“The best view comes after the hardest climb.” I got the truth after reaching Bagalake and climbing to Keokradong (Bandarban).
After reaching Bandarban at 6:00 AM as usual, self-cleaning and breakfast is completed in the booked room at the designated Hotel Hill View. After that, the magic of music and magic began in the hotel lobby. People flocked and requests increased to hear the music and watch the magic. The morning was lively at Hotel Hill View with the team’s amazing performance. After that, we left for Ruma by Chander’s Gari, reaching Ruma in 2:00 hours with a break. Name entry and entry fee must be paid to army camp before reaching Ruma. From Ruma, the drive towards Bagalake begins along a beautiful mountain road. I am sure nature lovers will be impressed with this road. And those who have gone to Darjeeling, India can relate. After passing through this state, the eyes will suddenly become amazed; Seeing such a beautiful lake in a hilly place, which is 110 feet. Here also register the names in the army check post. Then we rented a cottage above the lake. Where everyone lives in 2 rooms. Everyone bathed in the ghat built by the lake and had breakfast. Some of them came to visit the mountains adjacent to the lake. In the evening, the song session starts and the song continues one after another, all the cottage residents join in this session. The dance continues to the beat of the song. Dinner is complete with Bar B Q, Luchi, local food at night. The morning was relaxing for us as due to physical and health reasons we will take the Chander Gari to Keokradong. The beauty of the wonderful path and the great prayers kept rising above us and my mind kept telling me to walk (haha). The car began to climb so steeply.
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Finally, we reached Darjeeling village around 12 o’clock. From where the peak of Keokradong could be seen, beckoning. Everyone relaxes in designated cottages, gets cleaned up and lunch is served with sumptuous food and traditional hill food. The guide told everyone to be ready at 4 o’clock to leave for Keokradong. Almost everyone recovers by this time. After a difficult 25/30-minute trek, we reached the officially highest peak of Bangladesh. Truly immense beauty can be seen from its peak. Another song session was held at the helipad. Everyone already knows that a group of ‘Dotara musicians have come to spread music on the mountain path. They want to join us in love. “The higher you climb on the mountain, the harder the wind blows.” – Sam Cummings’s ineffable words keep feeling above; I feel the bitter cold. Later, in the hall-cum-restaurant, the music continued one after the other. The whole room was filled, the locals also sang. Meanwhile the owner of this empire, Mr. Lala Bom, joined us. On everyone’s advice, he said to make a cultural club, so that after evening only sleeping is not a lonely task. Private Secretary (Deputy Secretary) to the Minister of State for Local Government Nasir Sir spoke about the wholehearted cooperation. Later we left for Darjeelingpara. At night there was dinner with authentic bamboo chicken, Pahari edible root vegetables, various salads, onion bhatta, jum rice, mashed potato special. The cooking was amazing which will be remembered for a long time. After that, people started coming from nearby cottages to hang out with us, actually they wanted to listen to music. It was a circle again. After breakfast in the morning slowly, the journey starts towards Bagalake. The landing was relatively easy and less time consuming. We started from Bagalake rest towards Ruma and reached our next destination at Meghla Resort around 5:30 pm. Resting there, we were invited to the residence of the Superintendent of Police. Everyone had a lively chat and a hearty dinner and went to the counter of Volvo bus. Let’s end our Bandarban episode with the amazing tea at Kalapata Restaurant. We are all impressed with driver Aziz’s skills in the tour. Our guide was also completely accommodating. Many thanks and best wishes to them.
The word Keokradong comes from the Marma language. In Marma, keo means ‘stone’, kara means ‘mountain’ and dong means ‘highest’. That means Keokradong means the highest rocky mountain. The hill is located in Ruma Sadar upazila of Bandarban district. The official highest mountain in Bangladesh is Keokradong, located at an altitude of about 986 meters above sea level, although unofficially it is the 5th highest peak in Bangladesh. From this hill, the peaks of all the high mountains of Bangladesh can be seen almost clearly!
Boga Lake, situated 18 kilometers away from Ruma Upazila headquarters of Bandarban District, is the most beautiful natural lake in Bangladesh. There are many mythological stories about the creation of the lake which inspire the young and adventure lovers to explore this wonderful natural reservoir of blue waters trekking all the way from Ruma. It is a natural sweet and deep-water lake. Its height from sea level is nearly 1,246 feet (380 m).
Boga Lake’s formation has sparked scientific debates, with geologists speculating that it could be the result of a volcanic eruption, meteorite impact, or even a landslide.
According to local tribal myths among the Bom, Marma, Mro, Khumi, and Tripura tribes, Boga Lake was formed when a dragon, known as ‘Boga’ in the Bawm language, resided in a cave within the mountains.
The locals used to offer cattle as a tribute to the dragon god, but when a few individuals killed the dragon, the peak transformed into a submerged lake, drowning the surrounding villages.
Although there is no concrete evidence to support this legend, the presence of the legendary dragon and the lake’s volcanic appearance coincides with the context of a dormant volcano.
Bogalake is considered as a source of wonder, unlimited beauty and adventure for nature`s lovers and travelers. Nature has made this greenish lake with her own touches. The tiredness of passing through hilly areas will be lost when you will watch the beauty of the lake and the surroundings. It seems it is a miracle of nature. Local people also called this lake as Dragon Lake.
Possible places of interest: Ruma Bazar, Bagaleke, Chingri Jharna, Keokradong, Darjeeling Para etc.
Day – 1: Travel from Dhaka to Bandarban by 10/10:30 night bus.
Day-2: We will get off at Bandarban at 6 am in the morning, have breakfast and leave in the car of Reserve Chander Gari for Ruma. We will finish the registration at the army check post in Ruma Bazar. Then the Chander Gari will go to Bagalake. Take a bath at noon. We will have lunch at noon with local chicken, bharta, pulses, and vegetables. Then rest for a while and walk around the lake. In the evening we will have a BBQ. Then eat dinner (lake fish, various vegetables and zoom rice) and sleep.
Day 3: After breakfast I will leave for Keokradong and see the Chinri Jhorna on the way. We will be in Keokradong by noon. After lunch, rest for a while and then walk around the helipad and the top of Keokradong. Singing and chatting will continue at night. Then eat dinner and sleep. We will spend the night at the top or come down a little and stay in Darjeeling para.
Day 4: We woke up very early in the morning, have breakfast, saw the sunrise and left for Bagalake. We will have lunch at Ruma / Bagalake at noon. Then return to Bandarban by Chander Gari. Then after dinner We will leave for Dhaka by night bus.
Day 5: Will reach Dhaka at 5 am.
Contributed by Morshed Hussain