Climb Bangladesh's second-highest mountain; visit the Chittagong Ship Breaking Yards
Posted on 29. Mar, 2009 by Mikey Leung in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Events, Free Travel Tips
You are here: Home » Blog » Best of Bangladesh » Chittagong Hill Tracts » Climb Bangladesh's second-highest mountain; visit the Chittagong Ship Breaking Yards
Click here for full size poster..
It’s time to escape the heat and head for the hills!
This April, join Bangladesh travel guru Mikey Leung for an unforgettable
Chittagong Hill Tracts Trek, co-organised with Bangladesh Eco-tours,
the hill tracts’ leading trek operator. The trek departs on April 14 from Chittagong and ends on April 18th, also in Chittagong.
Summary
An interesting tour focusing on the most interesting and least visited part of the country, the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Here you will experience the culture and lifestyle of the hidden indigenous people living there.
ACTIVITIES & HIGHLIGHTS
You’ll stay at quaint eco-cottages, enjoy a river cruise, the CHT’s New Year festival (Sangrai for Marma people), treks, handicraft shopping (or perhaps learning), bird watching, sightseeing & photography and most of all — absorbing the pristine atmosphere. Highlights include indigenous cultures, village-based education projects, tribal crafts, music, Buddhist Khyang and more.
DAY 01: Tue 14 Apr Arrive Chittagong
We greet you at Chittagong airport or train station. After a brief sightseeing tour of port city Chittagong we drive to south along the Arakan Highway and into the hills to a small tribal market town of Bandarban. After hotel check-in, you’ll enjoy the Sangrai, the new year festival of Marma tribe, then explore Buddhist temples and Stupas, wander through and photograph the indigenous bazaar or take a walk in the hills. Overnight at the Hillside Eco-lodge with great views of the Sangu river. Bandarban. (L/D)
DAY 02: Wed 15 Apr Bandarban to Ruma
This morning you’ll visit the local weekly market and able to see different tribal peoples arriving to trade for essentials, then drive to Ruma on a smaller hilly road. After a 2 hour drive, you’ll arrive at Ruma Ghat to board a small traditional wooden boat that will take us down the Sangu river to Ruma Bazar. At this time of year there will be little water in the river. This is a very small interesting and ‘relatively’ important riverside market inhabited by Bawm tribal people. In Ruma we’ll stay at the small local guesthouse (B/L/D)
DAY 03: Thu 16 Apr Ruma to Boga Lake, trekking
After breakfast, you’ll take a 5-6 hour trek up a creek valley. You’ll halt for bananas and tea at half-way point. On reaching the last section, the valley will narrow and you’ll have a short climb up the foothill and have some very nice views. The rest of the afternoon is free to rest and mingle in this small and friendly Bawm village. Overnight at a community-built guesthouse. (B/L/D)
DAY 04: Fri 17 Apr Boga Lake & Kewkradang
Today you spend all day at Boga lake village observing and perhaps helping out a bit in the daily life of these hill people. Optionally, you can take a shorter trek up to Darjeeling Para and see the peak of Keokeradang (highest point in Bangladesh). Or you can visit a nearby Marma Buddhist village below the lake. Overnight at a community-built guesthouse. (B/L/D)
DAY 05: Sat 18 Apr Boga Lake to Bandarban via Ruma
You take leave village hosts this morning and gradually trek down the small river valley to Ruma Bazaar. You then take a small wooden country boat to Bandarban and drive back to Chittagong. It was home to the largest population of British in Bengal next to Kolkata (Calcutta) during the colonial times.
We will also include an optional visit to the ship breaking yards where large ships are scrapped by hundreds of men by hand (lots of them), the recycling of gigantic ships by hand, a truly awesome sight! and also visit some recycling shop.
We drop you at airport to fly back to Dhaka or transfer to train station for the overnight journey. (B/L).
Note:
Please note that this tour plan is just a guide to what is planned. We remain open to your input and plans be adjusted to make your tour more interesting, relevant and exciting. It may also be modified due to unforeseen circumstances.
Deposit:
Trip deposit (US$100) will be required in order to book reservation for this trip. The maximum number of passengers is four.
Malaria Notes:
We will be trekking through malaria prone areas on this trip. While we don’t expect any problems, it is best to be prepared. Mosquito nets will be provided at all accommodation. It is highly recommended that you bring long-sleeved tops and bottoms for the evenings and wear mosquito repellent at all times. Guests must also begin the malaria prophylaxis before departure. Malaria testing facilities are widely available in the CHT.
While Bangladesh Ecotours and Joybangla.info are happy to offer advice and suggestions on anti-malarial measures, we cannot take any responsibility for the misconduct of guests who do not follow our advice. Passengers will be required to sign a waiver form to this effect before departure or they will not be allowed to participate on this trip.
Cost:
The trip cost is $425 USD, or 29,000BDT.
The trip cost includes:
-All meals as listed in the itinerary
-Private hire transport from Chittagong to Chittagong
-Accommodation at local guesthouses and villages
-Boat Ride on the Sangu River (Ruma to Bandarban)
-Obtaining government permits
-Local Tour Guide
-Foreign Professional Tour Leader
Trip cost does not include:
-Transport to/from Chittagong
-Gratuities
-Souvenirs
-Antimalarial medicines (available locally in CHT)
