Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi
The old southern gateway of the city of Gaur, standing right on the Bangladesh–India border — a massive brick arch once guarded by the city’s police chief.
Kotwali Darwaza was the southern gate of Gaur, the walled capital of the Bengal Sultanate. Its name comes from the kotwal, the city’s chief of police, whose post stood here to watch the road into the capital.
The gate is a tall brick archway with thick walls, built to impress as much as to defend. Most of Gaur now lies in India, and the modern border runs right past the gate, so this one structure marks the edge of two countries as well as the edge of an old city.
For travellers it is a striking reminder of how large Gaur once was: the mosques around Shibganj were only the southern outskirts of a city that stretched far to the north.
Bus or CNG from Chapainawabganj town, about an hour.
Begin at the mosque, then ask locally about current access to the gate.
View the gateway as far as the BGB allows, without approaching the zero line.
On the way back, stop at the Darasbari Mosque and Madrasa.
October to February, in daylight
From Chapainawabganj town, go by bus or CNG towards Sona Masjid (about an hour), then by auto-rickshaw towards the border near Choto Sona Mosque. The last stretch is under BGB control; ask the local post how close you may go.
