Known for
- 1
An old river town.
Pabna sits by the Ichamati near the Padma, with a compact old quarter: the 18th-century Jor Bangla temple, the Tarash zamindars' pillared house, and the childhood home of the film star Suchitra Sen.
- 2
Pilgrims and a Mughal mosque.
At Himayetpur, just outside town, Sri Sri Anukulchandra's Satsang ashram draws devotees from Bangladesh and India; in the countryside the old Bharara Shahi mosque survives.
Best season
GoodFairNov–Feb
November to February: cool and dry, best for walking the old town. The Padma and the beels to the north are full in August and September.
Getting there
Bus
Dhaka
About 5 h
Coaches from Gabtali and Kalyanpur
Train
Dhaka
To Ishwardi junction, then road to Pabna town
Getting around
In town
Rickshaws and auto-rickshaws; the old sights are close together
Buses from Dhaka take about five hours over the Bangabandhu bridge. Ishwardi, in the west of the district, is a major rail junction on the Dhaka–Rajshahi and Khulna lines; from there buses and CNGs reach Pabna town in under an hour.
Local food
Pabna gheeMust try
Sold in the town's dairy shops
Pabna is known for its ghee and dairy, and for sweets from the old town shops; freshwater fish from the Padma in season.
Places to see
Bharara Shahi Mosque
An old mosque of the Mughal period at Bharara village near Pabna town, still in use for prayer.
Hindu templeMd. Sarwar Ul Islam Fakir · CC BY-SA 4.0Jor Bangla Temple
An 18th-century brick temple in Pabna town built in the jor-bangla style, two hut-shaped roofs joined side by side, with traces of terracotta on its face.
Satsang Ashram, Himayetpur
The ashram at the birthplace of Sri Sri Anukulchandra, founder of the Satsang movement, at Himayetpur just outside Pabna town; devotees come from both sides of the border.
Museum and galleryAashaa · CC BY-SA 4.0Suchitra Sen's House
The house in Pabna town where Suchitra Sen, the great star of Bengali cinema, grew up, now kept as a small memorial museum.
Fort and palaceMd. Sarwar Ul Islam Fakir · CC BY-SA 4.0Tarash Bhaban
The town house of the Tarash zamindars in the middle of Pabna, a two-storey building with a tall columned portico facing the road.
Sources 2
Times, fares and opening hours change. Check before you go.
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