Lawachara, Sylhet, Bangladesh
Lawachara is a major national park and nature reserve in Bangladesh. The park is located at Kamalganj Upazila, Maulvi Bazar District in the northeastern region of the country. It is located within the 2,740 ha (27.4 km2) West Bhanugach Reserved Forest.
Lawachara is about 160 km (99 mi) northeast of Dhaka and 60 km (37 mi) from Sylhet. It is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the town of Srimongal.
Biological diversity in the Lawachara National Park consists of 460 species, of which 167 species are plants, 4 amphibian species, 6 reptile species, 246 bird species, 20 mammal species, and 17 insect species.[5][6] One of this is the critically endangered western hoolock gibbons, of which only 62 individuals remain in the area.
Among many top destinations in Sylhet, Lawachara Rain Forest is a must-visit for all adventure lovers. Lawachara is one of the largest lush green forests in Bangladesh. Lawachara Rain Forest, this name sounds perfect to me while exploring during the Rainy Season. I also had no idea it could be such adventurous to explore with the sound of raindrops.
Here are many tall trees, where Chapalish Tree (Artocarpus Chama) was much common. The fruit of this tree is edible. And came to know many Tribals inside the forest collect those fruits and also Fig Tree (known as Ficus in Asia) fruits to eat.
There are many villages within the area of the Lawachara Forest. And mainly Tribals do stay here. Some common Tribals here are Manipuri, Khasi, and Tipra. I liked visiting one Christian Khasi Tribe village. It was great knowing tribal lifestyle.
Khasi Tribe Kid
Lush Green Walkway
Here Betel Leaf plants are very common and also saw many citrus trees and different flower trees. The Khasi peoples were very good to talk and served us Pomelo, which is known as Jambura in Bengali. Many Tribals lifestyle became changed in Sylhet. They are now well educated and can communicate in English besides their local language. I found some of them talking in Japanese. Many of them were relatives of my Guide Eusuf, and so it was easy knowing much about their lifestyle.
After that, we started to hike in the stream way, where both sides of the stream found spiky plants and also many Fern trees. The real attraction here is the old entrance which known as Emperor Gate. This old and historic architect established during the British rule in East Bengal which is now Bangladesh.
Emperor Gate
Noted
- It is not recommended to explore the forest without the help of Guide.
- Must be careful about snakes while hiking through the forest during monsoon.
- Must use any hiking shoe or boot for getting rid of Leech (Though not much harmful but precaution is better).
- Don’t visit any Tribal village without Guide, sometimes they don’t prefer talking with outsiders and they like to maintain their own privacy.
- Must carry Raincoat with you as it is more convenient. But I just preferred to use an umbrella.
