About Gazipur
Just north of Dhaka, Gazipur is a fast-growing city of garment factories, universities and research institutes that still keeps patches of the old sal forest that once covered this part of Bangladesh. For residents of the capital it is the nearest place to find shade, wildlife and open space at the weekend.
The area was long the seat of the Bhawal zamindars, a wealthy landowning family whose palace still stands in Joydebpur, and it later became famous across the country through the dramatic court case of a prince who claimed to have returned from the dead. Today Gazipur is a city corporation in its own right, linked to Dhaka by road and rail.
Visitors head for Bhawal National Park and the big safari park to the north, for Nuhash Polli, the country estate of the beloved novelist Humayun Ahmed, and, once a year, for the immense Bishwa Ijtema gathering beside the Turag River in Tongi. Weekday trips avoid the heaviest traffic and crowds.
Best seasonNovember-February, cool and dry
Ideal stay1 day from Dhaka, or 2 days with the forest parks
ArrivingRoad or rail from Dhaka via Tongi and Joydebpur; Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport lies just south
