Known for
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A mango tree like a grove.
At Mandumala near the Harinmari border in Baliadangi, a Surjapuri mango tree about two centuries old has spread its branches down to the ground and out across the field: one of the largest mango trees in the country, and the reason most visitors come.
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Zamindars of the borderland.
The Jamalpur zamindar-bari mosque near Shibganj, the Haripur Rajbari in its upazila town and Raja Tonkonath's palace at Ranisankail are the old estates' memorials, quiet, little visited and easy to see in a day.
Best season
GoodFairNov–Feb
November to February: cool, dry and often foggy, the north at its most pleasant; nights are cold. Come in June to see the Surjapuri mango tree in fruit and the district's mangoes in season.
Getting there
Bus
Dhaka
9–10 h
Overnight coaches from Gabtoli and Kallyanpur
Train
Dhaka
About 10 h
Intercity trains to Panchagarh stop at Thakurgaon Road
Air
Dhaka
1 h, then about 2 h by road
Fly to Saidpur and go on by car or bus
Getting around
Thakurgaon town
Buses and CNGs to Baliadangi, Haripur and Ranisankail
Overnight buses and the intercity trains to Panchagarh run from Dhaka to Thakurgaon. Saidpur airport is the nearest. In the district, buses and CNGs reach Baliadangi, Haripur and Ranisankail from the town.
Local food
Surjapuri mangoMust try
The district's own small sweet mango, June
Surjapuri mangoes in early summer, small and very sweet; litchis; and in winter the rice and date-juice pithas of the north.
Places to see
Gorkui Shiva Temple
An old Shiva temple complex at Gorkui, a local place of worship and pilgrimage with weathered stone and brick shrines.
Fort and palaceAnup Sadi · CC BY-SA 4.0Haripur Rajbari
The decaying palace of the Haripur zamindars in the middle of the upazila town, a protected monument with its kachari, temples and inner quarters.
Mosque and shrineMd. Sarwar Ul Islam Fakir · CC BY-SA 4.0Jamalpur Zamindar-bari Jame Mosque
The ornate mosque of the old Jamalpur zamindars, a protected monument a few kilometres west of Shibganj hat, admired for its domes, slim minarets and plaster decoration.
Fort and palaceAlif Arefur · CC BY-SA 4.0Raja Tonkonath's Palace
The early 20th-century palace of Raja Tonkonath at Ranisankail, about 40 km from Thakurgaon town: a long two-storeyed facade with rows of rooms, now empty.
Surjapuri Mango Tree, Harinmari
A single Surjapuri mango tree at Mandumala in Baliadangi, about two hundred years old, whose branches touch the ground and spread so wide it looks like an orchard.
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