Rajbari, Dhaka
The historic river port near the meeting of the Padma and the Jamuna, once the terminus of the railway from Kolkata and still a busy ferry crossing.
In the British period the Eastern Bengal Railway ran from Kolkata to Goalanda Ghat, and from there steamers carried passengers and goods down the Padma to Narayanganj, Chandpur and the east. For travellers between Kolkata and eastern Bengal, Goalanda was the great changing point, and it lives on in memoirs, songs and in the dish known as Goalanda chicken curry.
The river has shifted many times since, and the old port is not where it was. Today Daulatdia is the ghat for ferries and launches across to Paturia in Manikganj, one of the country’s most important river crossings.
A visit here is about the river itself: the vast water near the confluence of the Padma and the Jamuna, ferries loading and unloading, and the bustle of a ghat town.
Take a bus or CNG from Rajbari town to Goalanda.
Watch the ferries and launches come and go at Daulatdia.
If time and weather allow, cross to Paturia and back by ferry for the view of the open river.
Eat fried fish or chicken curry at a ghat-side eatery, then return to Rajbari.
October to March, when the river is calmer
Goalanda is east of Rajbari town, roughly half an hour to an hour by bus, CNG or battery auto-rickshaw. Daulatdia ferry ghat is on the main road from Dhaka, so many travellers pass it anyway.
