Boga Lake is located inside the hills of Bandarban. This is possibly the most beautiful lake from Bangladesh. It has a high elevation as it is situated on top of a hill (people believe that the lake is formed on a crater of a dead volcano). This closed lake is surrounded by hills with having an area of approximately 18 acres. The water is much clear and looks colorful from the surrounding green and blue sky as the bottom of the lake has rocks.
To visit Boga lake we have hired a car that dropped us near the Sangu river from where we had to use the boat. After having an extraordinary boat riding we reached at the Ruma bazar ghat. The boat was moving very slowly as it was not driven by machine. It was very slow but we have had several stoppages amid of our journey to enjoy the surroundings.
Its was around the lunch time when we reached at Ruma bazar. So after having a typical lunch we hired a local vehicle named Chander Gari. It is one kind of Jeep having the roofs are open, and around 30-40 people can accommodate inside when fully packaed. People use this vehicle very tightly as they do not have any other options but walking. It was 2000 Taka for the Chander Gari to take us to the Boga Lake. The roads were some times going uphill and sometimes going downhill. Obviously the journey was risky. Sometimes the bushes from the both sides of the road just covered it, and it was hard to see the road tracks. But the local car drivers were expert enough to keep the vehicle on track. We also hired a guide (named Bashi Mong) for two days. We didn’t use him that much but we were bound to hire a guide. It was probably 150 Taka per day (or less). [All the costings were as of year 2019]
The road to Boga Lake was meandering throughout the mountain. When the car was moving to the downhill from the top of the mountain we felt as if we were in a roller coaster. The roads were a bit narrow and it was a problem when two cars were passing each other. Also when the vehicle was going through the road the pedestrians had to get aside from the road to let the vehicle go.
During the ride we have enjoyed the River Sangu from the top of the mountain. Also saw a lot of people were doing cultivation around the slope of the hills. There were a lot of space in the mountain where local people use to cultivate seasonal vegetables using Zum technique. The last 5-10 minutes of our journey was through the road which was not developed yet (till then year 2009). 5/6 months from now the vehicle used to drop the people at that place as it was rainy season and the road condition was not good. But now it goes directly to the Boga Lake.
When we reached at Boga lake we were amazed by the warm welcome from the local people. The people who live around the Boga lake are Bawm people. They have their own language. They are very polite and would welcome you from their heart. You’d love the company of those local people. Beside the lake you’d find an Army camp for security reason. You have to entry your name at the camp before anything.
We still had few minutes left before the sunset. So we dropped our baggage inside the house and jumped inside the lake water. The water of Boga lake was very cool. After passing such a hectic day the swim in the lake was really refreshing. We played in water for around half an hour (even after sunset). We would be doing that for a bit longer but the light was very poor after sunset.
We stayed in the cottage of Siam didi, a nice lady who was running a lovely cottage near the lake area. She provided us the house for staying along with food. It wasn’t costly at all. The food was not that great, but considering the location and availability of everything it was excellent arrangement for us. Besides we were hungry that time too. So that tasted good to us. After the dinner we were laying on the floor beside the Boga lake. Few of us were singing. It was a very lovely night under lot of stars.
After having a sound sleep at night we woke up by 7:30am in the morning. We started to explore the proximity of the Boga Lake area. There is a narrow path beside the lake which was made from the foot mark of people. We used the trek to walked as long as the path was visible. In morning it was a lovely place to walk around.
Birds were chirping, gentle breeze was waving and cooling the bodies. Some small fishes were swimming in the lake water. Due to the sky color some times you’d find the water color of the lake is blue. You could easily see the shadow of the mountain or the trees in water. This lake is a great water source for the village nearby. People use to collect water from the lake and use that for their daily needs including cooking, having baths, washing cloths, etc. Also local people use to catch fish from the lake using fishing rods. I found most of them were young girls who were fishing in the lake.
After having a breakfast we explored the surrounding area for a bit. We walked for a bit towards the Keokaradong. I wanted to go there but we didn’t have much time. There were a group staying in Boga lake on that night. In morning they headed for Keokaradong. For our case we did packing and returned back around 11:00am in morning. And using the same route we returned back to the Bandarban city (which was by the end of the day). And on the same night we boarded on the bus for Dhaka.
And this is how our Boga lake trip has ended. I visited Bandarban several times later. I did several trekking trip around the remote hills of Bandarban. But this Boga lake trip was really refreshing and amazing one.
Boga Lake,
Upazila: Ruma,
District: Bandarban,
Country: Bangladesh,
Gps coordinate (21°58’46.8″N, 92°28’10.0″E).
Written by Lonely Traveler,
For blog alonelytraveler.com
Sunday, 8th – 9th November 2009
