Known for
- 1
The country's largest island.
Bhola sits in the mouth of the Meghna, and the trip there is part of it: an overnight launch from Dhaka, or a ferry across from Barishal.
- 2
Chars at the edge of the Bay.
Char Kukri Mukri with its planted mangroves and spotted deer, Tarua beach beyond it, Dhal Char far out in the sea, and Monpura island in the Meghna: places few visitors reach.
Best season
GoodFairNov–Feb
November to February is the only easy season: the Meghna is calm, the boats to the chars run, and migrant birds crowd the mudflats.
From May to October the river is rough, sea trucks and small boats are risky, and cyclone warnings can strand you on an island.
Getting there
Launch
Dhaka (Sadarghat)
Overnight to Bhola or the Char Fasson ghats
Bus
Barishal
With the ferry or a speedboat across the river to Bhola
Getting around
In the district
Buses to Char Fasson, then trawlers and speedboats to the chars
Overnight launches from Dhaka's Sadarghat go to Bhola and to Char Fasson's ghats; from Barishal a ferry or speedboat crosses to Bhola. Inside the district buses run down the island to Char Fasson, and trawlers and speedboats go on to Kukri Mukri, Tarua, Dhal Char and Monpura.
Local food
Buffalo curd (moisher doi)Must try
Thick and sour, set in clay pots
Meghna hilsaMust try
Best in the monsoon months
Hilsa from the Meghna, buffalo-milk curd (moisher doi) set in clay pots, and fresh sea and river fish on the chars.
Places to see
Wildlife and national parkAshis Kumar Datta · CC BY-SA 4.0Char Kukri Mukri
The southernmost island of Bhola, about 10 km long, with a wildlife sanctuary of planted mangroves where spotted deer, monkeys and many birds live.
Deula Talukdar Bari
An old landowning family's house in Deula, Borhanuddin, one of the few historic homes left on the island.
Dhal Char
One of the remotest inhabited islands in the country, far out in the Bay at the south of Bhola, with forest, beach and a fishing community living on shifting land.
IslandArman333 · CC BY-SA 3.0Monpura Island
An island upazila in the Meghna, east of Bhola, known for its green fields, open river views, deer in the planted forest and the film that carried its name.
BeachABDULLAH MANNAN · CC BY-SA 4.0Tarua Sea Beach
A remote sea beach in Char Fasson, the last 15 km by boat: open sea, sand, birds and mangrove forest behind.
Sources 1
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.
