Chittagong is a nice place to travel. This district is blessed with the famous river Karnafuli (or Karnaphuli). It is the largest river from Chittagong district. It originated in Mizoram and flows approximately 270 kilometer before falling into the Bay of Bengal. This river is known as one of the fastest flowing rivers from Bangladesh. Lake Kaptai is formed by blocking the flow of the river. That lake contributes the major portion of hydro electricity.
The city has the vast ocean beside it. And of course the hills of Chittagong are very picturesque. As a part of our Chittagong tour, my friends and I went to visit Karnafuli river. There is a restaurant called Zoom, just beside the Chittagong-Kaptai road. This restaurant is monitored and managed by the BDR (recently BGB). It’s a nice picnic spot. That day I found a lot of students from Rangamati came there as a part of their study tour.
From the spot you can enjoy the panoramic view over the river Karnafuli. This river is flowing nicely, always full with water, whether it’s dry season or rainy. Both sides of the river have small hills, which are rich with various kinds of deciduous trees. As I was there during the dry season I found most of the trees were having no leaves. It’s a different kind of beauty. No sign of life, but it’s still looking charming.
There are several boats at the river, you can have a boat ride using those. Those are a bit costly, but you know you have to spend some money when you wanna enjoy beauty. I think their authority could ease the cost of boat hiring. That would make life much easier for a budget traveler like me.
I always love to swim in the river, but I didn’t see any people in the river swimming. Wasn’t sure whether it was permitted to swim in that particular area or not. So I could dare myself to show some courage to jump inside that river.
River Karnafuli, and Zoom Restaurant,
Chittagong-Kaptai road,
District: Chittagong,
Country: Bangladesh,
GPS Coordinate (22.5068863, 92.1456922)
Written by Lonely Traveler,
For blog alonelytraveler.com
Saturday, 27th March 2010
