Bandarbanবান্দরবান

Ali's Cave, Alikadam

A set of natural caves in a hill above the Matamuhuri river at Alikadam, reached by a stream walk and bamboo ladders: narrow dark passages through the rock, a local legend of a saint named Ali, and the southern district's one well-known sight.

Amiakhum

The fall and gorge in the Nakshiyang reach of the Sangu beyond Nafakhum, a day further on foot: white water through a slot in black rock, the Satbhaikhum pools below, and the hardest trek the ordinary visitor does in Bangladesh.

Boga Lake

A deep blue lake in a crater at about 1,250 feet in Ruma, held sacred by the Bawm village on its shore, the base camp for Keokradong: cottages by the water, a cold swim and a night under the stars after the jeep ride up from Ruma bazar.

Buddha Dhatu Jadi (Golden Temple)

The gilded Theravada stupa on a hill at Balaghata, 4 km from town, built in 2000 in the Burmese (Arakanese) style with relics of the Buddha: the largest Theravada temple in the country and the district's landmark.

Chimbuk Hill

The 2,500-foot hill on the Thanchi road, 26 km from town, with a rest house and lookout on top and Mro villages on its slopes: the "Darjeeling of Bengal" to an older generation, and the halfway stop to Nilgiri.

Debotakhum

A 600-foot-long pool of still water, 50 to 70 feet deep, between sheer rock walls in Rowangchhari, floated on a bamboo raft after a walk from Kochhoptoli: the easiest of the khums and one of the most beautiful.

Jadipai Waterfall

One of the widest falls in the country, below Jadipai para on the far side of Keokradong: a steep two-hour descent from the peak to a broad white curtain over rock, roaring in the rains, with a rainbow in the spray on sunny mornings.

Keokradong

The 986-metre peak above Boga Lake, for decades called the highest in the country and still the classic trek: a day's climb through Bawm villages to a summit shelter with the Myanmar hills on the horizon.

Nafakhum

The widest fall in the country by volume, where the Remakri stream drops about 25 feet into a gorge, reached from Thanchi by boat up the Sangu to Remakri and a three-hour walk: the signature trip of the upper Sangu.

Nilachal

The viewpoint complex on the hill at Tigerpara, 6 km from town, run by the district: railed terraces over the town and the Sangu valley, a sunset the whole town drives up for, and the easiest hill in Bandarban.

Nilgiri

The army-run hilltop resort at about 2,200 feet, 47 km from town on the Thanchi road: cloud below the cottages in the cold months and the ranges of the Hill Tracts in every direction; the most visited viewpoint in the district.

Prantik Lake

A quiet dammed lake at Holudia in Suyalok, on the Keranihat road 16 km from town, on the district's edge (prantik): forest round the water, paddle boats, picnic grounds and a cottage, for an afternoon out of the hills.

Rijuk Waterfall

A 300-foot fall straight into the Sangu, 7 km downstream of Ruma bazar, seen from a boat: a white ribbon off the cliff into the green river, full from July to October.

Sangu River

The hill river that runs 294 km from the Myanmar border through Thanchi, Ruma and Bandarban town to the sea at Chattogram: boat rides from the town ghat, and the upstream journey from Thanchi through Tindu to Remakri that is one of the great trips in the country.

Shoilo Propat

A stream fall over a slab of rock beside the Thanchi road, 8 km from town, with a Bawm village market at the top: the first stop on every drive to Chimbuk and Nilgiri, best in the rains.

Tazing Dong (Bijoy)

The 830-metre peak in the Saichol range of Ruma, officially named Bijoy and long claimed as the country's highest: a two-day trek from Boga Lake or Keokradong through Bawm and Tripura villages, quieter than its neighbour.