Jaflong, Bisnakandi and the northern hills

Jaflong, Lalakhal, Ratargul, Bisnakandi and Sada Pathor: stone rivers, a swamp forest and Khasi villages on Sylhet's border with Meghalaya.

North of Sylhet city the plain runs into a wall. The Khasi and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya rise almost straight from the paddy fields, and the rivers that come out of them carry water, sand and stone onto the Bangladesh side. Within 60 km of the city you can take a boat up a turquoise river, walk through a Khasi village under betel vines, drift through a flooded forest and sit in a stream that has only just left the hills.

The area spans three upazilas of Sylhet district, Jaintiapur, Gowainghat and Companiganj, all on the Indian border. Each place has its season, and this chapter explains which to visit when, how to reach them, and what to watch for, from border rules to flash floods and stone extraction.

The land and its people

The hills across the border receive extreme rain: on 17 June 2022 Cherrapunji recorded 972 mm in a day and neighbouring Mawsynram more than 1,000 mm. The same rivers carry down the rounded stone of Jaflong, Bisnakandi and Sada Pathor, and limestone in the Sari is usually credited with Lalakhal's colour.

For centuries this was Jaintia country. Kings of Khasi origin ruled from Jaintiapur, their winter capital at the foot of the hills, until the British annexed the kingdom on 15 March 1835. Tradition holds that a Khasi chief's son won the throne around 1500 by marrying the daughter of the last king of an older dynasty.

Khasi people still live along the border in villages called punji, including in Jaintiapur and Gowainghat. Their society is matrilineal: children take the mother's family name and the youngest daughter inherits the family house. Most Khasi in Bangladesh are Christian, and many punjis live by growing betel leaf on vines trained up forest trees, along with oranges, areca nut and other fruit. For more on the region's peoples, see People, languages and culture.

The border saw fighting in 1971 too: Companiganj lay in the Bholaganj sub-sector of Sector 5, and Gowainghat has a war memorial at the upazila headquarters. See History of Sylhet.

The Tamabil road: Lalakhal, Jaintiapur and Sripur

The Sylhet–Tamabil highway, the old road to Shillong, runs north-east past Shah Paran's shrine. Most people drive it in one long day, stopping at Lalakhal and Jaintiapur on the way to Jaflong.

Lalakhal and the Sari river

At Sarighat bridge, about an hour from Sylhet, engine boats wait for the trip up the Sari river to Lalakhal. From November to March the water runs from clear green to deep turquoise, with tea estates on the banks and the Meghalaya hills closing in ahead. The return trip takes two to three hours; boats are hired whole, so fix the time and the price before you set off.

Midday light shows the colour best. After heavy rain the river turns brown, and from June to September it is fast and muddy, so treat Lalakhal as a winter trip. The Sari is also one of Sylhet's main sources of sand, and heavy digging is degrading it.

Jaintiapur: the Rajbari and the megaliths

Jaintiapur, about 42 km from the city, has megalithic monuments that Banglapedia describes as the only ones found so far in Bangladesh. Upright stones (menhirs) and flat slabs raised on stone legs (dolmens) stand in groups around the old Jainteswari temple near the bus stand on the highway, beside the road and in fields further out. Counts differ: Banglapedia lists 25 menhirs and 32 dolmens, and a 2007 newspaper count came to 55. The largest dolmen, near the temple, is 6.5 m long and rests on nine legs, and the tallest menhir is about 4.6 m high.

No one has firmly dated them, though megaliths in general served as graves or memorials, and Jahangirnagar University archaeologists have excavated here. Many stones have been broken or carried off over the past half-century, so do not sit or climb on them.

Nearby, the Rajbari, said to have been built by King Lakshmi Singh around 1680, is now a ruin. The Jainteswari temple has lost most of its superstructure, but its enclosure wall keeps plaster reliefs of horses, lions and winged figures. Entry is free and October to March is best; ask in the bazar for the poorly signed palace lane.

Sripur

On the same highway, about 35 km from Sylhet by one account, the Sreepur tea estate (often written Sripur) takes in the Khorompur hills, where two small falls, Aduri Jharna and Mora Jharna, come to life in the monsoon. Stone has been dug from the riverbeds here too.

