Travel Bangladesh with Mother & Sister -Sri Mangal-

In Sri Mangal, we stayed Nishorgo Eco Resort.
The cottage is located about 4km away from railway station, 2km away from Lawachara National Park.
The operation of hotel is done by local people since they are promoting community based tourism.

This is the cottage we stayed.

Decoration is simple and lets guests feel staying in nature.
But don't worry, hot water is available.

My sister taking a rest besides the cottage.

There are not enough restaurants around the area, so we had dinner/breakfast there.
What impressed me is that they have "set menu".
In Japan, we commonly have "lunch set" or "today's recommendation".
So when I have no idea what to eat, I used to choose one of them.

Tourists may not have idea what to/how to order in Bangladesh.
So, this "suggestion" is very easy for those who aren't familiar with Bengali food.

Here is the food available at the resort.
<Breakfast：75tk>
- Traditional bread
- Mixed vegetable curry
- Egg
- Fruits
- Tea

<Lunch/Dinner：220tk>
- Write rice
- Mixed vegetable curry
- Chicken/Fish (choose one of them)
- Daar (Lentil soup)
*They weren't written in menu, but salad and fruits were served, too.

You can ask for delivery food to terrace of your cottage.
Isn't it lovely to have breakfast in green??

For details, please visit their web page.

<Nishorgo Eco-Resort>
TEL:01715041207
Budget :2,500tk～
Webpage : http://nishorgocottage.com/ 

So now, going to Lawachara National Park.
Hotel staff told us to go in the early morning to see animals, but we were too tired to get up early.
We took time for breakfast, took rest, and started.

Entry tickets includes guide fee.
Visitors are not allowed to go inside without guide. (as rule says...)

At first, a picture on the railways. 

I like this place.
Railway going through forest is very beautiful.
I wanted to wait for train to come, but couldn't because we were with a guide.

Vine was there.
So, played with it.

Walking a bit more, we found monkeys.
We could have seen more as we go far.......but we gave up when we found a mountain leech!
No........I can't live with anything like worm.
Even though I can fight against huge cockroach, spider........I can't stand a small worm.
Anything without legs/with many legs.........

Anyway, we gave up to see more monkeys and kept walking through trekking path.
Then, huge bamboo. 

Huge ant farm.

After walking a bit more, we arrived Khashia tribe's village.
They live in this national park.
Infrastructure isn't well developed.
So, people even have to carry water everyday.

They make a living by processing "pan" leaves.

They have their own language, and education is given in the village.
This is a school in the village in national park.

There is a church since they are Christian.
I hardly see in Bangladesh, this Muslim country, but they have a pig.
Their self-sufficiency rate is very high.

It was 1 hour course, but we needed 1.5 hours.
Maybe we just walked slowly........
If you want to see animals, it would be better to take longer course and go in the morning.
However, we enjoyed 1.5 hour trekking and visiting a village.

We finished around noon, took lunch.
What we had to do before leaving Sri Mangal is trying 7 layers tea!

I have tried 7 layers tea at SathRong Restaurant, but a hotel staff told me to go to original place where 7 layers tea was invented. 
So we came. 

There were many customer at store.
As rain stopped, staff prepared tables & chairs outside.

I heard it took time to prepare.....but really.
Really it took 40 minutes to have a glass of tea!

Anyway, it came.

The layers wasn't as clear as one from SathRong Restaurant, but I like taste here better.
Cinnamon was topped.
It is 75tk.
You have other option like 6 layers tea(60tk), 5 layers tea(50tk).....e.t.c.
I guess you try 7 layers tea if you go there.

So........just keep in your mind.
Visit there when you have enough time, and enjoy tea!

 

＜Nilkantha Tea Cabin＞
Address: Sri Mangal, Moulvibazaar, Sylhet
TEL: 01714-292851
HP: http://www.nilkantha.blog.com/


Not so many stories later......we headed back to Dhaka.
Thank you for reading about my trip with my family!