One can search for his/her soul by listening to the roar of the sea, as Jamie Lyn Beatty noted, “Jobs fill your pocket but adventures fill your soul.” To escape the monotonous, busy, and chaotic schedule of regular life, one can open and close the eyes taking shelter in a unique sea beach for refreshment of the soil. You can roam around the beach, soaking feet in the seawater and taking fun from beach activities and enjoy seafood and the sunset with friends and family. It’s the city of scenic beauty and peace, called Cox’s Bazar, where you can take a fresh breath of life.
Cox’s Bazar is famous for the longest natural sandy sea beach in the world, which beckons the sea lovers of home and abroad situated in the southeastern part of Bangladesh. It’s the tourist capital of Bangladesh, only 298 kilometers (185 miles) away from Dhaka. Previously known as “Palongki”, the beach town, also an administrative district, was renamed as Cox’s Bazar after Captain Hiram Cox; a philanthropic captain in British India, at the end of the 18th century.
Arguably the most favorite place to travel, Cox’s Bazar has many attractions such as colorful indigenous life-style, delightful sea foods, f ishing port, pagodas and unique experience of sunbathing on the beach. The marine drive of almost 80 kilometers mesmerizes the visitors’ travel experience with the beauty of mountains on one side and the soothing sea on the other. It is well-known for creating a recreational gateway for travelers to explore wonderful spots around Ramu Buddha Bihar to Patuartek Beach.
Attractions of Cox’s Bazar By visiting Radiant fish world, a living aquarium to witness all the exotic fishes and other sea creatures, one might get the feeling of exploring the underwater world of the sea. This place offers a 3D movie theater, souvenir shop, kids playing zone, and a restaurant to enrich the experience of the visitors. It is a new addition to Cox’s Bazar.
Himchori Waterfall & Hill Track is one of the fascinating tourist attractions of Cox’s Bazar for hiking. It has a Buddhist Temple on top of the hill where tourists can have a thrilling experience while trekking at the Himchari National Park. The waterfall of Himchori amazes the tourists with its unforgettable beauty. The park is enriched with 55 species of mammals, 13 species of amphibians, 56 species of reptiles, 117 species of plants and 286 species of different kinds of birds. The nearby sea beach is a popular beach with red crabs.
Ramu is known for monasteries, temples and various Buddhist statues and images. The most important sightseeing attraction of the place is the beautiful Buddhist temple near Bakkhali on Tiger Canal. Various Buddhist relics and Burmese handicrafts are available here. The Rangkut Bonasram Buddha Bihar is the oldest temple in the area and is said to have been set up in 338 BC. The 100-foot golden coloured reclining statue of Lord Buddha, located at the Vimukti Bibeshan Bhabna Kendra Temple, is considered to be the world’s third largest Buddha statue. Two other attractions of the place are coconut garden and rubber garden. The coconut garden with one million trees over 200 acres is one of the largest coconut gardens in South Asia.
Sabrang Tourism Park is another attraction located in Teknaf, which is going to be the first exclusive tourism park of Cox’s Bazar district to enchant the tourists from abroad with amazing hill and sea beach views. It is situated at an exclusive beachfront with a half an hour sea cruise to Saint Martin’s, a coral island and 30 minutes’ proximity to Cox’s Bazar Airport. The purest air, lofty hill with the blend of sea and lagoon is enough to create the perfect combination to fall in love with the place again and again. Apart from this, the work of establishing Naff Tourism Park and Sonadia Eco Tourism Park is going on.
Dulahazra Safari Park of Chakaria upazila is not only an excellent addition to entertain the visitors with an Eco-park, conservation of wild animals in a natural environment, but also convenient to visit from Cox’s Bazar within a short span of time.
There are more than 500 hotels, motels, and guest houses with excellent facilities and accommodations. The restaurants are abundant with a variety of great foods to satisfy the taste buds of different types of food lovers and enthusiasts. Tourists can also enjoy sea diving, hiking, hill tracks, horse riding, parasailing, kayaking, and other beach activities to have the fullest fun by visiting Cox’s Bazar.
