Cox's Bazar
Encyclopedia
Cox's Bazar is a town, a fishing port
and district
headquarters in Bangladesh
. It is known for its wide sandy beach which is the world's longest natural sandy sea beach
. It is an unbroken 125 km sandy sea beach with a gentle slope. It is located 150 km south of Chittagong
. Cox’s Bazar is also known by the name "Panowa", the literal translation of which means "yellow flower". Its other old name was "Palongkee". The modern Cox's Bazar derives its name from Captain Cox (died 1799), an officer serving in British India
. In the 18th century, an officer of British East India Company
, Captain Hiram Cox was appointed as the Superintendent of Palongkee outpost after Warren Hastings became the Governor of Bengal
. Captain Cox was specially mobilised to deal with a century long conflict between Arakan refugees and local Rakhains. The Captain was a compassionate soul and the plight of the people touched his heart. He embarked upon the mammoth task of rehabilitating refugees in the area, and made significant progress. A premature death took Captain Cox in 1799 before he could finish his work. But the work he had done earned him a place in the hearts of the locals and to commemorate his role in rehabilitation work a market was established and named after him as Cox's Bazaar ("Cox's Market"). Although Cox's Bazar is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Bangladesh, it has yet to become a major international tourist destination, due to lack of publicity.
s and 9 wards and has a population of 51,918. Cox's Bazar is connected by road and air with Chittagong
.
area including Cox's Bazar was under the rule of Arakan
Kings from the early 9th century till its conquest by the Mughals
in 1666 AD. When the Mughal Prince Shah Shuja was passing through the hilly terrain of the present day Cox’s Bazar on his way to Arakan
, he was attracted to the scenic and captivating beauty of the place. He commanded his forces to camp there. His retinue of one thousand palanquins stopped there for some time. A place named Dulahazara, meaning "one thousand palanquins", still exists in the area.
After the Mughals, the place came under the control of the Tipras and the Arakanese, followed by the Portuguese and then the British
.
The name Cox's Bazar/Bazaar originated from the name of a British East India Company
officer, Captain Hiram Cox who was appointed as the Superintendent of Palonki (today's Cox's Bazar) outpost after Warren Hastings
became the Governor of Bengal
following the British East India Company
Act in 1773. Captain Cox was especially mobilised to deal with a century long conflict between Arakan
refugees & local Rakhains at Palonki. The Captain made significant progress in rehabilitation of refugees in the area, but had died (in 1799) before he could finish his work. To commemorate his role in rehabilitation work a market / bazaar was established and was named after him as Cox's Bazaar (market of Cox). Cox's Bazar thana was first established in 1854 and a municipality was constituted in 1869.
After the Sepoy Mutiny (Indian Rebellion of 1857
) in 1857, the British East India Company
was highly criticised & questioned on humanitarian grounds, specially for its Opium
trade monopoly over the Indian Sub-Continent. However, after its dissolution on 1 January 1874, all of the company's assets including its Armed Forces were acquired by the British Crown. After this historic take over, Cox's Bazar was declared a district of the Bengal
Province under the British Crown.
After the end of British rule in 1947, Cox's Bazar remained as a part of East Pakistan
. Captain Advocate Fazlul Karim, the first Chairman (after independence from the British) of Cox's Bazar Municipality established the Tamarisk Forest along the beach to draw tourist attention in this town and also to protect the beach from tidal waves. He also donated many of his father in law’s and his own lands for establishing a Public Library and a Town Hall for the town. He was inspired to build Cox's Bazar as a tourist spot after seeing beaches of Bombay and Karachi, and one of the pioneers in developing Cox's Bazar as such. He founded a Maternity Hospital, the Stadium and the drainage system by procuring grants from the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation through correspondence. Mr. T. H. Matthews, the principal of the Dacca Engineering College (1949~1954) was his friend who had helped him in doing this. Engineer Chandi Charan Das was the government civil engineer who had worked on all these projects. In 1959 the municipality was turned into a town committee. In 1961 the erstwhile Geological Survey of Pakistan initiated investigation of radioactive minerals like monazite
around the cox's bazar sea-beach area and a number of precious heavy minerals were identified the same year.