Jaflong and the Khasi punjis

Jaflong, about 60 km and two hours from Sylhet, is one of the most visited places in the division. The Dawki river enters Bangladesh here, and as the Piyain it spreads over a wide bed of stones beneath steep green hills. From the Bangladesh bank you look across at the Dawki suspension bridge, built by the British in 1932 over the Umngot river in Meghalaya.

In winter the water runs clear and green over grey stone and boats cross gently. In the monsoon the river is brown and powerful and waterfalls streak the hills across the border. On holidays leave Sylhet by 8 am to beat the traffic at Tamabil.

Across the river: Sangram Punji and the Khasi villages

Boats cross the Piyain to the Khasi punjis on the far bank, among them Sangram Punji, where betel vines climb the trees and houses stand on stilts. Since a community tourism programme run by the Bangladesh Tourism Board and the ILO began in May 2025, four villages have offered homestays, guided treks run through Mokam Punji, and a community restaurant serves Khasi dishes such as ja doh. In December 2025 rooms were reported at Tk 1,500 to 2,500 a night.

These are homes, not a theme park. Follow your guide and the village code of conduct, pay the green activity fee that funds road upkeep, waste collection and conservation, ask before photographing people or entering a garden, and leave nothing behind.

Mayabi Jharna and Tamabil

Across the Piyain near the Khasi punjis, Mayabi Jharna tumbles off the border hills and is part of the community tourism trail. It depends on rain, so it is a monsoon sight. Go with a local boatman, stay where BGB and your guide allow, and keep off wet rock.

Tamabil, about 5 km from Jaflong, is a land port where trucks bring coal in from India, and travellers also cross here to Dawki for Shillong, about 70 km on. You need a passport and a valid Indian visa, and land-crossing rules change, so check before you plan around it.

Gowainghat: Ratargul, Bisnakandi and Panthumai

Ratargul Swamp Forest

Ratargul is a freshwater swamp forest on the Gowain river in Fatehpur union, about 26 km from the city. The forest covers some 3,325 acres (about 1,345 ha), and in 2015 a core of about 504 acres (204 ha) was declared a protected sanctuary. Koroch is the commonest tree, with hijal and kadam among some 73 recorded plant species.

In the monsoon, roughly June to September, though the water can arrive in May and linger into October, it stands 3 m or more around the trunks and small wooden boats slide between them. From about December to April the water falls back and much of the forest floor is dry, although the channels and deeper hollows keep some water. Monkeys, kingfishers, herons and water monitors are common, and snakes rest on low branches, so keep your hands inside the boat. A watchtower looks out over the canopy.

Boats leave from several ghats, including Ratargul and Motorghat, reached via Airport Road; around 200 were working in 2025. Pay the forest entry fee at the counter (set in 2020 at Tk 50 for Bangladeshi adults, reported as Tk 57.50 in late 2025, and Tk 500 for foreigners) and hire the boat separately. The small boats tip easily, so sit low and ask for life jackets.

Environmentalists have criticised the concrete watchtowers and the crowds that ticketing has brought, so go early on a weekday, keep quiet and leave no plastic in the water.

Bisnakandi and Panthumai

Bisnakandi lies where several Meghalaya ridges fold together and their streams spread over a broad bed of boulders. Drive to Hadarpar bazar, about 45 km and up to two hours from Sylhet, then take a boat for about 40 minutes along the Piyain. From June to October the water is cold, clear and quick; in late winter it can be too low to be worth the trip.

The current between the boulders is stronger than it looks, especially after rain, and the stones are slippery. Wear sandals with grip and stay in the shallows, on the Bangladesh side of the nearby border. Extraction has reached Bisnakandi too, so expect less stone than in older photos.

Panthumai is a wide waterfall on the Indian side, best seen from Panthumai village in Bangladesh across a field and the river, from July to September; it almost vanishes in the dry months. Boatmen at Hadarpar add it to a Bisnakandi trip for a small extra charge. Go in the morning, as clouds often cover the falls by afternoon. Jaflong, though also in Gowainghat, is reached by the Tamabil highway, so give it a separate day.