Inani Beach is considered as the f inest beach of Bangladesh and famous for its rock and coral boulders. Here you can see the beauty of hills on one side and the beauty of the sea on the other. Views of sunset and sunrise from this beach is a memorable lifetime experience. The blue and shark free water is suitable for bathing and swimming without any fear.
Moheshkhali is an island which is quite hilly and fringed with mangroves. You will enjoy the simplicity of the island and the lifestyle of the people. This island is also famous for salt production. Adinath Temple is a famous pilgrimage site of the island where thousands of Hindu devotees congregate on an annual occasion.
Sonadia, a small nine square kilometers of island, is a sanctuary for migratory birds such as petrels, snipes, shanks, lapwings, geese, ducks and other waterfowls. A number of rare species of marine lives such as green turtles and red crabs can be seen here. The island is the biggest dry fish producer of the country, where interested tourists get an opportunity to know the process of drying fish.
Sandwip Island is to be attracted by its uniqueness, it is close to the mouth of the Meghna River in the Bay of Bengal and is separated from the Chittagong (Chattogram) coast by Sandwip Channel. The island is 50-km in length and 5-15 km in width. The scientists are in agreement that four to five hundred years back the land size was seven to eight times bigger than the current size. Four hundred thousand people live there. Of late the island has become popular among adventurous people who choose this site for camping. The only way to reach the island is by water.
Saint Martin’s, the one and only coral island of Bangladesh, is a small island measuring eight square kilometers. The visible landmass sinks during the tide. Alternatively called the pearl of the sea, it is about 10 km from the mainland in Teknaf. The safest means of transport is the government-owned ferry which takes around two hours one way. Tourists have the option to spend a few hours and return the same day or stay one or two days. Relaxation and fun in the picturesque place of blue sky and coconut trees, swimming in crystal blue water, snorkeling in the lagoon and walking in fresh air will be a lifetime experience. The sea food with its variety and taste has an appeal. There are a good number of hotels, guest houses and eateries. There is a scuba diving facility and a sea turtle hatchery. Since it is a small island one can tour the entire area on foot in a few hours. The permanent residents of the island, numbering around 8,000, are all fishermen.
Chhera Dwip, which is a part of Saint Martin’s Island, gets separated during tides. If the connecting land is not submerged, you can take a two and a half hours walk to this place. Alternatively you can take a motor boat. In this Islet you will find the Corals- living and dead all over the place. A small bush is there, which is the only green part of Chhera Dwip.
Gateway for future possibilities Cox’s Bazar international airport development With the ongoing upgradation of the international airports, it is expected to welcome more tourists to Cox’s Bazar as it will be the fourth international airport in Bangladesh. The two phases of upgrading will provide better parking, landing, and take-off for wide-body aircraft as the airport’s runway will expand from 6790 feet to 9000 feet, and widen from 150 feet to 200 feet. With the completion of the airport, it is expected to increase the number of domestic and international passengers significantly by bringing new opportunities for business and pleasure.
Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar Rail Line Project The Dohazari (Chattogram)-Cox’s Bazar Rail Line Project can work as a multi-faceted way of communication between Cox’s Bazar and the rest of the country. The 101-km-long Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar single line dual gauge railway line is one of the mega projects of Bangladesh Railway with a sophisticated railway junction at Dohazari of Chattogram.
On average, almost 5 million tourists visit Cox’s Bazar every year which will increase with the completion of the project. Economic activities will increase and create more employment and business opportunities by improving communication with Myanmar via Ramu, up to China in the future. It will also play a significant role in the Trans-Asia Highways and Railways project plan by speeding up communications with economic zones and the deep sea port for greater benefit.
Best time to visit November to early March is the best time to visit Cox’s Bazar. The visitors can travel by Air, Train, or Bus depending on their convenience. A five-day trip can cost $300-$1,000 which is a great deal for anyone to take a break from monotonous routine life. Cox’s Bazar can never disappoint any sea lovers as it is the perfect destination to escape any hectic journey of life. Memories of such a pleasant holiday can excite anyone to go back and cherish the experience by reliving them anytime.
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