Declared a Ramsar wetland of international importance in 2000, Tanguar Haor is a massive inland freshwater basin fed by runoff from the Khasi and Jaintia hills. During monsoon it forms a vast open lake dotted with submerged koroch and hijal trees, while winter draws over two hundred species of migratory waterfowl to shallow beels. Most travelers hire traditional wooden houseboats with onboard cooks from Tahirpur ghat for one or two nights. Bring a power bank and personal toiletries, as boats use solar battery systems.
- Best time
- July to September, or December to February
- Give it
- A full day
- Cost
- Day boat roughly ৳3,000–6,000; overnight houseboat with meals about ৳6,000–12,000 per person
How to get to Tanguar Haor
From Sunamganj town, take a CNG auto-rickshaw or motorbike to Tahirpur ghat (about 1.5 hours, 40 km). Houseboats and motor engine boats depart directly from the ghat.
Sunamganj town is about 290 km from Dhaka, around 7 hours by road. Every way to get there is in the Sunamganj guide.
Swimming without a life jacket is prohibited; sound boxes and loud music are barred across the wetland.
More to see in Sunamganj
Photo: Rocky Masum, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Niladri Lake নীলাদ্রি লেক
A deep freshwater lake filling an abandoned limestone quarry at Tekerghat, ringed by grass-topped mounds and border hills.
- Best time
- October to March
- Give it
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free entry; local rowboat ride about ৳100–200; motorbike from Tahirpur about ৳300–400 each way
Photo: Mohammad Nur Alom, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Shimul Bagan শিমুল বাগান
A 33-acre grove of roughly three thousand red silk cotton trees on the sandy riverbank of the Jadukata in Tahirpur.
- Best time
- February to early March
- Give it
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Entry fee roughly ৳20; local boat crossing about ৳10–20; motorbike from Tahirpur about ৳200
Photo: Abu Hasan Mehedi, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Jadukata River যাদুকাটা নদী
A mountain river carrying cold water and rounded pebbles from Meghalaya across wide white sandbanks in Tahirpur.
- Best time
- November to March
- Give it
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Country boat rental roughly ৳300–600 per hour; motorbike from Tahirpur about ৳250 each way
Hason Raja Museum হাসন রাজা জাদুঘর
The preserved ancestral riverfront estate in Sunamganj town displaying memorabilia of the beloved nineteenth-century mystic poet.
- Best time
- October to March
- Give it
- About an hour
- Cost
- Entry fee roughly ৳20–30; rickshaw from central town about ৳30–40