How Kuakata has evolved into Bangladesh’s next sought-after travel destination
Photos by Sk. Yeahhia
Like most other people of Bangladesh, I have been to Cox’s Bazaar. I mean, who hasn’t? Almost everyone I know has been to Cox’s Bazaar for at least once in their lives. It is one of the most commonly and frequently visited tourism spots of Bangladesh. However, the same is not true about Kuakata. Only about 10% of the people you know have probably been to Kuakata. There are many, many reasons why Kuakata has not become a tourist attraction magnet similar to the Cox’s Bazaar.
Last year, I had the good fortune of going to Kuakata, as part of a travel group. The main purpose of the trip was to visit different locations of Kuakata with the overriding objective of practicing some good quality travel photography. One of the main obstacles of visiting Kuakata is the mode of transportation. Firstly, there are no A/C bus transportation services. All the buses are non-A/C ones and the conditions of these buses are not very good, both hygienically and mechanically.
The second main obstacle is the length and quality of the journey. This literally means that this is no journey for the faint-hearted. While travelling by bus, the journey may take anywhere from twelve hours to eighteen hours. This is mainly due to the fact that the bus journey consists of five (yes FIVE!) ferry crossings, the most difficult hit-and-miss one being the infamous Mawa ferry crossing. Another fact equally contributing to the difficulty of the journey is the extremely, and dangerously, dilapidated conditions of the road.
By the time we reached Kuakata, after thirteen hours’ night journey, we were feeling sore all over. Incessant “rocking” and bumpiness of the road had put us all on edge. We disembarked right in front of a crumbling and aging Parjatan Hotel. The rooms were modest in nature, and the toilet/washrooms had seen better days. All in all we were not complaining about our budget accommodation (Tk. 700 for non-A/C twin bed rooms).
We were eager to get the beach and the sea as soon as possible but before we did that we were even more eager to fill our tummies. The long journey had made us all ravenously hungry. The road in front of our hotel led straight down to the beach. Adjacent to this road, on both sides were quite a few local restaurants, which catered to the needs of locals and tourists alike. We usually had parathas with egg fries and shabzee for our breakfasts during our stay at Kuakata. The quality of the breakfast food was agreeable to us and we literally wolfed down paratha after paratha with healthy helpings of shabzee and egg fries. Lunch/dinner at the local restaurants are also quite good and cheap. Be sure to try out the local sea food, such as the small shrimps, pomprets, hilsha, etc.
If Cox’s Bazaar can be considered as a tourist attraction spot, then Kuakata will have to be considered as a fishing village. Yes, that’s right. My first and lasting impression of Kuakata is that it is a reasonably quiet fishing village where some adventurous travelers dare to venture. The population of the area is not very dense and the whole of kuakata is not very developed. There are a few smatterings of new buildings, mostly labeled as some kind of hotel or other. The beach and the sea side are beautiful, clean and tranquil, with none of the dense crowd or hawkers commonly associated with Cox’s Bazaar. You can have your peace at Kuakata. You can just walk the pristine beach or sit under one of the few beach lounging chairs available or enjoy cheap local sea food (be sure to try the local small shrimps.) Interestingly, there is a marked absence of rickshaws at Kuakata.
Kuakata is quite close to Khulna and the Sundarbans and a short bike ride from the main beach area in the left direction will take you to the mangrove forests at Gangamoti. An area called kakrachar (crab beach) which red crabs frequent, is also a point of interest for tourists. You will be able to visit Kakrachar en route to Gangamoti. On the other hand, a short bike ride towards the right from the main beach area will take you to Lebu Bagan (Lemon Garden). Other than these areas, other points of interest include a visit to the Rakhine Polli where you will be able to visit the century old Buddhist Temple and also where the Rakhine weavers weave cloths using traditional manual weaving machines.
My overall conclusion is that if you are on a tight budget, you love the sea-side and you are not shy of some adventurous extreme traveling, then Kuakata is the place for you! Compared to Cox’s Bazaar, the expenses associated with Kuakata are considerably lower. However, on the downside, there aren’t as many activity options when compared to Cox’s Bazaar. Choose Kuakata for the love of travelling, adventure and access to a treasure trove of photography subjects!
