River, lake and haor, Sunamganj
Tanguar Haorটাঙ্গুয়ার হাওর
- Time needed
- A day, or a night on a houseboat.
- best months
- Jul–Sep
- Cost
- Shared houseboat trips are priced per person; a hired engine boat is cheaper for a group.
A vast freshwater wetland at the foot of the Meghalaya hills, the country's second Ramsar site after the Sundarbans: an open sea of water in the rains, a mosaic of beels full of migrant birds in winter.
Plan your visit
- Best time
- July to September for water; December to February for birds.
At a glance
- Ramsar site
- Since 2000
- Protected
- Ecologically Critical Area, 1999
About
Tanguar lies in Tahirpur and Madhyanagar, fed by dozens of streams coming down from the hills on the Indian side. Local people call it the haor of many beels and mounds, and dozens of villages sit inside it. It was declared an Ecologically Critical Area in 1999 and listed under the Ramsar Convention in 2000.
In the monsoon the water stretches to the hills, with swamp trees (hijal and koroch) standing in it; most visitors spend a night on a houseboat, swim off the side and watch the clouds on the hills. In winter the water shrinks into separate beels and the haor fills with ducks and other migrant birds.
Getting there: CNG or motorbike from Sunamganj town to Tahirpur, then a boat from the ghat.
Things to do
- Spend a night on the water and watch dawn over the hills.
- Climb the watchtower near the swamp trees.
Good to know
- Wear a life jacket, and take your rubbish back with you; plastic is the haor's biggest problem.
- Keep away from the border line on the far side.
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