Chittagong (Chattogram) sits in a rare sweet spot: the sea on one side, green hills on the other. You can finish work, jump in a car, and be ankle-deep in surf or fog within an hour.
Sunset Staples: Patenga & Parki
Patenga is the city’s default sunset plan. The beach runs beside the Karnaphuli mouth, so you get ships sliding past as the light fades. It’s lively, with grilled corn, tea stalls, families, and the whole after-work scene. If you want the sea without the bustle, cross the river and keep going to Parki Beach at Anwara. It’s quieter, with long sandbars and a wide horizon.
Mirsharai’s Twin Shores: Bashbaria & Guliakhali
North of town, Mirsharai hides two very different moods. Bashbaria is gentle and unhurried, with shallow water and a calm strip of sand set against village life. Guliakhali, often called Muradpur Beach, feels otherworldly. Tides set the tone: low tide shows off the textures, high tide lifts the mangroves.
Hills & Trails: Sitakunda & Chandranath
If you’d rather climb than coast, aim for Sitakunda. The eco-park trails smell of damp leaves and resin, and Chandranath Hill offers a wide view of plains and sea on clear days. After rain, the waterfalls wake up and the stones go slick, so proper shoes and a bottle of water make all the difference.
Lakeside Calm: Rangamati & Kaptai
Drive east, and the city gives way to bamboo and water. Kaptai Lake spreads out in shades of blue and green, dotted with low islands. Hire a boat, let the engine putter you between inlets, and settle into that lake hush. Lunch on a floating restaurant tastes better after a swim, and the light on the water toward evening is reason enough to linger.
The Long Weekend Stretch: Cox’s Bazar, Inani & Himchari
Cox’s Bazar is the obvious call, miles of firm sand and an endless horizon. For something a little wilder, push on to Inani, where clean surf lines meet flat rock shelves that hold tide pools as the waves pull back. Himchari breaks up the beach run with cliffs and breezy viewpoints that give you height and shade between swims
Further Afield: Bandarban’s High Roads
Bandarban rewards patience. The hill road rolls past jhum fields and sharp ridges; mornings are cool and the air smells faintly of woodsmoke. Boga Lake sits like a dark coin in a bowl of hills, while the Sangu River winds brown and lazy far below. These are trips you feel in your legs and remember long after you’re home.
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