Sreemangal and Moulvibazar: tea, forest and waterfalls

Tea estates and layered tea, gibbons in Lawachara, Manipuri villages, jungle waterfalls and the Hakaluki wetland, with a three-day route.

South of Sylhet the land breaks into low, rounded hills called tilas, and many of them are planted with tea. This is Moulvibazar district, and its best-known town, Sreemangal, is commonly called the tea capital of Bangladesh. Lines of shade trees stand over the bushes, pluckers work the slopes with baskets on their backs, and after rain the whole valley smells of wet leaf.

Between the estates lie patches of old forest where gibbons still call at dawn, wetlands that fill with ducks in winter, Manipuri and Khasi villages, and two of the country's best-known waterfalls. Most visitors base themselves in Sreemangal for two or three nights, and nothing in this chapter is more than a few hours away by road.

Land, history and people

Moulvibazar became a district in 1984. It began in 1882 as the South Sylhet subdivision and took its present name in 1960. Its 2,800 square km are bordered by the Indian states of Tripura and Assam to the south and east. The Manu, the Dhalai and the Juri come down from the hills across the border, and between the ridges lie two great wetlands, Hail Haor and Hakaluki Haor.

Tea came in the 19th century. After the first tea garden in what is now Bangladesh was established at Malnichhara near Sylhet in 1854, by Banglapedia's date, planting spread into these hills. Today Moulvibazar has about 90 of the country's roughly 170 estates and grows about 55 per cent of its tea, and Rajghat estate in Sreemangal upazila was the largest single producer in 2022.

The estates brought new communities: most tea workers descend from labourers brought to the gardens during British rule, with their own languages, temples and festivals. Moulvibazar is also the heartland of the Manipuri community in Bangladesh, with about 18,000 counted in the district in the 2022 census; the same census counted about 10,000 Khasi, who live in hill villages called punjis, many of them growing betel leaf on the forest trees.

Moulvibazar's name is usually traced to around 1771, when a local judge and landholder, Moulvi Syed Qudratullah, is believed to have set up a small market on his land; the town grew around the Moulvi's bazar.

The district saw hard fighting in 1971, and Kamalganj remembers a mass grave at Dewrachhara tea estate and a killing site at Shamshernagar. For the wider story, read the history of Sylhet.

Sreemangal and the tea estates

Sreemangal is a small, busy market town on the railway, ringed by estates that start at the edge of the bazar. The public roads towards Kamalganj, Bhanugach and Moulvibazar run between the gardens, so a bicycle or a hired CNG gives you hours of green slopes. The plucking season starts in March, and winter mornings are misty and cool.

The Tea Research Institute

The Bangladesh Tea Research Institute sits among its own gardens just outside town. It began in 1957 as a research station of the Pakistan Tea Board and became a full institute in 1973. It is a working research campus rather than a visitor attraction: ask at the gate before you walk in, accept a no, and keep to the roads if you are let in.

The tea museum

A small tea museum about half an hour from town shows objects once used on the estates, from old fridges, televisions and fans to record players and pens. A 2024 bdnews24 travel piece judged it not worth the time, so stop only if you are passing.

Layered tea

Sreemangal's most famous drink is layered tea, sold as seven-colour tea: a glass of separate bands, from pale milky tea to dark liquor, that stay apart until you stir. Most accounts credit Romesh Ram Gour, a Sreemangal tea vendor, who began with two layers in 2003 and reached seven by 2009 without ever revealing his method; another vendor has claimed the seven-colour version, so the credit is disputed, and cabins around town now pour their own versions. Try it once, then order a plain cup of the local leaf.

Estates are workplaces and homes. Stay on roads and paths, do not pick leaves, and ask before you photograph pluckers. For the history of the gardens and the people who work them, read The tea gardens.

Lawachara National Park

Lawachara is the region's best-known forest, 8 km from Sreemangal on the Kamalganj road. Declared a national park on 7 July 1996, it covers 1,250 hectares of the larger West Bhanugach Reserved Forest. The trees are tall and close, and both the Dhaka–Sylhet railway and a main road pass through the forest, so a train may rumble past while you watch for monkeys.

