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Tribal Hill Culture and Sea Beach Tour (6 Days / 5 Nights)

An interesting cultural tour focusing at first on the indigenous tribal lifestyles in the Chittagong Hilltracts, particularly the Marma, Tripuri and the Mru. This is not a tribal song and dance show, but the real thing as this region has only recently opened for visits. It is rounded off by a visit to Cox’s Bazar, claimed to be the worlds longest beach. But there is more than just sun and sand, you’ll visit Ramu (the ancient Rakhaine capital) and Maheskhali island by speedboat to see some of the oldest Buddhist and Hindu temples in the country. This tour presents you with an interesting and enjoyable Bangladesh, enabling you to get a unique idea of the country’s cultures, people and geography both past and present.

This tour is available year round.

ITINERARY:
DAY 01: Dhaka Airport reception, Historical Dhaka by painted rickshaw
You’ll be received at the airport and transferred to your hotel. You may take an optional half-day historical tour of old Dhaka city including Sakhari Bazaar (ancient craftsmen), Lal Bagh (Mogul Fort), Ahzan Manjil (the Pink Palace), the privately-run Liberation War Museum, all by painted rickshaw (and air-conditioned car). After dining on fine Bengali cuisine, you’ll take a first-class overnight train to Chittagong. (L/D)
DAY 2: Dhaka - Chittagong – Bandarban, Tribal Culture in real time
After breakfast in Chittagong, you’ll take a scenic drive up into the Burmese foothills to Bandarban. After check-in, you’ll do some casual sightseeing around this colourful native market town, visiting local Buddhist shrines, a Marma village, the Tribal complex and the Bohmong King's residence. Afternoon options include Sangu river cruises by country boat, swimming or strolling along the sandy river beach, a visit to the hanging bridge, waterfalls and lookout points. Typical evening pastimes are visiting the homes of the locals (with home-brew for the thirsty!), observing tribal cultural festivals and activities as per season, tea-stall crawling or perhaps just checking out the bazaar. Overnight in a hillside ecolodge. (B/L/D)
DAY 3: Bandarban – Alikadam, a ‘true’ Mru village experience
After checking out the morning tribal market in Bandarban, (you may be in luck if today is the weekly market day) you’ll drive south and deeper into the hills to Alikadam, the last portion of this ride can get a wee a bit rough, so hold onto your hats. This is a tiny but interesting small bazaar on the Matamuri river. From here it is an easy walk to an interior Mru tribal village. Here you will spend the day enjoying and experiencing firsthand the unique, self-sufficient Mru culture. In the evening you'll enjoy a Mru party with youths singing, story telling, and playing their unique bamboo & gourd mouth organs. Overnight you'll be hosted by the village headman or a Tripura family in Alikadam. (B/L/D)
DAY 4: Alikadam – Cox’s Bazar, Tribes, Beaches, Buddhas and Temples
You take leave of your Mru hosts after a morning walk in the hills, drive to the seaside resort of Cox's Bazar (said to be the longest sea beach in the world) to check-in at the Sayamen Hotel, the best in town (air conditioning and the only bar in town) and have a fresh seafood lunch Then it’s a speed boat ride to Maheskhali island where you’ll visit the historical Hindu Kali temple on a hilltop. This is one of the more important such temples in the subcontinent. While travelling by rickshaw view the betel nut plantations and sea salt fields. Also we’ll visit a colourful Buddhist temple of the Mogh community, and see the woman making handloom cloths in front. Nearby are their men working as silver and goldsmiths. We return to Cox's Bazar for dinner, perhaps a moonlight stroll on the beach. (B/L/D)
Day 5: Cox’s Bazar – Dhaka (via Chittagong), Seashells, Shipbreaking & Sitakunda
This morning you take either an early morning beach walk or for the more adventurous, an morning fish market tour. Then to Chittagong by air conditioned coach in time for a lunch of local specialities and a visit to the Ethnological Museum in Agrabad. You then get an amazing opportunity to visit the ship breaking yards of Chittagong. Watch tiny humans dismember huge tankers armed with only torches and hammers. An optional visit to the hillside Hindu pilgrimage site of Sitakunda. You return to Chittagong to catch the last flight to Dhaka and transfer to your hotel. (B/L/D)
Day 6: Dhaka Departure
Depending upon your flight departure time, you’ll have time to get in some bargain handicraft shopping before being escorted to the airport. (B/L)

OPTION: If you have an evening flight, spend the day at the age-old handicraft village of Damrai, hosted by a Hindu family of brass casters. See how it is done (or try it yourself) and wander through the mud cottages of the pottery families. Arrive back in Dhaka in time for your onward flight. (B/L/D)

NOTES:
- Meal basis and accommodation as specified in itinerary above
- Including one domestic flight from Chittagong to Dhaka

- Price will not include international airfares to and from Bangladesh,
which are charged separately.

