Jhalokati

Local food to try

Guava
Jhalokati
The famous local guava, sold straight from the boats in the monsoon. Eat it fresh, or with salt and chilli.
Amra
Jhalokati
The sour-sweet hog plum the region is known for, eaten raw with spice or as chutney, in late monsoon and autumn.
Hilsa and river fish
Jhalokati
From the Sugandha and Bishkhali, in mustard curry or fried.
Doi and sweets
Jhalokati
Sweet doi and roshogolla from the town’s sweet shops.

Where to eat

Jhalokati town centre
Jhalokati Sadar
Local rice-and-fish hotels and sweet shops around the bazar and the launch ghat.
Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)
Bhimruli and village bazars
Jhalokati Sadar
Tea stalls and simple snacks by the canals; buy fruit straight from the boats.
Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Where to stay

Jhalokati town
Jhalokati Sadar
A few simple residential hotels, close to the launch ghat and bus stand.
Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)
Barishal city
Barishal, next door
Far more hotels of every level, 30–45 minutes away; many travellers visit Jhalokati on a day trip from Barishal.
Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Culture

Jhalokati is a canal country, and much of its life still moves by water.

Floating markets: in the monsoon, farmers bring guava, amra, lemons and vegetables to market in small boats and trade from boat to boat, most famously at Bhimruli.
Orchards on ridges: guava and amra grow on raised beds between narrow ditches, a landscape found across this corner of Jhalokati, Pirojpur and Barishal.
Old trading town: the riverside of Jhalokati town still has warehouses and old buildings from its port days.
Gamchha and handloom weaving, and boat-building, are long-standing local crafts.

History

Jhalokati grew up where the Sugandha, the Bishkhali and the Dhansiri meet, and in the 19th and early 20th centuries it was one of the busiest river ports in eastern Bengal. Rice, betel nut, timber, salt and cloth passed through its ghats, and the town’s wealth earned it the nickname of “the second Calcutta”.

The district was carved out of Barishal in 1984 and has four upazilas: Jhalokati Sadar, Nalchity, Rajapur and Kathalia. The poet and social reformer Kamini Roy, one of the first women honours graduates in British India, was born in Basanda village near the town.

Today Jhalokati is quiet and green, laced with canals that still serve as roads. In the monsoon its western villages turn into a world of guava and amra orchards, with farmers bringing the harvest to market by boat.

Plan your visit

Best time to visit

July to August (into September) for the floating guava market; October to February for cooler weather

How to get there

By bus: buses from Dhaka cross the Padma Bridge and reach Jhalokati in about 4.5–5.5 hours; many Barishal-bound and Khulna–Barishal buses also stop here.
From Barishal: buses, microbuses and CNGs take about 30–45 minutes.
By launch: overnight launches run from Dhaka’s Sadarghat to Barishal, a short road trip from Jhalokati. Ask locally whether a direct Dhaka–Jhalokati launch is running.

Getting around

Rickshaws and battery auto-rickshaws in town.
Auto-rickshaws and CNGs to Kirtipasha, Bhimruli and the other villages.
Hired boats — engine boats from the town ghat, or small rowing boats in the canals — are the best way to see the orchards and the floating market.
Bhimruli is close to the Pirojpur border; many travellers combine it with Atghar-Kuriana and Swarupkathi by boat.