The park matters most for its primates. It holds the largest surviving population of western hoolock gibbons in Bangladesh, though the count has fallen: a 2007 census found 62 animals in 17 groups in Lawachara, and a survey reported in 2025 found 48 in 13 family groups. Langurs live here too, and more than 240 bird species have been recorded. Gibbons call in the morning; guides say calling often starts between 9 and 10 am, so be on the trail before then.

Trails and guides

Marked walking trails start near the gate, the shortest a loop of about 30 minutes that is easy to follow alone. For longer walks, and for a real chance of finding gibbons, go with a local guide, and buy your ticket at the gate; the price was raised in 2025 to limit crowds. Walk slowly and quietly, wear muted colours and arrive as early as you can.

Khasi villages in the forest

Two Khasi punjis lie in and beside the park: Lawachara Punji inside it and Magurchhara Punji next door in Kamalganj. About 70 families lived in the two in 2016, most of them growing and sorting betel leaf. These are private villages, not attractions, and at times visitors have not been allowed in (a late-2024 travel report found entry barred); enter only if invited or with a guide the community knows, and ask before taking photos.

The forest has had its troubles: on 14 June 1997 a blowout at the Magurchhara gas field burned about 700 acres of the reserve, and disputes over seismic surveys and land have followed.

Never walk along the railway line; trains come with little warning. In the rains, tuck your trousers into your socks and carry salt or leech socks.

Hail Haor and Baikka Beel

West of Sreemangal the hills drop to Hail Haor, a seasonal wetland of beels, channels and rice fields whose open water shrinks to about 3,000 hectares in the dry season.

Baikka Beel, on the eastern edge of the haor, became a permanent sanctuary of about 100 hectares on 1 July 2003. Its observation tower, described in 2007 as the first such tower in a Bangladeshi wetland, looks out over the sanctuary. A census in January 2007 counted about 7,200 waterbirds of 35 species, and rare raptors such as Pallas's fish eagle have been seen.

Its condition has slipped since. A 2026 report described siltation that has claimed nearly a third of the wetland, poaching, illegal night fishing and falling bird numbers. After a visit by a government adviser on 25 February 2025, public access was restricted, picnics were banned and a notice prohibits tourist entry, though locals said the order was not effectively enforced.

Ask in Sreemangal whether visitors are being admitted before you make the trip, and respect a closed gate. If you can go, come from December to February, arrive before 7 am with binoculars and stay on the tower and paths. More in Haors, forests and wildlife.

Kamalganj: Manipuri villages, Madhabpur Lake and Dhalai

Beyond Lawachara the road runs on to Kamalganj, an upazila of tea estates, rice valleys and the Dhalai river. Manipuri and Khasi communities both live here, and Manipuri handloom cloth is the upazila's best-known craft.

The Rash festival

The great event of the year is the Maha Rash Leela, on the full-moon night that usually falls in November. The Bishnupriya Manipuri celebration at the Jora Mandap in Madhabpur was first recorded in 1842, and 2025 was its 183rd year; the Meitei Manipuri community has held its own at Adampur since 1986. By day the Rakhal dance shows Krishna's childhood; from about 11 pm until dawn, dancers in white veils retell the love of Radha and Krishna to drums, cymbals and conch shells. Thousands come, of every faith, and a fair grows up around the mandap.

The Rash is a religious occasion: dress modestly, stay outside the dance circle, switch off your flash and ask before photographing dancers. Crowds are large, so fix your transport back before you go.

Manipuri homestays

Since 2018 some Manipuri families at Adampur and Bhanubil Majhergaon have hosted guests in their homes; a room for up to four cost about 2,000 taka a night in late 2024, with meals extra. It is the best way to see weaving and eat Manipuri food. Arrange it in advance.

Madhabpur Lake

Madhabpur Lake is a reservoir inside the working Madhabpur tea estate, about 16 km from Sreemangal. Water lilies of several colours, blue lotus among them, grow on the water. Half an hour to an hour is enough, and it pairs easily with Lawachara.

