18-Day Bangladesh Highlights Tour with Sundarbans and Rocket Steamer

• Meet your Bangladesh guide inside the airport upon arrival and transfer to your hotel.

Overnight at Dhaka (Hotel Civic Inn).

• You will be picked up from your hotel and start the tour at 08.00 H.

• Visit key tourist attractions in New and Old Dhaka throughout the day, including Dhakeshwari Temple, Lalbagh Fort, Armenian Church, Star Mosque, Ahsan Manjil, and Sadarghat River Station.

• Ride a rickshaw through the narrow streets of Old Dhaka, where cars cannot reach.

• Pass through attractive bazaars.

• Enjoy a short boat ride on the Buriganga River in the evening on a wooden boat to feel the rhythm of the lively and vibrant river and enjoy the sunset.

• Embark on a Rocket Steamer at Sadarghat River Station at 18.00 H. This is a memorable overnight journey on the Rocket Paddle Steamer to Hularhat.

Overnight in the Rocket Steamer (Sleeping Cabin).

• Enjoy the riverine beauty of Bangladesh from the Rocket Steamer in the morning.

• Disembark from the Rocket at Hularhat around 09.00 H.

• Drive toward Bagerhat (1 hr) in an air-conditioned car and visit the Mosque City of Bagerhat, a 15th-century Muslim city once called Khalifatabad, which is present-day Bagerhat and a UNESCO-protected World Heritage Site.

• Visit most of the remaining mosques from the 15th-century city of Khalifatabad throughout the day, including the 60 Dome Mosque, 9 Dome Mosque, Rono Bijoypur Mosque, and Singair Mosque.

• Also visit the shrine of Khan Jahan Ali, the saint general of Turkish origin who came to spread Islam in this region and founded this great city, as well as Kodla Moth - a very beautiful Hindu temple from the 17th century.

• Drive to Khulna (1 hr).

Overnight at Khulna (Hotel City Inn).

• Start at 6.00 H and drive to Mongla (1.5 hrs).

• Transfer to a boat upon arrival and head toward the Sundarbans immediately. Breakfast will be served on the ship. You will be inside the forest within 15 minutes of starting the journey.

• Halt at a forest station on the way to complete formalities, then continue toward Kochikhali. Travel through many small canals and rivers with small boats where big boats cannot go because of their size and the shallow canals. Taking you through these rewarding narrow canals is the main point of this private tour on a small boat, where you have your best chance to spot a tiger and other animals.

• Stop at Harbaria Eco Park and walk its 30-minute trail for your first experience of the Sundarbans. People on day tours in the Sundarbans usually end up visiting only up to this point, which is never recommended.

• Before sunset, explore a small canal on a noiseless wooden rowboat in search of wildlife. Animals come to drink water in the evening and morning along the creeks and canals. You will sit quietly on the boat and float by in a breathtaking environment, listening to many birds singing and animals calling.

• Reach Kochikhali in the evening and stop there for the night.

Overnight on the boat in a sleeping cabin.

• Ride a noiseless wooden rowboat on a canal in the morning, searching for wildlife.

• Return to the main boat and have breakfast at 07.30 H.

• Start walking toward Jamtola Beach, the quietest, nicest, and cleanest beach in Bangladesh. Enjoy the beach for an hour, then walk toward Jamtola tourist spot. The entire trail will be about 10 km.

• Transfer to the waiting boat, which has already arrived here from Kochikhali through an inside canal. Have lunch on the boat and enjoy an hour of rest.

• Visit Kotka Wildlife Sanctuary and, if there is high tide, enjoy a rewarding boat ride on a canal near the sanctuary. Go to the watchtower at Kotka before sunset and sit quietly for half an hour. This is a feeding ground for animals, and lots of deer and other wild animals come here in the evening to eat grass and drink water. You never know what surprises may be waiting for you here.

• After sunset, start the boat toward another suitable forest station, depending on the tide, for the night.

Overnight on the boat in a sleeping cabin.

• Go for a boat ride on a noiseless wooden rowboat at 06.00 H and explore a canal near the forest station.

• Return to the main boat at 07.30 H and have breakfast.

• Start your return journey toward Mongla from here through other small rivers and canals.

• Visit a fishing village and Koromjal Crocodile Breeding Center on the way.

• Reach Mongla in the late afternoon and drive to Khulna (1.5 hrs).

Overnight at Khulna (Hotel City Inn).

• Transfer to Khulna Railway Station and depart for Rajshahi at 06.30 H on 715 Kapotaksha Express.

• Arrive in Rajshahi around 12.20 H and transfer to your hotel.

• After check-in, freshening up, and lunch, drive to Puthia (22 km, 30 mins) and visit its beautiful temples and palaces. The largest number of historical temples in Bangladesh is located in Puthia.

