Rajshahi

A city of silk and mangoes on the Padma River. The Varendra Research Museum, the Puthia Temple complex and the Small Golden Mosque at Gaur are the highlights.

Rajshahi lies in northwestern Bangladesh and is the capital of Rajshahi Division, with a population of about one million. The southern edge of the city runs along the Padma River (the lower Ganges), and across the river is India. Historically this was the Varendra region, where the Pala dynasty and the Bengal Sultanate left many ruins nearby. In modern times the city is known for silk and mangoes. It is clean and green, and its air quality is considered among the best of any Bangladeshi city.

The main sights are in the south: the Varendra Research Museum, Bangladesh's oldest, the shrine of the Sufi saint Shah Makhdum, and several kilometres of Padma riverfront promenade. Watching the sunset at the T-shaped dam in the evening and taking a small boat out to river sandbars are favourite pastimes of locals. In the north of the city, you can visit silk workshops to buy saris.

There are three classic day trips. The east route takes you to the Puthia Temple Complex (about 25 km), which can be combined with Bagha Mosque or the Natore Royal Palace and Uttara Ganabhaban. The north route goes to Naogaon, home to the Kusumba Mosque, built of black basalt. The northwest route covers about 85 km to Chapainawabganj, where you can see the Small Golden Mosque at Gaur and the Darasbari ruins.

Dhaka has direct flights to Shah Makhdum Airport (about 45 minutes). You can also take an intercity train (5–6 hours) or a bus. In town, electric tricycles and CNG auto-rickshaws are common, and for day trips, hiring a vehicle is recommended. Allow two to three days.

This is a conservative Muslim region. Visitors should cover their shoulders and knees and remove their shoes before entering mosques or temples. Foreign tourists are relatively uncommon here and often attract attention, so keep polite. When visiting areas near the Indian border, carry your passport with you.

Top sights

• Varendra Research Museum – Bangladesh's oldest museum, holding Pala-Sena period black stone deities, Indus Valley artifacts and ancient coins. It is the first stop fo…
• Puthia Temple Complex – The densest concentration of ancient Hindu temples in Bangladesh. A royal palace, a Shiva temple, a five-spired Govinda temple and terracot…
• Padma River Promenade – Several kilometers of embankment along the Padma (the lower Ganges), where Rajshahi residents gather near the T-Badh and Padma Garden to wa…
• Choto Sona Mosque – The most elaborate Sultanate-era building on the Bangladesh side of Gaur, with fifteen domes and carved stone throughout. It is known as th…
• Shah Makhdum Ruposh Dargah – The city's most important Sufi shrine, beside the Padma River, where devotees come to pray year-round and which is a spiritual landmark of…
• Bagha Mosque – A ten-domed mosque built in 1523 by Bengal Sultan Nasrat Shah, its walls covered with terracotta reliefs and surrounded by vast mango orcha…
• Rajshahi Silk (Sopura Silk Mills) – One of the leading makers of Rajshahi silk, where you can watch the reeling and weaving processes and buy silk saris and scarves at the sho…
• Darasbari Mosque – The ruins of a brick mosque built in 1479, its dome collapsed and rows of arches still standing, next to the remains of one of Bengal's ear…
• Kusumba Mosque – A black basalt mosque built in 1558 beside a huge old pond, known as the 'Black Pearl of Bengal' and once pictured on the 5-taka banknote.
• Natore Rajbari – An 18th-century palace and garden complex of the Natore royal family, linked to the celebrated queen Rani Bhabani, with ponds, tree-lined a…
• Uttara Ganabhaban – An 18th-century palace of the Dighapatia royal family, later the northern residence of the head of state, with a clock-tower gate, an Itali…
• Shaheed A.H.M. Qamaruzzaman Central Park & Zoo – A mixed park and small zoo on the western side of the city beside the river, with a lake, play equipment and animal enclosures, a weekend d…
• University of Rajshahi Campus – Bangladesh's second-oldest university, with a leafy campus that includes a Liberation War museum, a martyrs' monument and a connection to t…

Where to eat

• Kalai House (Upashahar) – The best-known kalai ruti shop on Upashahar New Market Road, serving clay-oven-baked black gram flatbread with duck cur…
• Chapai Kalai Hotel – A small eatery named after Chapai Nawabganj, the birthplace of kalai ruti. A serving of kalai ruti with mash and duck c…
• Dalas Hotel Restaurant – A long-standing hotel restaurant at Bindur Mor, known for Rajshahi-style beef nihari with bone marrow, served with tand…