In 1971, Cox's bazar wharf
was used as a naval port by the Pakistan Navy
's gunboats. This and the nearby airstrip of the Pakistan Air Force
were the scene of intense shelling by the Indian Navy
during Bangladesh Liberation War
. During the war, Pakistani soldiers killed many people in the town including eminent lawyer Jnanendralal Chowdhury. The killing of two freedom fighters named Farhad and Subhash at Badar Mokam area is also recorded in history.
After the independence of Bangladesh Cox's Bazar started to get the administrative attention. In 1972 the town committee of Cox's Bazar was again turned into a municipality. In 1975, The Government of Bangladesh established a pilot plant at Kalatali, Cox's Bazar to assess the commercial viability of the heavy mineral content in the placer deposits of the area with the cooperation of the Australian Government. Later, in 1984 Cox's Bazar subdivision was promoted to a district and 5 years later (in 1989) the Cox's Bazar municipality was elevated to B-grade. In 1994 (jobs) the Marine Fisheries and Technology Station (MFTS) was established at Cox's Bazar. MFTS is a research station of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) headquartered in Mymensingh
. The station covers a land area of 4 hactor and is equipped with 5 specialised laboratories, and one indoor and one outdoor cistern complex. In April 2007 Bangladesh got connected to the submarine cable network as a member of the SEA-ME-WE-4 Consortium, as Cox's Bazar was selected as the landing station of the submarine cable.
Cox's Bazar town with an area of 6.85 km², is located at 21°35′0"N 92°01′0"E and bounded by Bakkhali River on the north and East, Bay of Bengal
in the West, and Jhilwanj Union in the south.
The climate of Bangladesh is mostly determined by its location in the tropical monsoon region: high temperature, heavy rainfall, often excessive humidity, and distinct seasonal variations. The reversal of the wind circulation between summer and winter is another important feature of the climate of the country. The climate of Cox's bazar is mostly similar to the rest of the country. It is further characterised by the location in the coastal area. The annual average temperature in Cox's Bazar remains at about a maximum of 34.8 °C and a minimum of 16.1 °C. The average amount of rainfall remains at 4,285 mm.
As one of the most beautiful and famous tourist spots in Bangladesh, the major source of economy in Cox's Bazar is tourism. Millions of foreigners and Bangladeshi natives visit this coastal city every year. As a result, a large number of hotels, guest houses and motels have been built in the city and coastal region. Many people are involved in hospitality and customer service orientated businesses. A number of people are also involved in fishing and collecting seafood
and sea products for their livelihood. Various kinds of Oyster, Snail, Pearl and their ornaments are very popular with tourists in seaside and city stores. A number of people are also involved in the transportation business for tourists. Cox's Bazar is also one of the few major spots for aquaculture in Bangladesh. Along with Khulna
, it is considered a major source of revenue from foreign exchanges. Beside a mix of small-scale agriculture, marine and inland fishing and salt production are other industrial sources from this region that play important roles in the national economy.
The beach is the main attraction of the town. Larger hotels provide exclusive beachside area with accessories for the hotel guests. Visitors in other hotels visit the Laboni beach which is the area of the beach closest to the town. Other than the beach there are several places of interest near the town which can easily be visited from town center.
The main attraction of Cox's Bazar is the long sandy beach that stretches from the mouth of the Bakkhali river going all the way to Teknaf. Although commonly known as Cox's Bazar beach, it stretches far beyond the area designated as Cox's Bazar town.
