Brick ramparts enclose an area of roughly 1.5 by 1.3 kilometres where the city of Pundranagara stood from at least the 3rd century BCE until about the 8th century CE. A limestone slab with a Brahmi inscription, found here in 1931, is the evidence for that early date. Inside the walls are excavated mounds, gateways and the shrine of Shah Sultan Balkhi Mahisawar. Just north, by the river, stand the site museum and the temple mound of Govinda Bhita.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- Half a day
- Cost
- Ramparts free; museum ticket about ৳20–30 for Bangladeshis, more for foreigners; CNG from town about ৳300–400 return
How to get to Mahasthangarh
About 13 km north of Bogura on the Rangpur highway. Local buses and CNG auto-rickshaws take around 30 minutes; walk the ramparts or hire a battery van at the site.
Bogura town is about 200 km from Dhaka, around 5 hours by road. Every way to get there is in the Bogura guide.
The site museum closes on Sundays and opens only in the afternoon on Mondays.
More to see in Bogura
Photo: Azim Khan Ronnie, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Gokul Medh (Behula's bridal chamber) গোকুল মেধ
A stepped brick mound south of Mahasthan that local legend calls the bridal chamber of Behula and Lakhindar.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free; a CNG auto-rickshaw from town costs about ৳250–350 return with waiting
Photo: Jubair1985, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Vasu Vihara ভাসু বিহার
Foundations of two Buddhist monasteries and a shrine in open farmland west of Mahasthan, known locally as Narapatir Dhap.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free; a CNG from Mahasthan about ৳200–300 return
Photo: Biddut Khoshnobish, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Kherua Mosque খেরুয়া মসজিদ
A three-domed brick mosque from 1582 outside Sherpur, built in the first years of Mughal rule in Bengal and still used for prayer.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free; bus from Bogura about ৳50, rickshaw about ৳30
Photo: Nahid.rajbd, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Nawab Palace (Mohammad Ali Palace Museum) মোহাম্মদ আলী প্যালেস মিউজিয়াম
The Bogura Nawab family's town house beside the Karatoya, now a museum and park in the middle of the town.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Small entry fee; rickshaw from Satmatha about ৳30