Gazipur, Dhaka
Gazipur
Dhaka’s busy northern neighbour, where the old Bhawal sal forest survives beside factories and research institutes — the easiest escape to green shade from the capital.
Local food to try
Where to eat
Where to stay
Culture
Gazipur mixes old Bhawal ways with the new life of its factory towns, where people from every corner of the country now live and work.
- Jackfruit country: the red-soil villages of Kapasia and Sreepur are known for jackfruit, sold by the roadside in early summer.
- The Garo and other small communities have long lived in the Bhawal forest villages.
- Winter is picnic season: the sal forest fills with family and office outings from Dhaka.
History
Gazipur was long part of Dhaka district and became a district of its own in 1984. For centuries the area was known as Bhawal, after the zamindari estate whose rajas ruled from Joydebpur. The estate is remembered across Bengal for the Bhawal Sannyasi case, the long court battle over a holy man who claimed to be the estate’s prince, thought to have died years before.
The red-soil uplands here once carried an unbroken sal forest. Much of it has been cleared, but the Bhawal National Park and patches around Sreepur and Kaliakair keep the old character alive.
In March 1971 Joydebpur saw one of the first armed stands of Bengalis against the Pakistani army, an event the district still commemorates. Today Gazipur is one of the country’s great industrial belts, full of garment factories, and home to national institutes of agricultural research and several universities.
Plan your visit
Best time to visit
November to February for cool, dry forest walks; the forest is lush but muddy in the monsoon
How to get there
- By bus: frequent buses run from Dhaka (Mohakhali, Gulistan and the airport road) up the Dhaka–Mymensingh highway to Gazipur Chowrasta, Joydebpur, Rajendrapur and Sreepur. The distance is short, but traffic decides the time: allow 1–2 hours, more at rush hour. Buses to Kaliakair and Chandra use the Dhaka–Tangail highway.
- From Mymensingh and Tangail: buses towards Dhaka pass through Gazipur, about 2–3 hours.
- By train: Joydebpur and Tongi are junctions on the lines north of Dhaka; many commuter and intercity trains from Kamalapur and the Airport station stop there.
Getting around
- Local buses and leguna run along the highways between Chowrasta, Joydebpur, Rajendrapur and Sreepur.
- CNG auto-rickshaws and battery autos cover the shorter hops off the highway.
- For Nuhash Palli or a full day of sights, hiring a car or CNG for the day is easiest.
- Avoid the highways at factory shift-change times, when traffic is heaviest.