Known for
- 1
A 2,500-year-old town under the fields.
At Wari and Bateshwar villages in Belabo, digging since the 1930s has turned up a fortified settlement of the last centuries BCE: a rampart and moat, a paved road, punch-marked silver coins and glass beads. A small museum on site shows the finds.
- 2
Latkan country.
Belabo and Shibpur are the heart of Bangladesh's latkan (Burmese grape) growing: in July and August the trunks are hung thick with yellow clusters, and the gardens and roadside markets are worth a detour.
Best season
GoodFairNov–Feb
November to February for Wari-Bateshwar: dry fields, easy walking, and the excavation season. July and August for latkan, when the gardens are heavy with fruit, though roads can be muddy in the rain.
Getting there
Bus
Dhaka
1.5–2 h
From Sayedabad or Gulistan on the Sylhet highway
Train
Dhaka
About 1.5 h
Kamalapur to Narsingdi on the Bhairab line
Getting around
Marjal
CNG from the highway to Wari and Bateshwar
Narsingdi is about 50 km north-east of Dhaka on the Dhaka–Sylhet highway. Buses leave from Sayedabad and Gulistan; trains on the Dhaka–Bhairab line stop at Narsingdi. For Wari-Bateshwar, go on to Marjal on the highway and take a CNG to the villages.
Local food
LatkanMust try
Sweet-sour yellow fruit, in season July–August
Sagar kola
The district's well-known banana
Latkan is the district's fruit, sold by the basket in season. Narsingdi is also known for its sagar kola (banana) and the river fish of the Meghna.
Places to see
Balapur Zamindar Bari
The crumbling estate of the Saha zamindars in Balapur village, Narsingdi Sadar: one-, two- and three-storey buildings, a large pond with separate ghats, a temple and a Durga Puja pavilion.
Park, eco park and picnic spotBhoboghure · CC BY 4.0Dream Holiday Park
A large amusement and water park at Panchdona on the Dhaka–Sylhet highway, a popular family day out from Dhaka and Narsingdi.
Village and communityBhoboghure · CC BY 4.0Latkan gardens of Belabo and Shibpur
The orchards where most of the country's latkan grows: in season the trunks and branches are covered in golden clusters, and buyers come from Dhaka to the village markets.
Mosque and shrineAshik Sarwar · CC BY-SA 4.0Parulia Dewan Sharif Mosque
A three-domed Mughal mosque of 1719 in Parulia village, Palash, among the oldest buildings in the district, with the tomb of its founders beside it.
Archaeological siteTanvir Anjum · CC BY-SA 4.0Wari-Bateshwar
One of the oldest urban sites in Bangladesh: a fortified settlement of roughly 400 to 100 BCE in two villages of Belabo, with a rampart, a moat, a paved road and finds of punch-marked coins and beads.
Sources 2
Times, fares and opening hours change. Check before you go.
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