Ratargul Swamp ForestOne of the few freshwater swamp forests in Bangladesh, explored by small wooden boat.BisnakandiLayers of hills meet in a fan of cold, clear water flowing over smooth stones.Panthumai WaterfallA wide waterfall pours from the Meghalaya hills into the Piyain, seen from a border village.

Companiganj: Bholaganj, Sada Pathor and Utma Chhara

Companiganj is stone country. At Bholaganj, about 33 km from Sylhet, the Dhalai river comes out of the Meghalaya hills, splits into two channels and joins again, and its bed is often described as the country's largest stone quarry area. There is a land customs station on the border, and the old 11 km ropeway to Chhatak is now a local sight.

Sada Pathor

Sada Pathor, the white stones, was the area's great attraction: a fan of pale boulders below the hills, with cold, clear water shallow enough to sit in. Boats run from the ghat on the Sylhet–Bholaganj road on a fixed return fare, and the best months are June to October.

Know before you go that the site has been badly damaged. After August 2024 the stones were dug out on a huge scale, and within a year the roughly 15-acre tourist area had been stripped bare, leaving pits in the riverbed. In August 2025 the district administration and law enforcers, including Rab, began recovering stone from depots as far away as Dhaka and putting it back; by 26 August about 2.6 million cubic feet had been recovered and 1.1 million returned to the site, though officials said at least 30 percent of the looted stone could not be recovered. The High Court ordered a committee to identify those involved. Check recent photos or ask locally before you go.

The Dhalai rises very fast after rain in the hills: on 21 June 2026 a sudden surge closed Sada Pathor for a day. Avoid the day after very heavy rain, carry dry clothes and leave valuables in the car.

Utma Chhara

Utma Chhara, about 40 km from the city, is a quiet boulder stream through village land near the border, with small pools and rice fields. Take a CNG from Companiganj to Dayarbazar and walk the last stretch with a local guide. It is best from June to September; bring water and snacks, and expect some ground disturbed by extraction.

Sada Pathor, BholaganjCold, clear hill water on the Dhalai at Bholaganj, over a stone bed that looters largely stripped in 2024 and 2025.Utma ChharaA quiet hill stream full of rounded boulders, far from the Sada Pathor crowds.

Stone, sand and the rivers

Stone and sand have been taken from these rivers for generations to feed the building trade. Eight quarries in Sylhet district were leased for manual extraction for more than 20 years until 2020, but machine digging spread anyway: excavators known locally as boma machines tore into riverbeds and hills, and crushers worked on the banks around Jaflong.

A 2012 High Court order told the government to protect Jaflong, and in 2015 about 15 sq km along the river was declared an Ecologically Critical Area. A court had banned mechanical extraction at the eight quarries in 2014, and a government ban in 2020 slowed the digging without stopping it.

After the change of government on 5 August 2024, digging spread to almost every quarry site, and activists say the authorities failed to stop it. Officials estimated that stone worth about Tk 200 crore was taken from Jaflong within days, and sand was dug close to the piers of the Jaflong and Dhalai bridges. In April 2025 the environment ministry banned leasing of all 17 stone quarries in the country; in May 2026 the government set up a committee to look at allowing limited manual extraction again, and in June a minister said the quarries would reopen for traditional manual digging, though it might take time.

For visitors the effects are plain. You will find far less stone than older photos show, machine scars mark the riverbeds, and depth can change suddenly where the bed has been dug, so never assume a stretch is shallow. Do not buy stone as a souvenir.

Dry season or monsoon

The north has two personalities. From November to March the rivers run low, clear and calm and the roads are dry. From June to October every stream fills, Ratargul floods and the waterfalls run, but rivers can rise within hours; April and May bring the first storms.

• Jaflong: clear water from November to February; brown and fast in the monsoon, with falls on the hills opposite.
• Lalakhal: turquoise from November to March; muddy after heavy rain.
• Jaintiapur megaliths and Rajbari: October to March, when the ground is dry.
• Ratargul: June to September, when the trees stand in water; from December to April much of the forest floor is dry, though the channels keep some water.
• Bisnakandi: June to October, when the streams are full; low water in late winter.
• Panthumai, Mayabi Jharna and the Sripur falls: July to September, in the full monsoon.
• Sada Pathor: June to October; Utma Chhara: June to September. Skip both the day after very heavy rain.

