Island, Noakhali
Hatiya Islandহাতিয়া দ্বীপ
- Time needed
- Passed through in half a day, or a night at Oskhali.
- best months
- Nov–Feb
- Cost
- Sea truck about ৳100–300; motorbike across the island ৳300–500.
The big island in the Meghna estuary, 60 km long, with half a million people, a bazar town at Oskhali, embankments, fishing fleets and the road south to Nijhum Dwip; the stepping stone for the whole trip.
At a glance
- Length
- About 60 km
- Ghats
- Nalchira, Tamaruddin, Moktaria
About
Hatiya has been an upazila since 1793 and an island for far longer, though the river keeps moving it: the old Hatiya town was eaten by erosion and the whole settlement shifted south. The island is flat farmland behind embankments, with the sea on the west, chars on the east, and ghats at Nalchira (north), Tamaruddin (east, for the Dhaka launch) and Moktaria (south, for Nijhum Dwip). The crossing on the sea truck, the ride down the island's one road through paddy and betel, and the fishing ghats are the experience; most visitors pass through, but the eastern beaches and the erosion-cut western shore are worth a stop.
Getting there: Sea truck or launch from Chairman ghat to Nalchira, or the overnight launch from Dhaka to Tamaruddin.
Things to do
- Stop at a fishing ghat on the way south and watch the boats come in.
Good to know
- The last motorbikes to Moktaria leave mid-afternoon; do not arrive on Hatiya late.
