Known for
- 1
The city on the Rupsha.
Khulna is the country's third city and the usual starting point for the Sundarbans: launches and tour boats leave from its ghats for the forest's western and central blocks, and the Rupsha bridge at the city's edge is where people go at dusk.
- 2
Tagore country.
Rabindranath's family roots lie here: his ancestors' homestead at Pithabhog in Rupsa, and Dakshindihi in Phultala, the village of his mother and his wife's family.
Best season
GoodFairNov–Feb
November to February: cool, dry days and calm rivers, the season for Sundarbans boat trips. The monsoon (June to September) brings rough water and many trips stop; April and May are hot and stormy.
Getting there
Train
Dhaka
Intercity trains to Khulna station
Bus
Dhaka
About 5 h
Over the Padma bridge
Air
Dhaka
Fly to Jashore, then about 1.5 h by road
Launch
Khulna ghats
Tour boats into the Sundarbans, usually two or three days
Khulna is on the main rail line: intercity trains run from Dhaka and Rajshahi. Buses from Dhaka cross the Padma bridge and arrive in about five hours. Domestic flights land at Jashore, about an hour and a half away by road.
Local food
Chingri malai curryMust try
Prawns in coconut milk
Chui jhal meatMust try
Beef or mutton with the chui vine
River and sweet-water fish, above all chingri (the region's prawns), cooked in coconut milk as malai curry; chui jhal, meat cooked with the peppery chui vine; and date-palm molasses in winter.
Places to see
Monument and memorialDr Amit Biswas · CC BY-SA 4.0Dakshindihi Rabindra Complex
The house in Phultala tied to Rabindranath Tagore: his wife Mrinalini Devi's family home, in the village where his mother was also born.
Gallamari Killing Field Memorial
The largest killing field of the Khulna region in 1971, beside Khulna University, now marked by a memorial.
Museum and galleryDavid Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada · CC BY 2.0Khulna Divisional Museum
A museum near Shib Bari crossing, founded in 1998, holding finds from excavations across the division, including Barobazar and Bharat Bhayna.
Archaeological siteকুমার দীপ · CC BY-SA 4.0Tagore Homestead, Pithabhog
The ancestral homestead of the Tagore family in Pithabhog village, Rupsa, on the Bhairab basin, a protected heritage site.
Viewpoint and sunset spotBalaram Mahalder · CC BY-SA 4.0Rupsha Bridge (Khan Jahan Ali Bridge)
The road bridge over the Rupsha at the edge of Khulna, called the gateway of the city: stairs at both ends let people climb up for the river view at sunset.
Park, eco park and picnic spotPress Information Department · Public domainShahid Hadis Park
The old municipal park in the heart of Khulna, set up after the municipality was founded in 1884, with the city's Shaheed Minar.
Forest and mangroveকুমার দীপ · CC BY-SA 4.0Sundarbans from Khulna
The world's largest mangrove forest begins south of the district, in Koyra and Dacope: boat trips from Khulna city reach spots such as Kalabogi and Hiron Point (Nilkamal).
Sources 2
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