Top Visiting Places in Dhaka City

Dhaka City

Tourist attractions in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is a thriving, delightful and overcrowded metropolis of about
18 million people. This biggest city is the center of couture and economy of Bangladesh. A casual
visitor can be overwhelmed at the first sight of this gloriously chaotic and noisy place but once he
ride into the back of one of its innumerable colorful cycle rickshaws, he will surely feel the true charm
of this city. The old part of the town or Old Dhaka has a wide range of architectural heritage of
Mughal and Colonial period. For myriad mosques, it’s called the city of mosques. Its mosque and
temple represents its spiritual side and the modernization and development of the city in last couple
of decades give a glimpse of the direction of future travel.

If you are a photographer, this city is a
paradise for you. You will find numerous subjects here to shoot. As it was the center of the liberation
movements of Bangladesh, this city houses some important national monuments and structures. If
you want to visit Dhaka and experience the true charm of this colorful city, here is a list of 10 places
that you must visit in Dhaka.

Ahsan Manzil

Once the official residential palace of the Nawabs of Dhaka, now Ahsan Manzil or the Pink Palace is a museum and one of the most Tourist attractions in Dhaka The 5.5 acre premise of this palace bears the significance as an architectural reminder of the elite life of the Nawabs of Dhaka during the colonial era of 19^th and early 20^th century. In 1872, the patriarch of the Nawab family, Abdul Ghani  (1813-1896), constructed the family’s official residence on the bank of the River Buriganga in old Dhaka and named the palace after his son Nawab Khwaja Ahsanullah (1846-1901). It’s mostly European styled building mixed with some decorative Indian motifs. Its soaring dome appears to be more about impressing the viewer on the exterior, rather than within the interior. Many important persons of the Colonial period either visited or stayed here. Viceroy Lord Nathaniel Curzon was one of them.

Ahsan Manzil History

He stayed here as a guest of Nawab Salimullah Bahadur in 1904. In 1906 Muslim leaders from all over India congregated at the Durbar Hall of Ahsan Manzil for the 20^th Session of the All India Mohammedan Educational  Conference in Dhaka.  In the same year here the All India Muslim League was formed that later lead the creation of Pakistan-when , the British left the Indian subcontinent in 1947. 16 years after its erection, it was damaged by a cyclone. After its reconstruction, the palace became grander than before. After the death of the Nawab and his son, the family fortune was dispersed and the palace eventually fell into disrepair. As the influence and the prestige of the Nawabs declined in the 20^th century and the descendants of the Nawabs became too poor to look after such a vast property, The then Government took over this palace in 1952.

However, the poor descendants of the Nawab family and the poor local people continued to hold the palace until the 1970s. They inflicted much harm to the building by indiscriminately altering its configuration. In 1985 the Government of Bangladesh acquired the property and after much deliberation decided to convert it into a national museum. The preservation work completed in 1989 and Ahsan Manzil started it a journey as a museum in 1992.

Lalbag Fort:

This 17^th century incomplete Mughal fort is the most popular and renowned one and bears a great significance of art by Mughal Empire in Bangladesh. It stands proudly before the Buriganga River in the southwestern part of the old city. In 1678 a Mughal prince Muhammad Azam started the fort’s construction work during his vice royalty in Bangladesh. But the construction work remained incomplete when he was called back by his father Aurangazeb to the capital Delhi. His son Shaista Khan did not complete the fort though he stayed here up to 1688. In 1684 his daughter Pari Bibi died. After her death, he started thinking the fort ominous and left the structure incomplete. There are several structures in the fort area:

The Mosque

This mosque is located in the western part of the fort premise, by the side of the tomb of Pari Bibi. The Lalbagh Fort mosque is a typical Bengali Mughal type, a rectangular structure embellished with three domes, where the middle dome is larger. The mosque is still in use.

Dhakeshwari National Temple 

Dhakeshwari Temple is a state owned Hindu temple in Dhaka. The name Dhakeshwari means “Goddess of Dhaka”. This ‘National Temple’ was built by one Mangat Ray who was also known as Ballalsena, younger brother of Arakanese king Shrisudharma, son of famous Arakanese king Raja Malhana, alias Husen Shah. Though the present edifice is modern in construction, there has been a temple on this same spot for nine centuries.  The original statue was 800 years old but it was vandalized by the Pakistani soldiers during the liberation war in 1971. As the temple complex has undergone repairs, renovation and rebuilding several times in its long years of existence, its present condition does not clearly indicate any of its original architectural sign.

National Zoo:

Located at Mirpur in Dhaka,  Bangladesh National Zoo is one of the key attractions among the Tourist attractions in Dhaka and the local people. The zoo houses more than 2,000 animals of 165 species. It was established in 1974 over 75.53 hectors of land. About 10,000 spectators visit The National Zoo daily and the number increases in the weekends and holidays.

National Botanical Garden:

Situated at Mirpur in Dhaka beside the Dhaka Zoo, The National Botanical Garden is the largest plant conservation center in Bangladesh. Established in 1961 over an area of about 84 hectors it is a must visiting place for nature lovers and botanists. Divided in 57 sections, this place has a collection of approximately 100 species of local and foreign plants. Hundreds of varieties of roses, multiple types of bamboo in the bamboo groves, the sandal wood and old banyan trees are the key attractions. There is a cactus house, lily ponds, six lakes, two nurseries, an orchid house, a tissue culture research center, and a lotus pond with extensive visitor facilities.

Star Mosque:

Located at Armanitola in old Dhaka, decorated with engraved floral and star patterns,  Star mosque or Tara Masjid is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Bangladesh. It has ornate designs and it is decorated with motifs of blue stars. This beautiful building was built in the first half of the 19^th century by Mirza Golam Pir. Unlike other Mughal architectures, there is no inscription found in the mosque mentioning its founding year. According to some people, this mosque was built in 1711. Tara Mosque is one of the few edifices in this subcontinent which has such expanded special type of china clay mosaic works, traditionally called Chini Tikri.

National Memorial at Savar:

Sonargaon or The village of gold was the old capital of Bengal in the medieval period and Tourist attractions in Dhaka. It was a significant administrative and business center at that time. During the medieval period, it was the mint capital.  From the 13^th century, Sonargaon was used as the capital city by different rulers of eastern Bengal. In the mid-13^th century, it was the capital of Hindu Deva dynasty. But after a short time, Muslim rulers acquired it and made it their capital city. First, it was ruled by independent rulers and then it became a subsidiary capital of the Bengal Sultanate and then Delhi Sultanate.