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
and district
Cox's Bazar District
Cox's Bazar District is a district in the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh. It is named after Cox's Bazar, which is one of the world's longest natural sea beaches . It is located south of Chittagong. Cox's Bazar is also known by the name Panowa . Another old name was Palongkee...
headquarters in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. It is known for its wide sandy beach which is the world's longest natural sandy sea beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
. It is an unbroken 125 km sandy sea beach with a gentle slope. It is located 150 km south of Chittagong
Chittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
. Cox’s Bazar is also known by the name "Panowa", the literal translation of which means "yellow flower". Its other old name was "Palongkee". The modern Cox's Bazar derives its name from Captain Cox (died 1799), an officer serving in British India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
. In the 18th century, an officer of British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, Captain Hiram Cox was appointed as the Superintendent of Palongkee outpost after Warren Hastings became the Governor of Bengal
Governor of Bengal
From 1690, a governor represented the British East India Company in Bengal, which had been granted the right to establish a trading post by the local rulers, the nawabs of Murshidabad, who were nominal vassals of the Mughal emperor in Delhi....
. Captain Cox was specially mobilised to deal with a century long conflict between Arakan refugees and local Rakhains. The Captain was a compassionate soul and the plight of the people touched his heart. He embarked upon the mammoth task of rehabilitating refugees in the area, and made significant progress. A premature death took Captain Cox in 1799 before he could finish his work. But the work he had done earned him a place in the hearts of the locals and to commemorate his role in rehabilitation work a market was established and named after him as Cox's Bazaar ("Cox's Market"). Although Cox's Bazar is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Bangladesh, it has yet to become a major international tourist destination, due to lack of publicity.
The Town
Located along the Bay of Bengal in South Eastern Bangladesh, Cox's Bazar Town is a very big port and health resort. But it is mostly famous for its long natural sandy beach. The municipality covers an area of 6.85 km² with 27 mahallaMahalla
A mahalla is an urban division in Uzbekistan. Historically, mahallas were autonomous social institutions built around familial ties and Islamic rituals. Before the establishment of the Soviet rule in Uzbekistan, Mahallas fulfilled local self-government functions connecting private sphere with...
s and 9 wards and has a population of 51,918. Cox's Bazar is connected by road and air with Chittagong
Chittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
.
History
The greater ChittagongChittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
area including Cox's Bazar was under the rule of Arakan
Rakhine State
Rakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...
Kings from the early 9th century till its conquest by the Mughals
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
in 1666 AD. When the Mughal Prince Shah Shuja was passing through the hilly terrain of the present day Cox’s Bazar on his way to Arakan
Rakhine State
Rakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...
, he was attracted to the scenic and captivating beauty of the place. He commanded his forces to camp there. His retinue of one thousand palanquins stopped there for some time. A place named Dulahazara, meaning "one thousand palanquins", still exists in the area.
After the Mughals, the place came under the control of the Tipras and the Arakanese, followed by the Portuguese and then the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
.
The name Cox's Bazar/Bazaar originated from the name of a British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
officer, Captain Hiram Cox who was appointed as the Superintendent of Palonki (today's Cox's Bazar) outpost after Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
became the Governor of Bengal
Governor of Bengal
From 1690, a governor represented the British East India Company in Bengal, which had been granted the right to establish a trading post by the local rulers, the nawabs of Murshidabad, who were nominal vassals of the Mughal emperor in Delhi....
following the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
Act in 1773. Captain Cox was especially mobilised to deal with a century long conflict between Arakan
Rakhine State
Rakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...
refugees & local Rakhains at Palonki. The Captain made significant progress in rehabilitation of refugees in the area, but had died (in 1799) before he could finish his work. To commemorate his role in rehabilitation work a market / bazaar was established and was named after him as Cox's Bazaar (market of Cox). Cox's Bazar thana was first established in 1854 and a municipality was constituted in 1869.
After the Sepoy Mutiny (Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
) in 1857, the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
was highly criticised & questioned on humanitarian grounds, specially for its Opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
trade monopoly over the Indian Sub-Continent. However, after its dissolution on 1 January 1874, all of the company's assets including its Armed Forces were acquired by the British Crown. After this historic take over, Cox's Bazar was declared a district of the Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
Province under the British Crown.
