North Bengal Travel Guide: Tetulia, Kantajew Temple, Teesta Barrage, Mahasthangarh and Paharpur

North Bengal is the quiet, open side of Bangladesh: rice fields running to the horizon, wide rivers coming down from the Himalaya, flat-land tea gardens, and some of the finest heritage in the country. This North Bengal travel guide covers the best of Rangpur division and two great ancient sites on the way, Mahasthangarh and Paharpur, so you can plan one combined trip.

Getting to North Bengal by bus

Every road north crosses the Jamuna Bridge. Typical bus times from Dhaka, mostly with day and night departures:

• Bogura: about 4 to 5 hours
• Rangpur: about 6 to 8 hours
• Dinajpur: about 8 to 9 hours, mostly night services
• Nilphamari and Saidpur: about 8 to 10 hours
• Panchagarh: about 10 to 12 hours, mostly overnight; some coaches continue to Tetulia

Traffic near the bridge can add time, and before Eid much more. Saidpur in Nilphamari has the region’s airport if you want to fly one way.

Bogura and Mahasthangarh

Bogura is the gateway to the north and the natural first stop. About 13 kilometres north of town lies Mahasthangarh, the site of ancient Pundranagara and among the oldest urban sites in Bangladesh. Brick ramparts of the citadel still rise above the fields, and the Mahasthan Brahmi inscription found here is one of the oldest written records in the country. On the citadel stands the shrine of Shah Sultan Balkhi Mahisawar, and there is a site museum nearby.

A few kilometres south, Gokul Medh is a terraced brick mound known to everyone as Behula’s Bashor Ghor. Finish with Bogura’s famous doi back in town.

Paharpur

At Paharpur, in Naogaon, lie the ruins of Somapura Mahavihara, built in the late 8th century by the Pala king Dharmapala and once one of the greatest Buddhist monasteries south of the Himalaya. A square of monks’ cells surrounds a towering cross-shaped temple whose walls carry hundreds of terracotta plaques. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Paharpur is reached via Naogaon or Joypurhat; from Bogura, Naogaon is about 1.5 hours by bus, and a local auto-rickshaw covers the last stretch. The site is large and open, so go in the morning with water and a hat, and stay off the walls.

Rangpur

Tajhat Palace, on the edge of Rangpur city, is an early 20th-century zamindar palace with a broad marble staircase and central dome, now home to the Rangpur Museum. Nearby, the domed Carmichael College, founded in 1916, is one of the most beautiful campuses in the north. In June and July, look for Rangpur’s haribhanga mangoes. Check the museum’s opening days before you go.

Dinajpur and the Kantajew Temple

From Rangpur, buses take about 2 to 3 hours to Dinajpur. The highlight is the Kantajew Temple at Kantanagar, about 20 kilometres north of town: an 18th-century Krishna temple, completed in 1752, whose walls are covered from base to roof in terracotta panels of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and everyday life in old Bengal. Nothing else in Bangladesh matches it. It is a living temple, so dress modestly and do not touch the terracotta.

On the same trip, see the small terracotta Nayabad Mosque nearby, and Ramsagar, a huge 18th-century tank in a shady national park just south of Dinajpur town. Try the district’s kataribhog rice and chira, and lychees in late May and June.

Teesta Barrage

North of Nilphamari town via Dimla, about 1.5 hours by road, the Teesta Barrage spans the river at Dalia. It is above all a view: a long line of gates across a broad flood in the monsoon and a braid of channels and sandbanks in winter. Follow the staff’s instructions on where visitors may walk, and never swim or wade below the barrage.

Tetulia and the Kanchenjunga view

Bangladesh’s northernmost district is Panchagarh, and about 40 kilometres north of Panchagarh town, around an hour by bus or CNG, is Tetulia on the Mahananda river. From mid-October through November, when the haze clears, the snow peaks of Kanchenjunga can appear on the northern horizon at dawn. The view is never guaranteed, so stay the night, be at the riverside viewpoint before sunrise and allow two or three mornings if you can.

The Mahananda is the international border here: stay in the marked area and follow the instructions of the border guards. About 17 kilometres further north is Banglabandha Zero Point, the country’s northern tip. Around Tetulia, tea gardens grow on flat land, a landscape found nowhere else in the country; they are private, so ask before walking in.

One combined trip

A comfortable loop of about a week:

1. Night bus to Bogura. Mahasthangarh and Gokul Medh; night in Bogura.
2. Paharpur via Naogaon or Joypurhat; continue north.
3. Rangpur: Tajhat Palace and Carmichael College.
4. Dinajpur: Kantajew Temple, Nayabad Mosque and Ramsagar.
5. Panchagarh and Tetulia: overnight for the dawn view, and Banglabandha.
6. Teesta Barrage on the way back via Nilphamari, then a night bus to Dhaka from Rangpur or Saidpur.

Road times between towns vary, so check locally each morning.

When to go

October to February is dry and pleasant for sightseeing, and mid-October to November gives the best chance of Kanchenjunga. December and January are cold and often foggy in the far north, so bring warm clothes.

Book your bus

Search buses to Bogura, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Nilphamari or Panchagarh, compare departures and choose your seat online.