winter home for migratory birds and its waters are rich in fish stocks.
The swamp forest on our YouTube channel
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