Swamp Forest Ratargul : Amazon of Bangladesh

Ratargul Swamp Forest is a freshwater swamp forest located in Gowainghat, Sylhet, Bangladesh. It is the only swamp forest located in Bangladesh and one of the few freshwater swamp forest in the world. The forest is naturally conserved under the Department of Forestry, Govt. of Bangladesh.

The evergreen forestis situated by the river Goain and linked with the cannel Chengir Khal. Most of the trees grow here are Pongamia pinnata (Koroch tree). The forest goes under 20-30 feet water in the rainy season. Rest of the year the water level is about 10 feet deep


How to go...
 
If you come from abroad, you need to come to Bangladesh firstly. There is an international and domestic Airport in Sylhet. So, you may come to Sylhet, Bangladesh directly. Otherwise you may come to Bangladesh through Dhaka and Chittagong. And then, from Dhaka or Chittagong you may come Sylhet by road, railway and air.

Bus service is available from Dhaka. AC buses i.e. Greenline, Shohag, Saudia, Ena transports etc. and non AC buses i.e. Shamoly, Hanif enterprize, Uniqe service, Saudia, Mamun transport, Ena transport etc. from Dhaka to Sylhet starts from Fakirapul, Saidabad, Kamalapur, Mohakhali in Dhaka city. Trains from Dhaka to Sylhet starts from Kamalapur and you may avail train from Kamalapur Railway station or Airport Railway station. Domestic flights are available from Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka to M A G Osmani International Airport, Sylhet. From Chittagong, bus service and train service are available to go to Sylhet. You also may come from Chittagong to Sylhet by air through Dhaka. Sylhet is also well connected with other major cities by road and railway.

From Sylhet, it is possible to go to Ratargul through various ways. But the easiest way is trough Khadim tea garden & Khadimnagar national garden. This way takes the minimum time to go to Ratargul from Sylhet. You may hire a CNG auto rickshaw or a jeep and go to a place named Shringi Bridge. From there you are to enter Ratargul forest by small boat.

You also may go to Ratargul forest from Guainghat. In this case, you are to go to Guainghat Bazar through Sylhet-Jaflong road. From Guainghat bazar you may hire a boat and go to Ratargul. If you go by this way, you will have an oppotunity to enjoy the excellent natural beauty of 'Shari' river in addition. But this way will take little bit more time and cost.