Mughal viceroy Mir Jumla constructed this brick water fortress around 1660 to defend Dhaka from raids by Portuguese and Arakanese corsairs. The fort has five-sided curtain walls with rounded corner bastions and rows of musket slits. Inside, a circular brick watchtower served as an elevated platform for artillery pieces trained across the river channel. The grounds now function as a quiet public park with grassy lawns shaded by old trees.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- About an hour
- Cost
- Entry free; rickshaw from Chashara about ৳30–40
How to get to Hajiganj Fort
In Hajiganj, Narayanganj city, about 1.5 km north of Chashara. A rickshaw or easy-bike from Chashara railway station takes 10 to 15 minutes.
Narayanganj town is about 18 km from Dhaka, around 1 hours by road. Every way to get there is in the Narayanganj guide.
More to see in Narayanganj
Photo: Dolon Prova, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Panam Nagar পানাম নগর
A historic street of 52 brick merchant mansions in Sonargaon, built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Entry roughly ৳100 for Bangladeshis, more for foreigners; easy-bike from Mograpara about ৳30
Photo: Ahidul hasan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Bangladesh Folk Art and Crafts Museum বাংলাদেশ লোক ও কারুশিল্প ফাউন্ডেশন
A sprawling cultural museum at Sonargaon featuring folk artisan workshops, rural crafts and the restored Boro Sardar Bari palace.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Entry roughly ৳50 for Bangladeshis, more for foreign visitors; pedal boats on the pond about ৳100
Photo: SabbirAbeir (md sabbir), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Sonakanda Fort সোনাকান্দা দুর্গ
A 17th-century Mughal river outpost in Bandar with a colossal circular artillery platform overlooking the river.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Entry free; boat crossing across Shitalakshya roughly ৳5–10; rickshaw in Bandar about ৳25
Photo: David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Goaldi Mosque গোয়ালদী মসজিদ
A 1519 Sultanate brick mosque tucked among village trees near Sonargaon, notable for terracotta rosettes and stone mihrabs.
- Best time
- November to February
- Give it
- About an hour
- Cost
- Entry free; auto-rickshaw from Panam Nagar about ৳30–40