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Dinajpur, Rangpur

Dinajpur

An old district of rice fields and lychee orchards in the north-west, home to the Kantajew Temple — the finest terracotta temple in Bangladesh — the great Ramsagar tank and the ruins of the Dinajpur Rajbari.

Local food to try

  • Kataribhog rice

    Dinajpur

    Dinajpur’s famous fine, fragrant rice, used for pulao, polao and festive dishes; many visitors take a bag home.

  • Kataribhog chira

    Dinajpur

    Flattened rice made from the same fragrant grain, eaten with yoghurt, molasses or bananas.

  • Lychees

    Dinajpur

    Dinajpur is the country’s best-known lychee district; the short season runs from late May into June.

  • Shidol and northern bhortas

    Dinajpur

    Fermented-fish shidol and other spicy mashes served with rice in local eateries.

Where to eat

  • The town centre

    Dinajpur town

    Restaurants, sweet shops and rice hotels around the central bazars and crossings.

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  • Lychee markets in season

    Dinajpur town

    In late May and June, lychees are sold by the bunch all over town.

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Where to stay

  • Dinajpur town

    Dinajpur Sadar

    Most hotels are in the town centre; Kantajew, Nayabad and Ramsagar are all easy trips from here.

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  • Government rest houses

    Dinajpur

    Some rest houses take travellers with prior booking; ask locally.

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Culture

Dinajpur is a meeting place of Bangali, Santal, Oraon and other communities, whose villages, festivals and dances are part of the district’s life.

  • The Rash Mela at Kantanagar, around the Rash Purnima full moon in the autumn month of Kartik, draws pilgrims and traders from far away.
  • Northern folk music, including Bhawaiya, is heard at fairs and gatherings.
  • The district’s fields of fragrant kataribhog rice and its lychee orchards shape the calendar.

History

Dinajpur lies in the old Varendra country of north Bengal, and for centuries it was ruled from the Dinajpur Raj, one of the great zamindar houses of the region. Its rajas left the district its best-known monuments: Maharaja Pran Nath began the Kantajew Temple in the early eighteenth century and his son Ramnath completed it in 1752, and Ramnath also had the vast Ramsagar tank dug south of the town.

The temple’s walls are covered in terracotta — thousands of baked-clay panels telling the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the story of Krishna, alongside scenes of hunting, processions and daily life in eighteenth-century Bengal.

In 1946–47 Dinajpur was a centre of the Tebhaga movement, when sharecroppers demanded two-thirds of the harvest. Today it is a farming district known across the country for its fine rice and its lychees.

Plan your visit

Best time to visit

October to February for sightseeing; November for the Rash Mela at Kantanagar; late May–June for lychees

How to get there

  • By bus: Coaches from Dhaka reach Dinajpur in about 8–9 hours via the Jamuna bridge, mostly as night services.
  • By train: Intercity trains run from Dhaka to Dinajpur station, an overnight or full-day journey.
  • By air: Saidpur airport, with domestic flights from Dhaka, is about an hour from Dinajpur by road.
  • From Rangpur, buses take around 2–3 hours.

Getting around

  • In town, rickshaws and battery auto-rickshaws go everywhere, including the Rajbari.
  • For Kantajew and Nayabad, take a bus on the Dinajpur–Thakurgaon road or hire a CNG or car for half a day.
  • Ramsagar is a short auto-rickshaw ride south of town.

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