Pabna, Rajshahi
Pabna
An old district town on the Padma, known for the Hardinge Bridge at Paksey, the terracotta Jor Bangla temple, Suchitra Sen’s childhood home and its handloom and dairy villages.
Local food to try
Where to eat
Where to stay
Culture
Pabna is a district of weavers and dairy farmers.
- Handloom cloth — lungis, gamchas and saris — is woven in many villages, and the town’s markets sell it.
- The low country towards Bera, Santhia and Faridpur upazila is dairy land; milk, ghee and sweets from here travel across the region.
- The Satsang Ashram of Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra at Hemayetpur draws devotees, especially at its festivals.
- In the rains, Chalan Beel spreads across the district’s eastern edge, with boat travel and fishing villages.
History
Pabna lies on the north bank of the Padma, between the river and the great Chalan Beel wetland. It is one of the oldest districts of Bengal under British rule, and the town on the Ichamati grew rich as a trading and estate centre — the old houses and temples of its central neighbourhoods still show it.
In the early 20th century the railway changed the district. The Hardinge Bridge, opened in 1915 at Paksey, carried trains across the Padma and made Ishwardi a major railway junction. In 2004 the road bridge named after Lalon Shah opened alongside it.
Pabna is also remembered as the childhood home of the film star Suchitra Sen, and the town of the long-established Pabna Mental Hospital at Hemayetpur. Around it lie handloom villages, dairy country towards Bera and Santhia, and the wide fields of the Padma char.
Plan your visit
Best time to visit
October to March, when the Padma is calm and the chars are green
How to get there
- By bus from Dhaka: about 4–5 hours via the Jamuna Bridge, with day and night coaches to Pabna town; some go on to Ishwardi.
- By bus from Rajshahi: about 2.5–3 hours, via Natore and Ishwardi.
- By train: intercity trains between Dhaka and Rajshahi or Khulna stop at Ishwardi Junction, about an hour by road from Pabna town and close to Paksey; check current schedules.
Getting around
- In Pabna town, rickshaws and battery auto-rickshaws reach the Jor Bangla temple and Suchitra Sen’s house easily.
- For Paksey and the bridges, take a bus or CNG to Ishwardi, then an auto-rickshaw to Paksey.
- Local buses connect the town with Ishwardi, Bera, Santhia and Chatmohar.
- Hiring a CNG for half a day is the simplest way to combine the town sights with Paksey.