Dhaka
An unfinished 17th-century Mughal fort with gardens and the tomb of Pari Bibi.
Lalbagh Fort is the best-known Mughal monument in Dhaka. It was begun in 1678 by Prince Muhammad Azam, a son of the emperor Aurangzeb, while he was governor of Bengal, and was first called Fort Aurangabad. Azam was recalled to Delhi after little more than a year, and the work passed to the governor Shaista Khan.
Shaista Khan’s daughter, Pari Bibi, died while the fort was being built. Seeing her death as a bad omen, he stopped the work, and the fort was never finished. Her tomb, faced with marble and stone, stands at the centre of the complex.
Inside the walls are three main buildings: the tomb of Pari Bibi, a three-domed mosque and the Diwan-i-Aam, the governor’s hall of audience with its bathhouse (hammam), now a small museum. Gardens, fountains and gateways fill the space between them, and parts of the massive outer walls and gates still stand.
Walk the gardens while they are quiet and see the tomb of Pari Bibi and the mosque from the paths.
Look at the Mughal-era weapons, coins and manuscripts, and the old bathhouse below the hall.
A short rickshaw ride north-east to the National Temple.
Head to Nazira Bazar for kacchi biryani and borhani, then bakarkhani and tea.
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October to March, early in the morning or late afternoon when the gardens are cooler.
In Old Dhaka. The lanes are narrow and busy: a rickshaw from Azimpur or Nilkhet is the easiest way in.
