Known for
- 1
A town on a lake.
Rangamati sits on islands and peninsulas in Kaptai Lake, the reservoir that drowned the old valley in 1962. Everything is by boat: the hanging bridge, Shuvolong falls and gorge, the Rajban Vihara and the Chakma raja's seat, the floating restaurants, and Kaptai itself with its dam and national park.
- 2
Sajek.
The valley at the top of the district, 1,800 feet up on the Mizoram border, is reached from Khagrachari in escorted jeep convoys: cloud below the cottages at dawn, Lusai and Tripura villages, and the most photographed sunrise in the country. Book ahead in winter.
Best season
GoodFairOct–Mar
- Biju / Boisabi 12–15 April, flowers floated on the lake at Phul Biju
- Kathin Chibar Dan, Rajban Vihara October–November, the robe woven and offered in a day
October to March: clear water, cool mornings, dry roads to Sajek. The lake is fullest and Shuvolong loudest in September and October, just after the rains; by March the falls are a trickle and the lake has dropped to show the drowned stumps. Boisabi (12 to 15 April) is the hill new year. Foreigners need prior permission for the Hill Tracts; everyone registers at the Sajek checkposts.
Getting there
Bus
Dhaka
8 h, ৳800–1,600
Overnight; Shyamoli, Saint Martin, Hanif
Bus
Chattogram
2.5 h
From the Oxygen stand, every half hour
Getting around
On the lake
Boat ৳1,500–3,000 a day
From Reserve Bazar or Tabalchhari ghat; agree the stops first
Buses from Dhaka (Shyamoli, Saint Martin, Hanif, about 8 hours overnight) and from Chattogram's Oxygen stand (2.5 hours) reach Rangamati town. On the lake, boats are hired at the Reserve Bazar or Tabalchhari ghats for the day (Shuvolong, the bridge, Rajban Vihara). Kaptai is an hour by road or a long boat ride. Sajek is reached from Khagrachari, not from Rangamati town.
Local food
Lake kachki and chapilaMust try
Small fish fried crisp at the floating restaurants
Pajon
The many-vegetable dish of Biju
Lake fish (kachki, chapila, big rui from the reservoir) at the floating restaurants, Chakma food with nappi and bamboo shoot, pajon (the mixed vegetable of Biju), hill pork, and Peda Ting Ting's cooking on its island. Sajek has its own bamboo chicken and rice.
Places to see
Waterfallআহমেদ প্রবুদ্ধ হাসান নিনাদ · CC BY-SA 4.0Dhuppani Waterfall
A high fall in the deep hills of Bilaichhari, reached by boat from Kaptai and a hard walk: water drops about 200 feet in a white curtain (dhup pani, "white water") into a gorge with a cave behind it; a monk's meditation site, open to visitors only on certain days.
Monument and memorialMoheen Reeyad · CC BY-SA 4.0Kaptai Dam
The earth dam across the Karnaphuli, completed in 1962, that made the lake and runs the country's only hydroelectric station: a 670-metre embankment with a spillway of 16 gates, seen from the lake side or the navy road.
River, lake and haorMohammad Rafi Saad · CC BY-SA 4.0Kaptai Lake
The largest man-made lake in the country, about 700 km² of water behind the Kaptai dam on the Karnaphuli, filled in 1962: the whole district is organised around it, and a day in a boat on it is the Rangamati trip.
Forest and mangroveSiraj Akram Kayes · CC BY-SA 4.0Kaptai National Park
About 5,500 hectares of old mixed evergreen forest on the hills above the Karnaphuli at Kaptai, a national park since 1999: elephants, gibbons, hornbills, teak planted by the British in 1873, and trails from the Kaptai road.
Food spotSabrina Naz · CC BY-SA 4.0Peda Ting Ting
The island restaurant on Kaptai Lake that made hill food a destination: Chakma dishes with bamboo shoot, nappi and lake fish, cottages among the trees, reached by boat on the way to Shuvolong.
Park, eco park and picnic spotZahirul Islam Iqbal · CC BY-SA 4.0Polwel Park
The police welfare park on the lake shore in the town: a lakeside walk, a small hanging bridge, cottages, boats and "Love Point", the town's own evening spot.
Buddhist vihara and pagodaSouvik.arko · Public domainRajban Vihara
The largest Buddhist monastery in the country, on a lake island at the edge of town, home of the late Banabhante, the forest monk whose preserved body lies here: a complex of halls, stupas and shrines under the Chakma raja's patronage.
Monument and memorialShakhawat Hossen Shafat · CC BY-SA 4.0Hanging Bridge
The 335-foot suspension footbridge between two lake islands at the Parjatan complex, built in 1984: the picture of Rangamati on every postcard, and the first stop of every boat.
Hills and mountainsSolayman .Emon · CC BY-SA 4.0Sajek Valley
The ridge-top village of Ruilui at about 1,800 feet on the Mizoram border, the most visited hill spot in the country: cottages above a sea of cloud at dawn, Lusai and Tripura hamlets, Konglak hill at the end of the road; reached from Khagrachari by escorted jeep.
WaterfallMuntasir du · Public domainShuvolong Waterfall
A 300-foot fall straight into Kaptai Lake at Barkal, reached only by boat through the Shuvolong gorge, where the hills close in on the water: the climax of the lake day, loudest in September and October.
Sources 2
Times, fares and opening hours change. Check before you go.
Take this guide offline.
The same guide, every place and photo, on your phone without a connection. Mark the district when you get there.
