Tourism Bangladesh
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Chattogram

Chattogram is Bangladesh's second-largest city and its main port, built across a series of hills and valleys where the Karnaphuli River meets the Bay of Bengal. It's also the natural gateway to the Chittagong Hill Tracts — Rangamati and Bandarban are both a few hours further on from here.

Getting there

Shah Amanat International Airport connects to Dhaka in about 45 minutes. By train, the journey takes 4-6 hours; by bus, 4-5 hours on AC or non-AC coaches.

Best time to visit

Winter (November-February) is cool and pleasant, around 15-25°C, and the best window for sightseeing. Monsoon (June-September) brings heavy rain and occasional flooding in low-lying areas.

What to see

  • Patenga Beach — where the Karnaphuli meets the Bay of Bengal, known for its dark, mineral-rich sand and sunset views. Beachside food stalls sell jhalmuri and fried crab.
  • Foy's Lake — a man-made reservoir in the hills, originally built by the Assam Bengal Railway in the 1920s, now surrounded by an amusement park and small zoo.
  • Chittagong War Cemetery — a Commonwealth cemetery for soldiers who died in the region during the Second World War.
  • Ethnological Museum — eleven galleries covering the cultures of different ethnic groups across Bangladesh.

Practical notes

Chattogram's hilly, sprawling layout means distances that look short on a map can take longer than expected by road — plan sightseeing in clusters rather than crisscrossing the city. For visa and entry requirements and general safety guidance, see Practical Info.

Chattogram features in several of our sample itineraries — see Itineraries for full multi-day routes. More photos of the city are in the Photo Gallery.