Cox's Bazar : Major Tourists' Attractions

Cox's Bazar is a city, fishing port, tourism centre and district headquarters in southeastern Bangladesh. The beach in Cox's Bazar is sandy and has a gentle slope; with an unbroken length of 120 km (75 mi). It is located 150 km (93 mi) south of the divisional headquarter of Chittagong. Cox's Bazar is also known by the name Panowa, which translates literally as "yellow flower". Another old name was "Palongkee".

Today, Cox's Bazar is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Bangladesh, although not a major international tourist destination. In 2013, the Bangladesh Government formed the Tourist Police unit to protect local and foreign tourists better, as well as to look after the nature and wildlife in the tourist spots of Cox's Bazar.

Cox's Bazar

Geography and climate

Cox's Bazar town with an area of 6.85 km2 (2.64 sq mi), is located at 21.583333°N 92.016667°E and bounded by Bakkhali River on the north and East, Bay of Bengal in the West, and Jhilwanj Union in the south.

The climate of Bangladesh is mostly determined by its location in the tropical monsoon region: high temperature, heavy rainfall, generally excessive humidity, and distinct seasonal variations. The climate of Cox's bazar is mostly similar to the rest of the country. It is further characterised by the location in the coastal area. The annual average temperature in Cox's Bazar remains at about a maximum of 34.8 °C (94.6 °F) and a minimum of 16.1 °C (61.0 °F). The average amount of rainfall remains at 3,524 mm (138.7 in).

Tourism

The beach is the main attraction of the town. There are several 3 star and 5 star hotels provide exclusive beachside area with accessories for the tourist. Visitors in other hotels visit the Laboni beach which is the area of the beach closest to the town. Other than the beach there are several places of interest near the town which can easily be visited from town centre.

 Sunset

• Himchari National Park: Himchari is located just south of the Cox's Bazar town. It consists of lush tropical rain forest, grasslands and trees, and features a number of waterfalls, the biggest of which cascades down toward the sandy, sun-drenched beach. The National Park was established in 1980 by the Government of Bangladesh as a conservation area for research, education and recreation. Once it was the stomping grounds of herds of Asian elephant. It is still home to a limited number of these mammals.

Himchori Waterfall

• Aggmeda Khyang: A large Buddhist monastery, and a place revered by around 400,000 Buddhist people of Cox's Bazar; and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The main sanctuary is posted on a series of round timber columns. It has a prayer chamber and an assembly hall along with a repository of large and small bronze Buddha images and a number of old manuscripts.

• Ramu: about 10 km (6 mi) from Cox's Bazar, is a village with a sizeable Buddhist population. The village is famous for its handicrafts and homemade cigars. There are monasteries, khyangs and pagodas containing images of Buddha in bronze, gold and other metals with precious stones. One of the most interesting of these temples is on the bank of the Baghkhali river. It houses not only relics and Burmese handicrafts but also a large bronze statue of Buddha measuring thirteen feet high which rests on a six feet high pedestal. Weavers ply their trade in open workshops and craftsmen make handmade cigars in their pagoda like houses.

Dead corals at St. Martin's Island

• St. Marin’s Island: St. Martin's Island is a small island (area only 8 km2) in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula, and forming the southernmost part of Bangladesh. There is a small adjoining island that is separated at high tide, called Chhera Island. It is about 8 km west of the northwest coast of Myanmar, at the mouth of the Naf River. The local names of the island are "Narical Gingira", also spelled "Narikel Jinjira/Jinjera", which means 'Coconut Island' in Bengali, and "Daruchini Dip". It is the only coral island in Bangladesh.

• Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park: Bangabandhu Sheikh MujibSafari Park is the first Safari Park in Bangladesh. The nature of the forest is tropical evergreen and rich with Garjan, Boilam, Telsur and Chapalish along with herbs, shrubs and creepers. Safari Park is a declared protected area where the animals are kept in fairly large area with natural environment and visitors can easily see the animal whenever they visit by bus, jeep or on foot. This park was established on the basis of South Asian model. This safari park is an extension of an animal sanctuary located along the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar road about 50 km (30 mi) from Cox's Bazar town. The sanctuary itself protects a large number of wild elephants which are native to the area. In the safari park there are domesticated elephants which are available for a ride. Other animal attractions include lions, Bengal tigers, Crocodiles, Bears, Chitals and lots of different types of birds and monkeys, which is wonderful project to attract the tourist.

Inani Beach

• Inani Beach: Inani is a stony beach near Cox's Bazar.

• Darianagar: Dariangar is plain beach with waterways flowing through it and nice pleasant scenery with beach on one side and mountains on the other. Tourist also can enjoy by parasailing.

The only aquarium in Bangladesh is in Cox's Bazar. Attractions also include parasailing, water biking, beach biking, horse riding, Cox Carnival circus show, Daria Nagar Ecopark, Cox's Bazar Development Authority, numerous architectural atttractions, Shishu Parks and numerous photogenic sites. The largest safaris park in the country, Bangabandhu Safari Park, is nearby. There is a forest reserve at Teknaf which also has a cable car planned.

Courtesy: Wikipedia

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