Delicious juicy Lichi from Dinajpur

Local tourists from Bangladesh are not attracted to Dinajpur that much although it has a potential for that. This district is famous for the delicious juicy Lichu (Lychee). You could find this fruit from various places in Bangladesh. But the best one would be from Dinajpur. Lichu is not a fruit that you can get throughout the year. The best time for the Lichu is between May 15 to May 27. Otherwise it would be hard for you to find any. The window of this opportunity is very short.

Another thing to remember, the price of the Lichu varies each day (something like demand and supply). At the beginning and at the end the price could be too high, or too low. So I’d suggest you go there for Lichu during the 19/20th of May. There are three major types of Lichu cultivated in Dinajpur. One is Madraji Lichu, its price is somewhere around 200-220 Taka per hundred. Another one is Bombai Lichu and its price is around 150-170 Taka per hundred. Finally the best one is Bedana Lichu, it is not found everywhere in Dinajpur, and the production of this one is lower than other varieties. The price is around 500-600 per hundred. [Note: These prices are based on year 2010]

You have two options to buy Lichu from Dinajpur. One is from the market, which is situated in the New Market area. There, you’d find the price of the Lichu too high, and the seller will add impurity with the Lichu by adding lower graded varieties. So I’d not suggest you buy from there (unless you are lacking time).

These boxes made from Bamboo are called Tukri. You’d need these to put your Lichu to bring back Dhaka.

The next, and the best choice is to buy the Lichu from the villagers. They are honest and not like the sellers from the market. So you are guaranteed to get the best products from them. Also the price would be a bit cheaper compared to the market. Even if the price is more, think this way, you are paying to the farmer instead of the middlemen (who hardly did any work to grow this delicious fruit).

This guy is having an adventurous job collecting Lichu from the tree.

There are two main villages where I went to buy Lichu. From those villages I bought a few good quality Lichu. One was Ulipur village, and another one was Masimpur village. You could go to any of those (or any other places). Also don’t forget to take Tukri with you (a basket that carries Lichu). Each Tukri would cost you around 30-40 Taka. From the roadside market you can buy it.

Villagers are selecting and counting the Lichu.

I hired a battery driven auto rickshaw and requested him to help me to buy Lichu. That guy was nice and helped from a-z to buy Lichu. I paid him hourly. Possibly 50-70 Taka per hour, or less. I can’t remember. If you do the same during your tour that would be much more helpful.