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
. Captain Advocate Fazlul Karim, the first Chairman (after independence from the British) of Cox's Bazar Municipality established the Tamarisk Forest along the beach to draw tourist attention in this town and also to protect the beach from tidal waves. He also donated many of his father in law’s and his own lands for establishing a Public Library and a Town Hall for the town. He was inspired to build Cox's Bazar as a tourist spot after seeing beaches of Bombay and Karachi, and one of the pioneers in developing Cox's Bazar as such. He founded a Maternity Hospital, the Stadium and the drainage system by procuring grants from the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation through correspondence. Mr. T. H. Matthews, the principal of the Dacca Engineering College (1949~1954) was his friend who had helped him in doing this. Engineer Chandi Charan Das was the government civil engineer who had worked on all these projects. In 1959 the municipality was turned into a town committee. In 1961 the erstwhile Geological Survey of Pakistan initiated investigation of radioactive minerals like monazite
Monazite
Monazite is a reddish-brown phosphate mineral containing rare earth metals. It occurs usually in small isolated crystals. There are actually at least four different kinds of monazite, depending on relative elemental composition of the mineral:...
around the cox's bazar sea-beach area and a number of precious heavy minerals were identified the same year.
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
was used as a naval port by the Pakistan Navy
Pakistan Navy
The Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare/service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pakistan's Navy is responsible for Pakistan's coastline along the Arabian Sea and the defense of important civilian harbors and military bases...
's gunboats. This and the nearby airstrip of the Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
were the scene of intense shelling by the Indian Navy
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...
during Bangladesh Liberation War
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
. During the war, Pakistani soldiers killed many people in the town including eminent lawyer Jnanendralal Chowdhury. The killing of two freedom fighters named Farhad and Subhash at Badar Mokam area is also recorded in history.
After the independence of Bangladesh Cox's Bazar started to get the administrative attention. In 1972 the town committee of Cox's Bazar was again turned into a municipality. In 1975, The Government of Bangladesh established a pilot plant at Kalatali, Cox's Bazar to assess the commercial viability of the heavy mineral content in the placer deposits of the area with the cooperation of the Australian Government. Later, in 1984 Cox's Bazar subdivision was promoted to a district and 5 years later (in 1989) the Cox's Bazar municipality was elevated to B-grade. In 1994 (jobs) the Marine Fisheries and Technology Station (MFTS) was established at Cox's Bazar. MFTS is a research station of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) headquartered in Mymensingh
Mymensingh District
Mymensingh is one of the districts of Dhaka division, Bangladesh, and is bordered on the north by Meghalaya state of India and Garo Hills, on the south by Gazipur district, on the east by districts of Netrokona and Kishoreganj, and on the west by districts of Sherpur, Jamalpur and Tangail...
. The station covers a land area of 4 hactor and is equipped with 5 specialised laboratories, and one indoor and one outdoor cistern complex. In April 2007 Bangladesh got connected to the submarine cable network as a member of the SEA-ME-WE-4 Consortium, as Cox's Bazar was selected as the landing station of the submarine cable.
Geography and climate
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
in the West, and Jhilwanj Union in the south.
The climate of Bangladesh is mostly determined by its location in the tropical monsoon region: high temperature, heavy rainfall, often excessive humidity, and distinct seasonal variations. The reversal of the wind circulation between summer and winter is another important feature of the climate of the country. The climate of Cox's bazar is mostly similar to the rest of the country. It is further characterised by the location in the coastal area. The annual average temperature in Cox's Bazar remains at about a maximum of 34.8 °C and a minimum of 16.1 °C. The average amount of rainfall remains at 4,285 mm.
Economy and development
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
and sea products for their livelihood. Various kinds of Oyster, Snail, Pearl and their ornaments are very popular with tourists in seaside and city stores. A number of people are also involved in the transportation business for tourists. Cox's Bazar is also one of the few major spots for aquaculture in Bangladesh. Along with Khulna
Khulna
Khulna is the third largest city in Bangladesh. It is located on the banks of the Rupsha and Bhairab rivers in Khulna District. It is the divisional headquarters of Khulna Division and a major industrial and commercial center. It has a seaport named Mongla on its outskirts, 38 km from Khulna...
