Sylhet
The Sari river, famous for its turquoise-green water, best seen from a boat.
Lalakhal is a stretch of the Sari river in Jaintiapur, where the water comes down from the Meghalaya hills. Its fame is the colour: in the dry months the river turns a striking blue-green, almost turquoise, against white sandbanks and the dark green of the hills. It owes the colour to the minerals and fine sediment carried down from the hills, and to the water running clear and slow.
The usual way to see it is by boat from the ghat on the Jaflong road, travelling upstream between low hills and tea gardens towards the border. Along the way you pass sandbanks, fishing boats and villages, and near the upper end there is a tea estate on the hills above the river.
Compared to Jaflong it is calmer and less crowded, and many people say the boat ride itself is the highlight. It fits neatly into a day on the Jaflong road.
Drive out on the Jaflong road and turn off for the Sari river ghat.
Take a boat upstream past sandbanks and tea-covered hills while the water is at its bluest.
Step off for a short walk near the tea garden, then head back downstream.
Have lunch near the ghat and continue to Jaflong, or return to Sylhet.
November to April, when the water is clearest and most blue-green. In the monsoon the river runs high and muddy.
Take the Jaflong road to Sarighat, 1–1.5 hours from Sylhet city, then a boat up the Sari river. Easy to combine with Jaflong.
The river is the road. Engine boats take you upstream from the ghat and back; there is time to step off on the sandbanks and walk a little near the tea garden at the upper end.
