Sirajganj, Rajshahi
Sirajganj
The gateway to the north on the west bank of the Jamuna, known for the Jamuna Bridge, Rabindranath Tagore’s Kachharibari at Shahzadpur and the handloom villages of Belkuchi and Enayetpur.
Local food to try
Where to eat
Where to stay
Culture
Sirajganj is one of the great handloom districts of Bangladesh. In Belkuchi, Enayetpur and Shahzadpur the clack of looms fills whole villages, and their saris, lungis and gamchas — including tant and jamdani-style saris — are sold at large weekly cloth markets.
- Rabindranath Tagore lived and wrote at Shahzadpur; his birth anniversary on 25 Baishakh is celebrated at the Kachharibari with music and a fair.
- The country around Baghabari and Shahzadpur is dairy land, home to a large milk-processing centre.
- Life along the Jamuna — chars, ferries, fishing and the struggle with erosion — shapes the district’s songs and stories.
History
Sirajganj grew in the 19th century as a river port on the Jamuna, trading jute and other goods with Kolkata and beyond. The river has always ruled its life: the Jamuna shifts its channels and eats its banks, and much of the town’s story is one of floods, erosion and rebuilding.
In the 1890s Rabindranath Tagore came to Shahzadpur to look after his family’s estates, and wrote some of his best-loved poems, stories and letters here. His estate office, the Kachharibari, is now a museum.
The opening of the Jamuna Bridge (long known as Bangabandhu Bridge) in 1998 turned Sirajganj into the road gateway between Dhaka and the whole of the north. Away from the highway, the district remains a land of handlooms, dairy farms and char villages along the great river.
Plan your visit
Best time to visit
October to March; 25 Baishakh (early May) for Tagore’s birth anniversary at Shahzadpur
How to get there
- By bus from Dhaka: about 3–4 hours over the Jamuna Bridge to Sirajganj town, depending on traffic; many buses to the north also stop at the Jamuna Bridge west end, Hatikumrul and Ullapara.
- By bus from Rajshahi: about 3 hours, via Natore and Hatikumrul.
- By train: there is a direct train from Dhaka to Sirajganj town, and trains on the Dhaka–Rajshahi line stop in the district; check current schedules.
Getting around
- In Sirajganj town, rickshaws and battery auto-rickshaws reach the riverside and the markets.
- Hatikumrul junction on the highway is the hub for buses and CNGs to Shahzadpur, Ullapara and beyond.
- For Shahzadpur, Belkuchi and Enayetpur, take a local bus or CNG; distances are short but roads can be slow.
- Boats cross to the char villages of the Jamuna from the town’s ghats — go only with local boatmen and in good weather.