Himchari - an enriched treasure of natural wonders.

There are lots of national parks in Bangladesh. Himchari national parks are one of among them. It is situated about 5 km south of tourism city Cox’s Bazar. Total area of the park is near about 1729 hectares. It is a unique place comprising the excellent beauty of green hills and blue waves of the mighty sea Bay of Bengal.

Himchari National Park is comprised of lush tropical rain forest, grasslands and trees, and it is also features a number of waterfalls, the biggest of which cascades down toward the sandy, sun-drenched beach. The best seen of this waterfall is in the rainy season. The natural beauty of the Himchari area provides a very welcome Interval from the busy and boring city life. It is very prominent place to the locals and abroad tourists. The flora and fauna in the area is abundant and birds never fail to be delighted at the extensive bird-life.

To protect the area from encroaching developments, the Himchari National Park was established in 1980 by the government of Bangladesh. It comprises the reserve forest areas of Bhangamera and Chainda blocks under the Forest Department of Cox's Bazar district. Now it is a conservation area for research, education, recreation and tourism.

At one time the stomping grounds of herds of Asian elephant, Himchari is still home to a limited number of these royal animals. The other mammals that travelers and visitors may see there when exploring the park include Gibbon, Rhesus Macaque, Leopard Cat, Fishing Cat, Tiger, Sloth Bear, Wild Boar, Dhole, Indian Muntjac etc. The Himchari National Park enrich with 55 species of mammals, 13 species of amphibians, 56 species of reptiles, 117 species of plants and  286 species of different kind of birds. Some of prominent birds of the parks are Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Asian Palm Swift (Cypsiurus balasiensis) and Acridotheres fuscus etc. The latter is a genus of Starling that has been introduced into other parts of the world, such as South Africa, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, where it is frequently referred to as an Indian Myna. Occasional elephant sighting can be added additional attraction to the visitors.

Every year the Himchari National Park welcomes more than two million visitors, came from locals and abroad. Most of them are holiday-makers and beauty hunters.   

I can’t describe you the experience of visiting Himchari in a few paragraph. In a word it is an enriched treasure of natural wonders.

Best Time to Visit: 01-Sepember to 31-October. It is also the pick time for tourism of the Country.

Way to go: To visit the Himchari National Park, visitors should to go Cox’s Bazar first. There are two way to go Cox’s Bazar, by air and by the road. Biman Bangladesh Airlines and GMG Airlines have flights to Cox's Bazar four times in a week. Lots of AC and non-AC Bus services are available from Dhaka to Cox's Bazar hourly. Some admired buses are Green line (Scania) service, Shohagh paribahan, Soudia-S-Alam, TR Travels etc. From the Cox's Bazar, you can take taxi or chander gari (One kind of open hood motor van) from Kalatali stand for 15 minute ride to the entry. Also rent microbus is available in Cox's Bazar to go to Himchari.

Where to stay: There is no living accommodation in the Himchari National Park that is why visitors have to stay in Cox's Bazar. You will found lots of sea side hotels in Cox's Bazar. Some well furnished and serviced hotels in Cox’s Bazar are Hotel Sea Palace, Hotel Seagal, Hotel Ocean Paradise, Motel Probal, Motel laboni, Hotel Prasad Pradise, Hotel Cox Today etc.

Remember that, it would not be wise to stay there after the sunset. So make sure that you are returning the city before evening tide.