Known for
- 1
Arrive by river.
Barishal is the river city of the south, and the classic way in is the overnight launch from Dhaka's Sadarghat: a cabin, the Meghna at dusk, and the Kirtankhola ghat at first light.
- 2
Old water and old walls.
Durgasagar, the great tank dug by a Chandradwip raja, the red Oxford Mission church in town, the nine-domed Kasba mosque at Gournadi and the Lakutia zamindar house sit within an easy day of each other.
- 3
Water lilies in season.
From July to October the Satla beel in Wazirpur turns red and white with shapla; go early in the morning by small boat.
Best season
GoodFairNov–Feb
November to February is dry and pleasant for the town, the mosques and the zamindar houses. The shapla beels are at their best from July to October, in the rains. Launches run all year, but storm signals in the monsoon can stop them.
Getting there
Launch
Dhaka (Sadarghat)
Overnight
Leaves in the evening, arrives at dawn; book a cabin ahead
Bus
Dhaka
4–5 h
Over the Padma Bridge
Air
Dhaka
Flights to Barishal airport, north of the city
Overnight launches leave Dhaka's Sadarghat every evening and reach Barishal early next morning. Since the Padma Bridge opened, buses from Dhaka take about four to five hours. Barishal also has an airport with flights from Dhaka. In town, rickshaws and autos; for Guthia, Durgasagar and Satla hire a CNG or car for the day.
Local food
HilsaMust try
Fresh from the rivers around the city
Amra and guava
The region's fruit, sold by the basket in season
River fish above all: hilsa from the Kirtankhola and Meghna, and Barishal's guava and amra in season. Sweet yogurt and rosogolla are sold all over town.
Places to see
Park, eco park and picnic spotSyed Saiful Alam · CC BY 4.0Bangabandhu Udyan (Bell's Park)
The big open green by the Kirtankhola in the heart of the city, long known as Bell's Park: where Barishal comes out in the evening.
River, lake and haorLonely Explorer · CC BY-SA 4.0Barishal Launch Ghat
The river port on the Kirtankhola where the big overnight launches from Dhaka tie up at dawn and leave again each evening: the true front door of the city.
River, lake and haorGmmasum91 · CC BY-SA 4.0Durgasagar Dighi
A huge eighteenth-century tank at Madhabpasha, north of the city, dug by a raja of Chandradwip and named after his queen; a quiet walk round tree-lined banks with an island in the middle.
Mosque and shrineTahsin R Hossain · CC BY-SA 3.0Guthia Mosque (Baitul Aman)
A modern mosque complex at Changuria in Wazirpur, with domes reflected in a large pond and a minaret close to 200 feet tall; the most visited sight in the district.
Mosque and shrineJafar Cyclist · CC BY-SA 4.0Kasba Mosque
A nine-domed brick mosque of the Sultanate period in Kasba village, Gournadi, the largest of the old mosques of Barishal and close in style to Bagerhat's Shat Gambuj.
Fort and palaceANKAN · CC BY-SA 4.0Lakutia Zamindar Bari
The weathered mansion of the Roy zamindars at Lakutia, just north of the city, the family of the First World War pilot Indra Lal Roy.
ChurchLonely Explorer · CC BY 4.0Oxford Mission Church
The Epiphany Church of the Oxford Mission, a red-brick church from the early 1900s on Bogura Road, one of the largest in the country and the landmark of the city.
River, lake and haorBadal Chandra Sarker · CC BY-SA 4.0Satla Shapla Beel
A wetland of about 200 acres at Satla in Wazirpur that fills with red and white water lilies from July to October, best seen at dawn from a small boat.
Sources 2
Times, fares and opening hours change. Check before you go.
Take this guide offline.
The same guide, every place and photo, on your phone without a connection. Mark the district when you get there.