, it is considered a major source of revenue from foreign exchanges. Beside a mix of small-scale agriculture, marine and inland fishing and salt production are other industrial sources from this region that play important roles in the national economy.
Tourist attractions near the town
- Aggmeda Khyang: a large Buddhist monastery, and a place revered by around 400,000 Buddhist people of Cox’s Bazar; and the Chittagong Hill TractsChittagong Hill TractsThe Chittagong Hill Tracts comprise an area of 13,295 km2 in south-eastern Bangladesh, and borders India and Myanmar . It was a single district of Bangladesh until 1984. In that year it was divided into three separate districts: Khagrachari, Rangamati and Bandarban. Topographically, this is the...
. The main sanctuary is posted on a series of round timber columns. It has a prayer chamber and an assembly hall along with a repository of large and small bronze Buddha images and a number of old manuscripts. - RamuRamu UpazilaRamu is an Upazila of Cox's Bazar District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh.-Geography:Ramu is located at . It has 26964 units of house hold and the area of the town is 22.03 km2.-Demographics:...
: about 10 km from Cox’s Bazar, is a village with a sizeable Buddhist population. The village is famous for its handicrafts and homemade cigars. There are monasteries, khyangs and pagodas containing images of Buddha in gold, bronze and other metals inlaid with precious stones. One of the most interesting of these temples is on the bank of the Baghkhali river. It houses not only interesting relics and Burmes handicrafts but also a large bronze statue of Buddha measuring thirteen feet high and rests on a six feet high pedestal. The wood carving of this khyang is very delicate and refined. The village has a charm of its own. Weavers ply their trade in open workshops and craftsmen make handmade cigars in their pagoda like houses. - Dulhazra Safari ParkDulhazra Safari ParkDulahazra Safari Park was developed on an undulating landscape of around of area at Chakaria Upazila in Cox's Bazar District, Bangladesh, some 107 km away from the port city, with an objective to create facilities for eco-tourism, research work and entertainment aside from conserving wild animals...
: This safari park is an extension of an animal sanctuary located along the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar road about 50 km from Cox's Bazar town. The sanctuary itself protects a large number of wild elephants which are native to the area. In the safari park there are domesticated elephants which are available for a ride. Other animal attractions include lions, Bengal tigers, Crocodiles, Bears, Chitals and lots of different types of birds and monkeys.which is wonder full project to attract the tourist.
The beach
Tourists and accommodation
Cox's Bazar, arguably the most popular tourist spot in Bangladesh, is visited by a large number of tourists from Britain, America, Korea, Japan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and many other countries each year. Though there is no record kept by the Bangladesh Porjatan Corporation (BPC) on how many people visit the beach annually, an AFP report says that during the winter there can be 10,000 available rooms in the beach area. Accommodations near the beach range from expensive high-end resorts to more reasonable options. Many private hotels, BPC Motels and two "Five star" hotels are located on or near the beach.Places of interest along the beach
Cox’s Bazar, mostly famous for its beautiful sea beach and the sunset, has several other attractions, including:- Laboni Beach: This is the main beachBeachA beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
of Cox's Bazar and is considered the main beach due to the fact that it is closest to the town. Close to the beach, there are hundreds of small shops selling souvenirs and beach accessories to the tourists. - Himchari: Located about 18 km south of Cox’s Bazar along the sea beach, is a nice place for the picnic and film shooting. This picnic spot is famous for its waterfalls. The road to Himchari runs by the open sea on one side and hills on the other which makes the journey to Himchari very attractive. Its another attraction is the Christmas treeChristmas treeThe Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
. - Enani Beach: Located 35 km south of Cox’s Bazar, this white sandy beach is located within Ukhia Thana. This beach is famous for its golden sand and clean shark free water which is ideal for sea bathing. Most tourists prefer to come down here for relaxing because it is free from the crowd of tourists that is usually seen at the Laboni beach.
