Day 01
Visit the Lalbagh fort museum and the fort, which is the only structure of its kind in Dhaka. Visit Ahsan Manjil Museum, Liberation War Museum. After having lunch, visit the Bangladesh National Museum. Overnight at Dhaka
Day 02
Visit the Sonargaon Folk Arts Museum in the morning. After having lunch, visit for the Mainamati Museum adjacent to the Shalban Vihara. Overnight at Dhaka
Day 03
Drive to Rajshahi, visit to the oldest Varendra Research Museum. On the way to Rajshahi, visit the temple town of
Puthia. Overnight at Rajshahi
Day 04 :
Drive to Bogra, visit the Mahasthangarh site Museum as well as the site. Have lunch in Bogra. Visit the Paharpur museum and ruins of the monastery. Overnight at Bogra
Day 05 :
Drive to get back to Dhaka. Tour ends
Lalbagh fort
Lalbagh Fort is an incomplete Mughal palace fortress at Dhaka on the river Buriganga. The river has now gone further south and flows at quite a distance from the fort. The construction of the fort was commenced in 1678 AD by Prince Muhammad Azam and was left unfinished since 1684. At the centre of the fort stands the Tomb of Pari Bibi, the beloved daughter of Shaista Khan. On the western side of the tomb stands the Mosque and the Diwaan-e-aam along with the hummam khana is in the east. The fort has a huge tank and residence for the soldiers and officials in the inner side of the southern wall.
Ahsan Manjil
Ahsan Manzil is situated at Kumartoli of Dhaka on the bank of the Buriganga, was the residential palace and the kachari of the nawabs of Dhaka. Having purchased it from his son Matiullah, the French made it their trading centre. Khwaja Alimullah bought it from the French in 1830 and converted it into his residence, effecting necessary reconstruction and renovations. Nawab Khwaja Abdul Ghani renovated it in the third quarter of 19th Century and named after his son Khwaja Ahsanullah. It has been turned into a museum recently.
Liberation War Museum
Liberation War Museum collected preserves and displays the objects, artifacts and all other materials related to the War of Liberation of Bangladesh against Pakistan in 1971. It was inaugurated on 22 March 1996 at 5 Segun Bagicha, Dhaka in a two-storied old-sty1e building. There is an eternal flame at the entrance. The museum has six galleries the first of which demonstrated the Customs & Traditions of Bengal as well as the struggle against colonial control. The second gallery presented a chronicle of the period of the Pakistani rule from 1947 and especially, the political, economic and cultural oppression on the people of East Pakistan and the resistance against it. The third gallery showed relics of the non-cooperation movement of March 1971, the genocide and resistance, declaration of independence and the plight of the Refugees. Those three galleries on the second floor display documents and materials that showed various aspects of resistance by the people of East Pakistan, international solidarity to them, the killing of intellectuals by Pakistan Army and its collaborators, and the victory of theBengali people.
National Museum
The Bangladesh National Museum preserves and displays the cultural property and heritage, as well as specimens of natural history of Bangladesh. It is located at Shahbagh, Dhaka. The museum is well organized. Itwas formally inaugurated on March 20, 1913. The four-storied building of the museum has 43 galleries on a total floor space of 238,000 square feet. It has a collected 82,475 objects. The most significant objects are ancient petrified wood (2.5 million years old) collected from lalmai and mainamati; blackstone Naga Darwaza (serpent doorway) of 10th-11th century collected from Bangarh, Dinajpur; pieces of atom bombs blasted in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945; mat made of ivory; objects of the Liberation War of Bangladesh; objects used by the martyrs of the language movement; muslin of Dhaka; items of folk art and crafts; coins of emperor Sher Shah; terracotta plaques; sculptures and collection of contemporary art including various types of statues.
Sonargao
The ‘village of Gold’ is the literal meaning of the name. Since before 11th Century, this has been a very important trading centre in the region for a long time till 17th Century, when Dhaka was made the capital of Mughals. During its long glorious history the town has seen several kings and rulers of different origins and religions. The ancient city has been traced to have embraced a wide tract bounded on the east, west and south by the Rivers Meghna, the Shitalakhya and the Dhaleshwari respectively and on the north by the Brahmaputra River. It is now a township in the name of an upazila about 27km southeast of Dhaka in the Narayanganj district. Ancient city of Panam Nagar and few majestic buildings are the attractive remains of its old glory.
Sonargao
It lies about the middle of the Lalmai ridge at Kotbari near Comilla. Excavations have exposed a large Buddhist monastery having cruciform foundation and four identical wings in four sides that looks similar to the excavated 8th century Buddhist at Paharpur. The site excavations have also brought other material objects datable from the 7th to 12th centuries AD.
Varendra Research Museum
Varendra Museum was the first museum to be established in erstwhile East Bengal in 1910. The museum started out as the collection for Varendra. Investigation Society and got its current name in 1919. Since inception this museum has actively searched and researched history of the ancient Varendra Civilization. Excavation at Somapura Bihara was started by the society along with Calcutta University in 1923. In 1964, the museum became a part of Rajshahi University. The museum has a very rich collection of ancient stuffs from different parts of Bangladesh.
Puthia
Situated 20km west of Rajshahi it is an upazila in Rajshahi district. Puthia Jamindari created by the Mughals in the early 17th century is one of the oldest estates of Bengal. The 1895 two storied Puthia Rajbari is one of the most attractive structures in the area. Among others the five spire Govinda temple, Trio Bangla temple, and the Shiva temple of South Indian Style are interesting.
Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh is so far the oldest and largest archaeological site of Bangladesh, lies on the western bank of river Katatoya, about 12 km north of Bogra town, and is connected by a good metalled road. The site consists of the ruins of the ancient city of Pundranagara. The city was identified in 1879; the first regular excavation was conducted at the site in 1928-29 by the Archaeological Survey of India under the guidance of KN Diksit. Currently the Bangladeshi and French archaeologists have been carrying out excavation every winter since 1993. Latest findings indicate a total of 18 building levels and that the city was inhabited as early as 6th Century BC. Dwellers of the city were mainly traders, who traded to and from faraway countries. Allegedly the city was derelict after a great fire in the 15th Century, and had gone underground in few centuries. Govinda Bhita, Laksmindar Medh, Bhasu Vihar, Vihar Dhap, Mangalkot and Godaibadi Dhap are excavated sites located outside the city but within its vicinity. The site has an adjacent museum that houses findings of the city.
Paharpur
Paharpur is an important archaeological site in Bangladesh, is situated in a village in the Badalgachhi Upazila of Naogaon district. The site was first noticed by Buchanon Hamilton in course of his survey in Eastern India between 1807 and 1812. But regular and systematic excavation was jointly started here in 1923 by Archaeological Survey of India, Varendra Research Museum of Rajshahi and Calcutta University. Excavation unearthed a Buddhist monastery that was built during the period from 780 AD to 830 AD by Dharma Pala, the second king of Pala Dynasty. The site comprises of a nearly rectangular surrounding wall with minor structures like refectory hall, kitchen, well, small Stupas etc, and a central Stupa. The Stupa has a cruciform foundation for a hollow chamber supported by four identical wings in four directions. The site has an adjacent museum that houses findings in the surrounding.