Sundarbans Mangrove Discovery Cruise & Historical Tour
(7 Days)

ITINERARY:
DAY 01: Dhaka Airport reception, Historical Dhaka & 'Rocket' Boarding
You are received at the airport and transferred to your hotel. You may take an optional half-day historical tour of old Dhaka city including Sakhari Bazaar (ancient craftsmen), Lal Bagh (Moghul Fort), Ahzan Manjil (the Pink Palace), the privately run Liberation War Museum, all by painted rickshaw. Otherwise you are free to recover from jet-lag and re-set your biological clock for a few hours. After a late lunch of fine Bengali cuisine, you drive to the old river port of Sadarghat to board the colonial period paddleboat, the 'Rocket'. This is one of the oldest such paddle propelled boats still in operation in Asia. Overnight in a first-class air conditioned cabin. (L/D)
DAY 2: River Cruising, Mongla
You will enjoy all day cruising south along the rivers of Bangladesh and observing the village life on the banks. Bangladesh has over six hundred rivers and may have the planet’s largest delta. You cruise through the confluence of the Padma (Ganges) and Brahmaputra rivers which contains more water than all of the rivers in Europe together. You also paddle down smaller and narrower rivers that will give you a great introduction (and photo opportunities) of the rural countryside and river life. In the evening you arrive in Mongla and we transfer you to the Pasur Hotel, the finest hotel in town, for dinner and overnight. (B/L/D)
DAYS 3-5: Sundarbans Cruise
After breakfast you board a launch with cabins to begin a three day cruise of the Sundarbans. The Sundarbans is the planet's largest mangrove forest, the home of the Royal Bengal Tiger and many other mammals and birds. You will be able to go ashore at some points to walk through and experience the forest first-hand - does an optional mud-bath sound interesting? You cruise both the larger rivers and are able to enter smaller canals to get wonderful views and photographs. The first day you will reach the Bay of Bengal and halt at Kachi Kali (Tiger Point) and in the afternoon enjoy a beach walk on the bay front. The next day you will board a smaller wooden country boat to explore the smaller canals and observe the flora, wildlife and birds. You will have a chance to walk through the mangrove forest at low tide. After lunch you will proceed to Katka Wildlife Sanctuary to walk in the forest and climb the wooden observatory. Overnight at Katka. The last morning you will see the deer and other wildlife, after breakfast you will proceed north up the Pasur river and reach Khulna in the evening. Then transfer to the Western Inn Hotel for dinner and overnight. (B/L/D)
DAY 6: Khulna – Bagerhat - Dhaka
This morning you will drive to Bagerhat where you'll see some of the more ancient terracotta buildings in the country including the famous domed masjid, Shad Gambuj Masjid. It was once in the middle of the Sundarbans. There is no stone in Bangladesh, but plenty of fine earth, and this led to the construction of some of the finest examples of terracotta buildings in the world. After lunch at the Western Inn Hotel you drive one hour north to Jessore and take a short flight to Dhaka. An optional evening rickshaw ride and a visit to the colourful markets or free time before dinner at a popular local restaurant. Overnight at the Rosewood Hotel. (B/L/D)
DAY 7: Khulna to Dhaka, Departure
Depending upon your departure flight you may have time to visit the National Assembly Building designed by American architect Louis Khan, take a more intimate tour of Dhaka or opt for some last minute handicraft shopping at the many shops before your airport transfer and departure. (B/L)

NOTES:
- Meal basis and accommodation as specified in itinerary above
- Including one domestic flight from Jessore to Dhaka

- Price will not include international airfares to and from Bangladesh,
which are charged separately.