Mineral content in beach sand
The sand at Cox's Bazar beach and surrounding areas is rich in heavy-metal mineral content. The heavy minerals of Cox's Bazar beach sands are dominated by hornblende, garnet, epidote, ilmenites (both unaltered and altered) with magnetite, rutile, pyrite and some hydroxides. Cox's Bazar beach alone is believed to have a deposit of 5.119 Mt of minerals @ 0.04% mon, while nearby Enani beach is expected to have another deposit of 0.729 Mt. of minerals @ 0.13% mon. Surrounding islands of Maheshkhali, Kutubdia and Nijhum Deep as well as mainland beach in Teknaf area are also believed to have similar large deposits. The total deposit in these locations is about 20.5 million tons of raw sand, which contains 4.4 million tons of heavy minerals (sp gr > 2.9).Other tourist attractions near Cox's Bazar
- MaheshkhaliMaheshkhali UpazilaMaheshkhali is an Upazila of Cox's Bazar District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh.-Geography:Maheshkhali is located at . It has 33287 units of house hold and total area 362.18 km².-Demographics:...
is a small island (268 square kilometres) off the Cox’s Bazar coast. The island offers panoramic scenic beauty and is covered by a range of low hills, about 300 feet (91.4 m) high, streatches through the center of the island and along its eastern coastline. The coasts of the island on the west and north form a low-lying tract that is fringed by the mangroveMangroveMangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
forests. Adinath TempleAdinath TempleAdinath Temple, located on the summit of the Mainak Hill on Moheshkhali Island off the coast of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, is dedicated to the Hindu God, Shiva, who is worshipped as Adinath. The temple is famous for the annual fair held in the month of Phalgun as per the Bengali Calendar, at the foot...
, a temple of ShivaShivaShiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, and a Buddhist pagodaPagodaA pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
are also located on this island.
- Sonadia IslandSonadia IslandSonadia Island is a small island of about 9 km2 offshore from Cox's Bazaar in southeastern Bangladesh.- Transport :Sonadia is seen as a potential deepwater port lying on the Bay of Bengal that could serve the landlocked parts of India, Myanmar and China.Rail connections have yet to be built,...
, a small crescent shaped island of only 9 square kilometres, it is 7-km north-west of Cox's Bazar. The western side of the island is sandy and different kinds of shells are found on the beach. Off the northern part of the island, there are beds of window pane oysters. During winter, fisherman set up temporary camps on the island and dry their catches of sea fish. Sonadia Island supports the last remaining part of mangrove forest in southeast Bangladesh. Sonadia's mangroves are distinct from the well-known sunderbans, due to their development in a coastal lagoon setting rather than in a delta. Another attraction of this island is the sight of game birds migrating here in great numbers during the winter seasons.
- Teknaf, a place situated by the side of Naf riverNaf RiverNaf River It is an elongated estuary in the extreme southeast of Cox's Bazar district dividing the district from Arakan, Myanmar. It rises in the Arakan hills on the southeastern borders of the district and flows into the Bay of Bengal. Its width varies from 1.61 km to 3.22 km. The river...
is the southernmost part of mainland Bangladesh. This also marks the end point of Cox's Bazar beach. Tourists usually come here to have a river cruise along beautiful Naf river, which flows between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
- St. Martin's IslandSt. Martin's IslandSt. Martin's Island is a small island in the northheast part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula, and forming the southernmost part of Bangladesh. It is not a coral island in Bangladesh. It is about 8 km west of the northwest coast of...
, a small island in the northeast part of the Bay of BengalBay of BengalThe Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula. It is the only coral island in BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. It is about 8 km west of the northwest coast of MyanmarMyanmarBurma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
at the mouth of the Naf RiverNaf RiverNaf River It is an elongated estuary in the extreme southeast of Cox's Bazar district dividing the district from Arakan, Myanmar. It rises in the Arakan hills on the southeastern borders of the district and flows into the Bay of Bengal. Its width varies from 1.61 km to 3.22 km. The river...