Sylhet gets around 4,000 mm of rain a year, about 80% of it between May and September, so in the monsoon start early and keep afternoons free. For month-by-month advice see When to go and Sylhet in the monsoon.

Boats, transport, food and beds

The simplest way to see the north is a car with a driver for the day. Local buses also run from Shibganj and Kadamtali to Jaflong, CNGs can be hired in the city for Gowainghat and Hadarpar, and the Sylhet–Bholaganj road serves Companiganj. Prices rise on holidays, so agree a full-day fare, including waiting time, before you set off.

Almost every sight here involves a boat. Most are hired whole for a return trip rather than per person, though Sada Pathor has had a fixed fare from a ghat counter. Agree the duration and any waiting time, pay at the end, and ask for life jackets. Overloading is a real danger on holidays, so wait for the next boat if one looks full.

Food is simple: rice, fish curry, dal and tea from bazar restaurants and stalls at the main ghats, and Khasi dishes in the punjis. Carry water and snacks for the walks and take your rubbish home. For Sylheti dishes, see Food and tea.

Most travellers stay in Sylhet city and come north on day trips. If you want to wake up near the hills, there are resorts and guesthouses along the Tamabil road and around Jaflong, as well as the Khasi homestays across the Piyain. See stays in Gowainghat, Jaintiapur and Companiganj, or Sylhet City.

Border rules, floods and river safety

Almost every sight in this chapter is on the Indian border. Stay on the Bangladesh side, never cross the marked line even for a photo, and do what BGB guards tell you. Do not buy goods offered from across the border, and keep drones packed unless you have permission.

Flash floods are the main natural danger. In May and again in June 2022, extreme rain in Meghalaya and Assam affected about 4 million people across the division, and families in Companiganj and Gowainghat sheltered on their roofs. Smaller surges come every monsoon: in June 2026 one closed Sada Pathor for a day and reportedly swept away more than 100 shops at Jaflong. If the river is rising, turning brown or carrying debris, get off the riverbed at once.

The rivers are cold and fast even when they look gentle. Swimming at Jaflong was banned in 2014 after a boat carrying tourists sank in the Piyain and five people drowned. Wear a life jacket on every boat, keep children within reach, do not swim in fast water or after dark, obey notices that close a site, and keep off wet rock at waterfalls.

In the monsoon, check river levels and closures each morning, carry a dry bag for phones and money, and start back before dark on the narrow, busy roads.

A 2 to 3 day route

Base yourself in Sylhet city, with the option of a night near Jaflong. The plan suits the dry season; monsoon swaps follow each day.

Day 1: the Tamabil road

• Leave Sylhet by 7.30 am.
• Late morning: a two to three hour boat trip from Sarighat up the Sari to Lalakhal, timed for the midday colour.
• Early afternoon: the megaliths and Rajbari at Jaintiapur.
• Mid-afternoon: Jaflong; cross the Piyain to Sangram Punji and stay for the late light.
• Evening: return to Sylhet, or sleep near Jaflong.
• Monsoon swap: skip Lalakhal and spend longer at Jaflong for the waterfalls and Mayabi Jharna.

Day 2: Gowainghat or the Khasi hills

• Dry season: a guided morning walk through the Khasi punjis and Mokam Punji, then the Sripur tea estate on the drive back.
• Monsoon: an early boat at Ratargul, then Hadarpar for the boat to Bisnakandi and Panthumai, back in Sylhet by dusk.

Day 3: Companiganj

• Monsoon: Sada Pathor in the morning if it is open and you have checked its state, then Utma Chhara with a local guide.
• Dry season: the water is low, so spend the day on Sylhet's tea estates and shrines, or move on to Sreemangal.

For the city itself, see Sylhet City; for the tea country, see Sreemangal and Moulvibazar. In any season, tread lightly: these rivers, forests and villages are already under heavy pressure.