• Return to Rajshahi in the evening.

Overnight at Rajshahi (Hotel Nice).

• After breakfast, drive to Kusumba (50 km, 1.5 hrs).

• Visit Kusumba Mosque, a beautiful stone-built mosque from the medieval period. It is one of the six remaining stone-built mosques from the Sultanate period in Bengal and is very well preserved.

• Drive to Paharpur (60 km, 1.5 hrs) and visit Somapura Mahavihara, an 8th-century Buddhist monastery and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the most impressive archaeological site in Bangladesh.

• Drive to Bogra (70 km, 2 hrs).

• Visit a Santal tribal village en route to experience their lifestyle, and also visit a local bazaar.

Overnight at Bogra (Hotel Naz Garden).

• After breakfast, drive to Sariakandi (42 km, 1 hr).

• Visit some chars (river islands) of the Jamuna River and see how people live on those small islands while struggling with natural disasters. If you need some free time, you can skip visiting this char, as you will visit another char on Day 13.

• Drive to Dhaka (180 km, 7 hrs).

• Have lunch at a highway restaurant en route.

Overnight at Dhaka (Hotel Civic Inn).

• Pick up from the hotel at 06.30 H and transfer to Airport Railway Station.

• Depart for Srimangal at 07.00 H on 709 Parabat Express.

• Arrive in Srimangal around 11.00 H and transfer to the resort.

• In the afternoon, walk along the trails inside tea gardens and visit some pineapple gardens and lemon orchards.

• See the tea deposit activities in a tea garden before sunset, if available, when female workers gather to deposit the tea leaves they collected throughout the day. This is very photogenic.

• After dinner, go to Nilkontho Tea Cabin to taste the famous seven-layer tea of Srimangal.

Overnight at Srimangal (Nisorgo Eco Resort).

• Early in the morning, go for a rewarding wildlife trek through Lawachara National Park. Take the 3-hour trail for the maximum opportunity to see wildlife, especially the Hoolock Gibbons for which this forest is famous.

• Enjoy a meal with a tribal family.

Overnight at Srimangal (Nisorgo Eco Resort).

• Enjoy the morning on your own.

• Transfer to the railway station and depart for Dhaka at 10.31 H on 718 Jayantika Express (Thu Off) or at 09.10 H on 774 Kalani Express.

• Arrive in Dhaka around 16.00 H/13.55 H and transfer to your hotel.

Overnight at Dhaka (Hotel Civic Inn).

• After breakfast, drive to Sonargaon (37 km, 2 hrs), the old capital of the Bengal region.

• Visit the Folk Arts and Crafts Museum, the medieval-period Goaldi Mosque, a bamboo school for disadvantaged children of the neglected Hindu society, and the abandoned merchant city of Panam Nagar.

• Also visit a char (small river island) of the Meghna River to experience the traditional lifestyle of the farmers.

Overnight at Dhaka (Hotel Civic Inn).

• Transfer to the airport and fly to Chittagong at 7.15 H.

• Arrive in Chittagong at 8.10 H and drive to Rangamati (102 km, 3.5 hrs).

• Enjoy a boat ride on Kaptai Lake for the rest of the day and visit a Buddhist temple before sunset.

• Visit some tribal handicraft markets in the evening.

Overnight at Rangamati (Parjatan Hotel).

• Drive to Bandarban after breakfast (82 km, 3.5 hrs).

• Visit a small tribal museum en route.

• Reach Golden Temple by climbing a 60 m/200 ft hill via paved stairs.

• Visit Nilachal and other popular tourist sites in Bandarban for the rest of the day.

Overnight at Bandarban (Hillside Resort).

• Visit villages of different tribes in the morning to see their lifestyle. See how they hand-make their clothes and buy some, if you like, from small outlets directly run by the tribal people.

• Enjoy a boat ride on the beautiful Sangu River in the evening, the most naturally beautiful river in Bangladesh.

Overnight at Bandarban (Hillside Resort).

• Drive to Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard (103 km, 4 hrs) after breakfast.

• Visit the shipbreaking activities on a boat from the river for a couple of hours. This is a graveyard of giant commercial scrap vessels brought from all over the world and converted into pieces of steel. You will also visit shops selling scrap materials from those ships, which is an excellent place to collect souvenirs.

• Drive to Chittagong airport (40 km, 1.5 hrs) and fly to Dhaka on the 16.20 H flight.

• Arrive in Dhaka around 17.15 H and transfer to the hotel.

Overnight at Dhaka (Hotel Civic Inn).

• Pick up from your hotel, transfer to the airport according to your flight schedule, and say goodbye.

End the Best of Bangladesh Tour.