The Hamidur Rahman memorial at Dhalai

On 28 October 1971, in the attack on the Pakistani position at the Dhalai border outpost in Kamalganj, Sepoy Mohammad Hamidur Rahman of the 1st East Bengal Regiment threw grenades at a machine-gun post before he was shot. He was 18, and was given the Bir Sreshtha, the country's highest award for gallantry, after his death. First buried across the border at Ambasa in Tripura, he was reburied at the Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard in Dhaka in December 2007.

Two monuments stand near the Dhalai border outpost, one built by the then Bangladesh Rifles in 1992 and a later one by the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs. This is a working post of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB): go in daylight, follow the guards' instructions and ask before taking photos.

The trek to Hum Hum

Hum Hum is a two-step waterfall deep in the Rajkandi Reserve Forest, in the Kurma forest beat of Kamalganj. It became widely known only in 2009 or 2010 (accounts differ), when a group of travellers reached it with a local guide, Shyamal Debbarma; locals also call it the Chita (leopard) falls, by one account because a leopard was once seen nearby. Its height has never been properly measured, and estimates run from about 135 to 160 feet, roughly 40 to 50 metres.

Drive from Sreemangal through Kamalganj to Kalabonpara, also called Tellaingbari, the last village before the forest, near Champarai tea estate. From there it is 2 to 3 hours on foot each way, over Mokam Tila, along muddy ridges and up stream beds; guides choose between the longer stream route and the steeper hill route according to the water.

Go from July to September, or soon after the rains, when the fall is full; in winter it shrinks to a thread. Start walking by 8 am so you are out of the forest before dark, as there is nowhere to stay near the falls. Guides wait in Kalabonpara: in 2021 they charged about 200 to 300 taka, and a CNG for the round trip from Sreemangal cost about 1,000 to 1,200 taka; prices have probably risen since, so agree them before you set off.

• Trekking sandals or shoes with good grip, and a bamboo stick each
• At least 2 litres of water per person, oral saline and dry food
• Insect repellent, a small first-aid kit, and salt or leech socks
• A dry bag for your phone, and clothes you do not mind ruining in the mud

Never go without a local guide. Streams can rise fast after rain, the slopes are steep and slippery, and snakes and leeches are common. Carry every wrapper back out.

Moulvibazar town, Kulaura and Barlekha

Moulvibazar town and the Manu

Moulvibazar town, the district headquarters, is a busy market town on the Manu, a municipality since 1930. It is more a stop for banks, buses and supplies than a sight, but the riverbank is pleasant in the evening, and the Manu barrage and Barshijora eco-park are close by.

Madhabkunda and Porikunda

Madhabkunda, in Barlekha, is probably the district's best-known sight. The Gangamara stream falls off the Patharia hills into a deep pool; the drop is usually given as about 162 feet (roughly 50 metres), though the district portal describes the hill as about 200 feet high. A paved path leads from the car park, and the Madhabkunda Eco Park covers about 500 acres around the fall.

Hindu tradition links the place to Shiva, and on the 13th lunar day of the dark fortnight of Chaitra, in March or April, pilgrims bathe in the pool for the Baruni festival while a fair fills the approach. A second fall, Porikunda, is nearby and, like Madhabkunda, is fullest in the rains.

Go from June to September for full flow. By road, take a bus from Moulvibazar towards Barlekha to Kathaltali bazar, then a CNG for about 8 km; by rail, Kulaura junction is about 32 km away and Dakshinbagh station about 5 km. Do not climb the slippery rocks beside the fall.

Hakaluki Haor

Hakaluki Haor is one of the largest wetlands in Bangladesh, about 181 square km spread across Barlekha, Kulaura and Juri in Moulvibazar and Fenchuganj and Golapganj in Sylhet district. Its more than 238 beels shrink to about 4,400 hectares of water in the dry season and merge into one sheet of over 18,000 hectares in the rains. It was declared an Ecologically Critical Area in 1999, and Banglapedia counts 417 bird species.

Come from December to February for birds, or July to September for open water. The haor is explored by boat: hire one locally and agree the hours and price before you set off. Go with a local birding guide in winter and never buy wild birds offered for sale.

