Bangladesh is a land of rivers, a thousand rivers lived here now many have disappeared but still around 300 rivers do exist. Pass through the rivers you can see fishermen throwing their nets, farmers busy with cropping lands, be enchanted of the activities of the locals. Otter Fishing is a very primitive fishing style almost extinct in the world, but you can find in Bangladesh at a remote village in Narail. The 60 Dome Mosque is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The southernmost city of Bangladesh is Barisal. The river life is very vibrant in this area and you can explore this area by country boats, visit the rural villages on the river banks, floating rice markets, floating guava gardens and river side bazaars, fishing and fish markets and have a different experience. An adventure through this land gives you a charm of diversity.

Day 01: Arrive Dhaka

You will arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka from Delhi. After all immigration formalities, the guide will receive you and transfer to hotel. Free for the evening and stay overnight at Golden Tulip Hotel (www.goldentulipthegrandmarkdhaka.com) in Dhaka.

Day 02: Dhaka –Nairal –Abhaynagar –Khulna (210 km/ approx 5.5 hrs drive)

Have your breakfast very early in the morning. Leave the hotel by 0700 hrs and drive 150 km to a remote village Gobra Bazar, Narail to enjoy Otter Fishing. The driver will take us the designated place to meet the fishermen and immediately board on a local boat enjoying the fishing activity (1-1.5 hrs).

Post the fishing activity; drive 55 km to Khulna. En-route you can visit 11 Shiva Temples at Bhatpara village in Abhaynagar Upazila, 45 km southwest of Jashore town. The grouped temple is a large brick complex with clay terracotta plaques has a nice history. According to legend, Zamindar Nilkantha Roy had a daughter named Abhaya who become widow at a young age. Hindu widows were not allowed to remarry at that time. So she expressed her wish to spend the rest of her life in the worship of Lord Shiva (Hindu God). The father had fulfilled her wish and built 11 Shiva temples.

You will reach Khulna in the evening, check-in to Hotel Castle Salam (www.hotelcastlesalam.com) and stay overnight.

Day 03: Khulna –Barisal via Bagerhat (110 km/ approx 4 hrs drive)

After breakfast, drive to Bagerhat, a city lost in the mangrove jungle at the confluence of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers was founded by the Turkic commander Ulug Khan Jahan in the 15th century. The city is known as a Mosque City and you can see many mosques and ancient Islamic monuments built of bricks. The main attraction is the 60 Domed Mosque which is the oldest mosque in Bangladesh, built in the 15th century by Khan Jahan Ali. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The interior of the mosque is very interesting. The mosque is mostly decorated with terracotta ornaments and domes.

You can visit some other small mosques –Singair, Bibi Begni, one dome mosque around the area and the Tomb of the Khan Jahan Ali.

Then drive continuous to Barisal, check-in Hotel Grand Park (www.hotelgrandparkbarisal.com) and stay overnight.

Day 04: Back Water Tour –Sonargaon –Dhaka (260 km/ approx 7 hrs drive)

Very early in the morning around 0500-0530 hrs (having pack breakfast from the hotel), drive to Banaripara which is 50 km away from the town. Take a motor boat and start the Back Water Trip. Enjoy the country’s largest floating market. You will find 2-3 hundred wooden canoes floating with full of fruits & vegetables involve in trading activities and floating gardens of sugarcane and hog palm beside the canal. Miles after miles you can enjoy this cruise. The natural beauty may amaze you for a long. The rural life on the bank of the canals and rivers makes you understand the lifestyle of the people of the area.

Then drive to Sonargaon –the ancient capital of Bengal on Turkish Sultanate period during 1280 AD. It was the seat of the medieval Muslim rulers and governors of Eastern Bengal. Visit the small one dome Goaldi Mosque was built in 1519 by Mulla Hizabar Akbar Khan during the Bengal Sultanate under the reign of Sultan Alauddin Husain Shah. The mosque is one of the more elegant and ornate sultanate-era mosques in the country. The condition of mosque had deteriorated; but the careful restoration was executed by the Department of Archaeology to keep its original design.

And Panam Nagar, one of the most endangered historic sites in the world and is a subject of significant archaeological and artistic interest, which is also known as a Dead City. Most of buildings suffer from rising damp while biological and insect damage has affected the architectural woodwork. At present there are more than 50 buildings in both sides of a road established in the late of the 19th century. Today this area is protected under the department of archaeology of Bangladesh. The New York-based World Monument Fund included Panam Nagar in its World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in 2006. [Close on Sunday full and Monday 1st half]

After visiting the ancient capital, drive to Dhaka and stay overnight.

Day 05: Depart Dhaka

After breakfast, transfer to airport for onward destination.

Tour end with thanks