. The local name of the island is নারিকেল জিঞ্জিরা Narikel Jinjira (also spelled "Narical Gingira", "Narikel Janjina", and "Narikel Jinjera"), meaning "Coconut Island" in BengaliBengali languageBengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
. St. Martin's Island has become a popular tourist spot. Three shipping liners run daily trips to the island. They are Kutubdia, Sea-Truck and Keary-Sindbad. Tourists can book their trip either from ChittagongChittagongChittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
or from Cox's Bazar. The surrounding coral reef of the island has an extension named Chera Dwip. The island is home to several endangered species of turtles, as well as the corals, some of which are found only on this island.
- Chakaria: One of most large area in Cox's Bazar.
- BandarbanBandarban DistrictBandarban is a district in South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of the Chittagong Division and Chittagong Hill Tracts. Bandarban , or in Marma or Arakanese language as "Rwa-daw Mro" is also known as Arvumi or the Bohmong Circle Bandarban is a district in South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of...
: Bandarban lies three hours away from Cox's Bazaar by bus. The Buddha Dhatu Jadi, the largest Buddhist temple in Bangladesh, located in Balaghata, 4 km from the town, is an excellent place to visit. This TheravadaTheravadaTheravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
Buddhist temple is made completely in the style of South-East Asia and houses the second largest statue of BuddhaGautama BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
in Bangladesh. The waterfall named Shoilo Propat at Milanchari is also an excellent site. In addition, the numerous Buddhist temples, known as kyang in local tongue, and vihars in the town include the highly notable the Rajvihar (royal vihar) at Jadipara and the Ujanipara Vihar. Bawm villages around Chimbuk, and Mru villages a little further off, are also lie within a day's journey from the town. Prantik Lake, Jibannagar and Kyachlong Lake are some more places of interest. And, a boat ride on the river Sangu is also an excellent proposition.
- RangamatiRangamati DistrictRangamati is a district in South-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the town of Rangamati serves as the headquarters of the district. Area-wise, Rangamati is the largest district of the country....
: One can reach Rangamati from Cox's Bazar either via ChittagongChittagongChittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
or Bandarban. Rangamati offers several attractions including local tribal museum, Buddhist temple, tribal markets, hanging bridge and even the palace of traibal kings. The major attraction of the district is Kaptai LakeKaptai LakeKaptai Lake is a man made lake in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is located in the Kaptai Upazila under Rangamati District of Chittagong Division. The lake was created as a result of building the Kaptai Dam on the Karnaphuli River, as part of the Karnaphuli Hydro-electric project...
. It is a man-made lake in the KaptaiKaptaiKaptai is a region in south-eastern Bangladesh. The Kaptai Upazila is part of the Rangamati District of Chittagong Division. Karnaphuli Hydroelectric Power Station, the only Hydro-electric power plant of Bangladesh is located here...
upazila of Rangamati DistrictRangamati DistrictRangamati is a district in South-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the town of Rangamati serves as the headquarters of the district. Area-wise, Rangamati is the largest district of the country....
. The lake was created as a result of building the Kaptai DamKaptai DamKaptai Dam is located on the Karnaphuli River at Kaptai, 65 km upstream from Chittagong in Rangamati District, Bangladesh. It is an earthfill embankment dam with a reservoir water storage capacity of 11,000 km². The primary purpose of the construction of the dam and reservoir was to generate...
on the Karnaphuli RiverKarnaphuli RiverKarnaphuli is a wide river in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh. Originating from the Lushai hills in Mizoram, India, it flows southwest through Chittagong Hill Tracts and Chittagong into the Bay of Bengal. A large hydroelectric power plant using Karnaphuli river was built in the Kaptai...
, as part of the Karnaphuli Hydro-electric project. The beautiful view of surrounding green hills has turned the lake into a wonderful spot for boating and cruising.
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