Prithimpasha Nawab Bari

At Prithimpasha in Kulaura upazila, east of Moulvibazar town, stands the Nawab Bari, seat of a zamindar family whose estate began with a land grant in the late 18th century. Nawab Ali Amjad Khan, whose name Ali Amjad's Clock in Sylhet carries, was among the most prominent landholders of greater Sylhet. The 25 acre compound holds a Shia-style imambara, old family buildings and a large stone-banked pond.

The house is still a private family home: see the imambara and the pond from the grounds and ask before going further. During Muharram, Shia Muslims gather at Prithimpasha to mark Ashura, a time of mourning to watch quietly, if at all.

Food, stays and getting around

Food

Tea is the obvious drink, plain or layered. Khasi punjis grow betel leaf, fish comes in from Hail Haor, and town restaurants serve the familiar rice, bhorta, dal and curries. If you can, arrange a meal in a Manipuri home. For Sylheti dishes, see Food and tea.

Where to stay

Sreemangal has the widest choice, from simple guesthouses in town to resorts among the estates along the Bhanugach and Kamalganj roads, and it is the most practical base for tea, Lawachara, Kamalganj and Hum Hum. Moulvibazar town has plainer hotels and suits Hakaluki, Prithimpasha and Madhabkunda. Book well ahead for Eid, winter weekends and the Rash festival. See stays in Sreemangal and stays in Moulvibazar.

Getting there

Sreemangal is on the main Dhaka–Sylhet railway, and the train is the pleasantest way in: intercity services from Dhaka's Kamalapur or Airport stations take about 5 hours (as reported in 2024), and the line runs on to Sylhet. Timetables change, so check the current schedule, and buy tickets well ahead; a 2024 guide advised about 10 days. Buses leave from Sayedabad, Kalabagan and other points in Dhaka and take roughly 4 to 6 hours depending on traffic, and overnight services arrive around dawn. Kulaura junction, further up the line, serves Madhabkunda and Hakaluki.

Getting around

Around Sreemangal, CNG auto-rickshaws do most of the work: one for the day, seating four, cost about 1,000 to 1,200 taka in late 2024, so agree the route, hours and price before you set off. Open jeeps suit larger groups, and a bicycle is the nicest way to see the nearer estates. For Hakaluki, Prithimpasha and Madhabkunda, stay a night in Moulvibazar or Kulaura. More in Getting there and getting around.

A three-day route

Day 1: Sreemangal and the estates

Arrive in Sreemangal on a morning train or an overnight bus. Spend the day among the estates on foot, by bicycle or by CNG, with a walk through the Tea Research Institute grounds if the gate lets you in, and end at a tea cabin with a glass of layered tea.

Day 2: Lawachara and Kamalganj

Be at the Lawachara gate early for a long walk with a guide. After lunch visit Madhabpur Lake, a Manipuri village at Adampur or Bhanubil and, if time allows, the Hamidur Rahman memorial at Dhalai. Sleep in Sreemangal or a Manipuri homestay.

Day 3: Hum Hum, or wetlands and waterfalls

In the monsoon, make the full-day trek to Hum Hum, leaving Sreemangal by 7 am. In winter, go to Baikka Beel at dawn if it is open, then head north through Moulvibazar town to Hakaluki for the birds or to Madhabkunda, and catch an evening train from Kulaura.

With only two days, drop Hum Hum and Hakaluki; with four, add a night in Moulvibazar or Kulaura. Our Sreemangal weekend has a shorter plan, and Habiganj, with Satchari National Park, is an easy add-on. See when to go for the seasons.

Safety and etiquette

• Forests: in Lawachara and on the Hum Hum trek, stay on the trails with a guide, keep off the railway line and be out before dusk.
• Waterfalls: the rocks at Madhabkunda, Porikunda and Hum Hum are slippery all year; do not climb them or swim in the pools after heavy rain.
• Border: Kamalganj, Kulaura and Barlekha all touch India. Stay on the Bangladesh side, carry ID and follow BGB instructions.
• Wetlands: wear a life jacket on boats at Hakaluki and Hail Haor, and stay off the water in storms.
• People: estates, punjis and Manipuri villages are homes and workplaces. Dress modestly, ask before photographing people and remove your shoes where asked.
• Wildlife: do not feed monkeys or play loud music on trails, and take all rubbish back to town.

For more on travelling lightly in the division, read Responsible travel.