Buddhist vihara and pagoda, Khagrachari
Shantipur Aranya Kutir, Panchhariপানছড়ি শান্তিপুর অরণ্য কুটির
- Time needed
- An hour.
- best months
- Oct–Mar
- Cost
- Free; donations.
A forest monastery at Panchhari in the north of the district, with the tallest Buddha statue in the country (about 50 feet) on a wooded hill: a place of meditation, quiet and much visited on Buddhist holy days.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1999
- Buddha
- About 50 ft, seated
About
The kutir was founded in 1999 by monks of the forest tradition as a place for meditation, and it has grown into a complex of shrines, meditation halls and monks' huts over about 70 acres of forest, with the great seated Buddha on the hill as its landmark. Visitors walk the paths, see the statue and the halls and keep quiet; on Buddha Purnima and Kathin Chibar Dan thousands come. It is 22 km north of town on the Panchhari road.
Getting there: Bus or CNG from town to Panchhari (about an hour), then a short ride to the kutir.
Things to do
- Walk the forest paths to the statue in silence.
Good to know
- Shoes off at the shrines, modest dress, no loud talk; it is a working monastery.
