Chilmari was once a major inland river port connecting Assam with lower Bengal, immortalized in folk songs like Oki Gariya Bhai. Today the riverfront remains a focal point of life in Kurigram, where passenger trawlers and wooden cargo boats line the muddy ghats. In winter the Brahmaputra splits into braided channels around wide sandy chars, creating vast river plains where villagers farm seasonal crops. Hiring a local boat from the ghat for a trip out onto the water gives an unmatched view of the river's scale.
- Best time
- October to March
- Give it
- Half a day
- Cost
- Bus from Kurigram town about ৳60–80; private boat hire for a char trip roughly ৳800–1,500 depending on duration
How to get to Chilmari Port and Chars
About 32 km south of Kurigram town. Local buses or easy-bikes from Kurigram bus terminal reach Chilmari town and the ghats in about an hour.
Kurigram town is about 348 km from Dhaka, around 9 hours by road. Every way to get there is in the Kurigram guide.
More to see in Kurigram
Chandamari Mosque চান্দামারী মসজিদ
A three-domed brick mosque in Rajarhat, blending late Sultanate and Mughal styles with corner towers and carved mihrabs.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free; auto-rickshaw from Kurigram town roughly ৳150–250 each way
Sonahat Bridge সোনাহাট ব্রিজ
A 19th-century British steel-truss railway bridge over the Dudhkumar river, built for military routes to Assam and still carrying road traffic.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free; bus from Kurigram to Bhurungamari about ৳100, then local easy-bike ৳40–60
Photo: Salmaan.ulipur, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Ulipur Munshibari উলিপুর মুন্সীবাড়ি
An 18th-century zamindar residence in Ulipur with old temple pavilions, brick gateways and a bathing ghat on its historic pond.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free; bus from Kurigram to Ulipur about ৳40–50; rickshaw to the site ৳20–30