Madaripur is a district which is currently under Dhaka division (as of January 2022). Initially this district was a part of Faridpur district, and later separated in 1984 to become by on its own. The name Madaripur is taken after a renowned saint Shah Madar. Madaripur is situated beside the mighty river Padma. Another prominent river from the district is Arial Khan. From agriculture it contributes plenty of jute. This is a low profile district for tourism and doesn’t attract too many visitors. Below are a few noticeable attractions from this district which could make someone enthusiastic to visit. Also don’t forget to visit the photo gallery of Madaripur.
#1 An ancient Raja Ram Temple
A two-stored Hindu temple that is located in Khalia of Tekerhat, Madaripur district. This ancient Hindu temple was built in the 17th century by a rich man named Raja Ram Roy. Raja Ram Temple has quite a few terracotta works that depict the Mahabharat and Ramayan. Based on the look and style, it is probably a unique temple from Bangladesh.
#2 Shokuni lake, heart of Madaripur
This Shokuni lake is also known as Madaripur lake. It is situated at the heart of the Madaripur town. Most of the main infrastructures from Madaripur town are built around the Shokuni lake. The DC office, police station, and many other government buildings are situated around the lake. This beautiful lake attracts a lot of local people from Madaripur everyday (specially during afternoon). This lake was built a few hundreds years back by a Raja (a king) to ease the water crisis. You can not miss this if you are visiting Madaripur as a tourist.
#3 Kalikhola Jomidar Bari
Kalikhola Jomidar Bari could be another attraction from Madaripur district. This house is more than a hundred year old. This is currently functioning as a Land Survey Office of the Bangladesh government (locally known as Bhumi office). Few government employees used to work there. Also the old house is being used by the families of those employees. So please take their permission before entering inside. People are very helpful.
#4 Monkeys from Charmuguria
Charmuguria is located approximately 6 kilometers from the Madaripur town. This place is a living ground for a bunch of free monkeys. These monkeys can move freely around without any fear. They collect the food from here and there, and sometimes people also feed them. Local people do not do any harm to the monkeys. They put a net around the window so that the monkeys couldn’t enter inside the house.
#5 Khalia Peace Center
Khalia Peace Center (which is locally known as Shanti Kendra). It is made for the rural people so that they could get some help about agriculture, and also could apply the science over their traditional cultivation techniques. This is not a traditional tourist place. But it is lovely for the visitors. There are several ponds inside the premises.
#6 Jhaudi Giri, a Mog monument
Jhaudi Giri is actually a large pillar made from brick. People say it was made by the Mog (a tribe in Bangladesh). It is unsure why they built this large monument (or edifice). But people say they made this for prayer. It was much taller before, but day by day it is decreasing in size. This place has a historic value, as well as the path there is full with typical natural beauties of Bangladesh.
#7 River Arial Khan
The main town of Madaripur is situated beside Arial Khan river. This river meandered through the district all along and wherever you visit the district you’d encounter the river or a branch of the river. This famous river originated from the river Padma in Faridpur. After that it flows through Madaripur district. In Barisal this river probably changed its name as Kirtonkhola. River Arial Khan flows through other districts under different names before falling into the Bay of Bengal.
#8 River Kumar
Madaripur has a branch of river Kumar. According to the book this branch is known as Lower Kumar river. Upper Kumar river falls into the Beel route canal, and then again generates a branch which is this river. Best place to visit the river is from the Chormugria upazila of Madaripur. This is a small river but gets plenty of water during the rainy season.
#9 Beautiful sunset over river Padma
As of today (year January 2022), the best way to return from Madaripur district is through the Mawa – Keurakandi ferry transport. Until the Padma bridge construction is done (which should be completed at any time this year), it is possible to enjoy the sunset from the Ferry. One just needs to follow the timing so that the sunset starts while the ferry is in the middle of the river. From my experience, sunset around such places is the best.
#10 Scenic beauty
Yes, Madaripur is one of the most beautiful districts in Bangladesh. This district is rich with natural beauties. It is because of the rivers which make the lands fertile. Every inch is being used for agriculture. If anything is left unused, that is taken by nature and made green. Depending on the season you’d see different landscapes. To enjoy all these beauties, you just need to hire a rickshaw and move away from the main city. There are plenty of villages which have mud roads.
How to Go
There are couple of ways to go to Madaripur from Dhaka. If anyone is looking for relaxing journey, then the Ferry (or launch) from Sadar Ghat would be the option. Ferry is slow, but comparatively safe and very relaxing. Also the ferry would navigate various rivers from Bangladesh and you could enjoy the riverside activities from the ferry. Parabat-15 is an option for this. For bus, Sarbik Paribahan is a popular option. It is reasonably faster despite taking 1.5 hours to cross the ferry. Currently it takes approximately 8 hours, but after the Padma bridge is done, it could get reduced into 4 hours.
Where to stay
As I mentioned earlier, Madaripur is not a popular tourist destination, hence it doesn’t have too many hotels for night staying. But it has quite a few compared to the size of the city. Among those Hotel Sarbik, Hotel Matribhumi, etc are a few nice hotels to stay at. Rooms in these hotels are not expensive either.
What to try
There is an old sweet shop plus few others at the north-east part of the Madaripur lake. Don’t forget to taste the sweets from there. They don’t have any brand for those sweets like Tangail or Bogura.
Things to bring home
Madaripur is famous for producing one of the finest molasses from Bangladesh. You could buy a few to bring home after finishing your trip in Madaripur.
Written by Lonely Traveler,
For blog alonelytraveler.com
