Jessore (also Jashore) is a district from the southern west corner of Bangladesh. This is the plain and low land from Bangladesh. Jessore doesn’t have any big rivers, but the Kopotakkho and the Buri Bhodra are the prominent rivers from there. The famous poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta was born in Jessore. Godkhali of Jessore is known as the flower kingdom of Bangladesh as the farmers cultivate plenty of flowers there. This district has several Baor (oxbow lakes) which are excellent to explore. There are several archaeological edifices and sites available in Jessore for history lovers. Agricultural farms around this district are miles after mile which is wonderful to explore by van or any other vehicles. Based on my visit to Jessore below are the list of popular tourist attractions and activities you can do. Also see more photos from Jessore district from the Photo gallery.

#1 ModhuPolli of Poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta

We all know that Michael Madhusudan Dutta is the father of Bangla sonnet. The birthplace of this famous poet is in Jessore. His house is known as Modhupolli. Lot of tourists visit his house every day. This is probably one of the most visited places from Jessore district. The authority has now built a display gallery using the used things of the poet and his family. Read more about ModhuPolli of Poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta.

#2 Chachra Shiva Temple

Chachra Shiva Temple is a 17th century built Hindu temple that is located at Chachra of Jessore district. This Hindu temple is very attractive as it has stylish terracotta at the outer wall of it. From the inscription of the temple it’s found that the Temple was built by someone named Monohor Ray during 1696. Being located beside the main road it makes the temple very easy to access. Read more about Chachra Shiva Temple.

#3 Jhapa baor

Jhapa baor is a wonderful arc shaped lake (oxbow lake) that is located in Jessore district of Bangladesh. The shape of the Baor is almost oval. It would be a nice experience to spend some time around the stagnant lake and have some boat riding. Read more about Jhapa baor.

#4 Shekhpura mosque

Shekhpura mosque is located in the village Shekhpura. This is an 18th century mosque that was built by a muslim saint named Saiyad Pir Riaj Tulla. Famous poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta used to learn Farsi here during his childhood. Read more about Shekhpura mosque.

#5 Vorot Vayna

Vorot Vayna is an archaeological site that is still less known to us. In fact we even don’t know much about this place. After discovering the site and also from the excavation, several valuable things were collected from here. By observing those things, experts are guessing this was built by the King Vorot which was nearly around 2000 years from now. Read more about Vorot Vayna.

#6 Mirzanogor Hammamkhana

Mirzanogor Hammamkhana is a strange architecture only if you do not know much about it. Because only this edifice exists nowadays, and the rest of its contemporary edifices have vanished. This is basically a bathroom (or shower room). Read more about Mirzanogor Hammamkhana.

#7 Imambara of Haji Mohsin

An old small edifice named Haji Muhammad Mohsin Imambara is located in the Jessore town. For your information, Haji Muhammad Mohsin was one of the greatest magnanimous, philanthropist, and munificent person during his time. This old house was built by her step sister named Munnujan Khanom who was a wealthy woman. Read more about Imambara of Haji Mohsin.

#8 Khajura baor

Khajura Baor is located near the Trimohoni bazaar of Keshobpur upazila. This is another oxbow lake from Jessore district, but smaller in size. Unlike any other Baor its water level decreases drastically during the dry season and people cultivate paddies and other seasonal crops here that time. But during the rainy season it is full with water and looks like a river. Read more about Khajura baor.

#9 Monihar Cinema Hall

It is not a tourist attraction. But you’d see this when you’re in Jessore. During my teen age I always wanted to visit this cinema hall, but never could do that. That’s why I had an interest in this cinema hall. It was built in 1984. The owner circulated an advertisement on paper asking for a beautiful name for his new cinema hall. And they have chosen the name Monihar. Read more about Monihar Cinema Hall.

#10 Godkhali the flower village

Godkhali of Jessore is famous for supplying most of the needs for flowers in Bangladesh. Some experts say it is as near as 70% of overall demand. Farmers chose to cultivate flowers over staple food paddy. You could visit this area any time of the year. But winter would be a nice time as plenty of roses bloom that time. This village is nearly 25 kilometers apart from the main town of Jessore.

#11 Date juice

Date plant produces nice juice overnight during winter. If you visit Jessore during winter then tasting the date juice is a must thing to do. Locally the juice is known as Khejurer Rosh. From Dhaka it is extremely difficult to buy date juice. But in Jessore the date plants are in plenty. Wherever you stand you should see at least a date plant. There is a risk of having Nipah virus from date juice. So be careful if you think it is not healthy.

How to go to Jessore

Most of the buses for Jessore leave from the bus terminal of Kalyanpur and Gabtoli. Good quality bus service names are Hanif enterprise, Shohag poribohon, Soudia, etc. It takes around 6-8 hours to reach Jessore from Dhaka depending upon the traffic condition. When I was traveling that time the ticket price was around 500-600 Taka. Not sure how much they are now.

Where to stay

There are few hotels available in Jessore and Khulna. But most of them are not available to book from online. If you want a comfortable hotel then I’d suggest you to stay in Khulna as they have quite a few international quality hotels over there.

Where to eat

Abbas hotel from Chuknagar (located in Khulna district but very close to Jessore) prepares a very tasty but spicy mutton using a traditional spice named Choi. The curry is very hot and tasty. If you visit Jessore then you must try this curry from there. Read more about Mutton of Abbas hotel.

This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog alonelytraveler.com