Moheshkhali (or Maheshkhali) is an attractive island that is located several kilometers apart from the main town of Cox’s Bazar. This island is separated from the mainland by a channel named Moheshkhali channel. That’s why you have to reach the island by boat, trawler or other water vehicles. No alternative ways. It takes around 15-25 minutes to reach the island by using a speed boat. If you are using a trawler it might take a bit more but would be cheaper.
Once you leave the boat in Moheshkhali you’d have to walk over a very long bridge to reach the mainland. Walking over that bridge is very exciting as it goes through the green mangrove trees. When I was there it was the time of low tide. During high tide under the bridge you might get some water. After that we hired the rickshaw to explore the rest of the island. This island has several buddhist temple. You could explore them.
I know a friend, who was in search for an island from Bangladesh which has hills. This island is like one of those. It has numerous small hills throughout the island. The size of the island is around 362 square kilometers and approximately 200 thousands people are living there (as per 1991 census). You’d find a lot of pagodas at the top of the hills in Moheshkhali. Most of the pagodas are the same in shape, size and golden color.
If you are a lover of dry fishes (shutki), then you may want to visit some villages to see how the dry fishes are being processed. For your information most of the dry fish supply comes from this part of the country. So don’t miss your opportunity. As a souvenir you could buy a few of them from there if you want. This island is also famous for its betel leaves which is known as Moheshkhalir Pan. You’d find a lot of farms which are doing betel leaf cultivation (those farms are known as Paner Boroj).
The island has lots of varieties of mangrove trees at the shore. The green shore is a nice view from the boats. You can have a boat and enjoy a jaunt in the Moheshkhali channel for a while. Remember this is a lovely island where you could spend your whole day. I’d recommend you to take food with you if you are planning to spend the whole day there.
#1 Adinath temple
Adinath temple is a Hindu temple located on the island. Although it is near the jetty, you would have to do a bit of upwards climbing (not that much stressful). Read more about Adinath temple.
#2 Buddhist monastery
There is a nice Buddhist monastery available in Moheshkhali island. As it is very near from the Jetty ghat, it is worth a visit. Read more about Buddhist monastery.
#3 Betel leaf cultivation
Moheshkhali is famous for its Betel leaf (locally known as Paan). You’d see plenty of small farms are doing the cultivation of Betel leaf. It would be a nice and different experience to explore how they are doing the cultivation. Of course take permission from the farm owner to do so.
#4 Boating around the channel
As this is an island it would be a nice idea to do a bit of boat riding around the island. Especially around the Moheshkhali channel. You could see the mangrove plants at the edge of the island during your boat ride.
How to Go
Being an island there is only one way to go to Moheshkhali island, which is by a boat. There are wooden boats and speedboats available. You could pick either of those based on your budget and team size. Those boats are available at Jetty ghat (or Kasturi ghat). If you ask any rickshaw or auto rickshaw driver they would take you there. It is probably 15 minutes of rickshaw journey. GPS Coordinate of the jetty ghat is (21°26’58.4″N, 91°58’12.5″E).
Where to stay
It would be very hard for you to find a quality hotel in Moheshkhali island as most of the tourists go there as a part of their day trip. So it is better to stay in Cox’s Bazar for your nights. Cox’s Bazar is the most busiest tourist destination from Bangladesh. There are numerous hotels around the city which can accommodate hundreds of thousands of visitors. Look for the list of hotels in Cox’s Bazar here.
Best time to visit:
Around winter (November – February) is the best time to visit Moheshkhali island. That time the ocean remained calm and hardly saw any cyclone or storm happening. Also being winter the weather is not that much hot and makes it easy to walk around.
Moheshkhali island,
Upazila: Moheshkhali,
District: Cox’s Bazar,
Country: Bangladesh,
Gps coordinate (21°31’01.4″N, 91°58’41.4″E).
Written by Lonely Traveler,
For blog alonelytraveler.com
Friday, 14th May 2010
