Maheshkhali Island is located in Cox’s Bazar at Chittagong Hill Tracts. This Island is the only one hilly island in Bangladesh which is located in the middle of the sea just 12 km western part of the Cox’s Bazar City. Maheshkhali Island is an Upazila in Cox’s Bazar. There are 3 more Small Islands named Sonadia, Matarbari and Dhalghata in Maheshkhali Island. It is also known as ‘Vhati Anchol Dwip’.
The naming history of the island is not well known. This Island was named with the name of Buddhist Sen Maheshwar. More can be heard in public, Nur Mohammad Sikder, an influential resident, occasionally went hunting for deer in the deep forest of the mountains. One day he went hunting deer and wandered around all day but could not find any prey and was resting under a tree. Suddenly his sleep was broken by the sound of something. Following the sound he sees a cow pouring milk from a butt over a smooth rock; This cow was lost from her barn a few days ago. He returned home with the cow and the beautiful rock. That night he had a dream: a great man tells him that the rock is a god idol. It is necessary to build a temple on the place where the idol was brought from. The name of the temple will be Adinath Temple.”Mahesh” is one of the 108 names of Adinath (Shiva). And from this Mahesh name this place later became Maheshkhali.
According to Professor D. Suniti Bhushan Kanungo, the island was formed in 1559 AD by a severe cyclone and tidal wave that separated it from the mainland. A Portuguese traveler has recorded the catastrophic cyclone in the Arakan region. Moreover, the island is thought to have been connected to the mainland by the fact that the island has a channel running north-south along the eastern edge of the island and at its foot. Now, Maheshkhali is connected to the mainland as the Maheshkhali Bridge was built at a place called Janata Bazar at the northern end of the upazila.
The Area of Maheshkhali Upazila is 388.50 sq km and this area holds striking landscapes, spectacular ranges of hills, breathtaking mangrove forests, sandy beaches, Salt Fields, Battle Leaf Fields, shrine of Adinath, Buddhist Temple & Pagoda, Rakhain villages and many more. The artwork of this Hilly Island attracts Tourists. This place is famous for producing Betel Leaf, Salt, Pearls, Fish and Dried Fish etc.
In this Island you will see The Mangrove forest everywhere here and also Adinath Mandir, Rakhain Para and Golden Temple etc can see in Maheshkhali. Adinath Temple is located in 85.3m high from the sea level in the Moinak hill on this island. You have to go up the hill to Mainak hill. Mangrove forest, Sea and the whole of Maheshkhali Island can be seen from the Mainak Hill. Some Buddhist Temples are in this Island and also several bronze Buddhist statues here. Notable among these are the meditative Buddha, The Buddha lying on head and The standing Buddha.
If you want, you can also visit Jhaubagan and Charpara Beech. At the time of visiting, you will see the Salt field and the gardens of betel leaf ( Paner Baraj). Garbens of betel leaf cultivation can be seen on the slopes of the Moinak Hill. The name of Betel Leaf of Maheshkhali is all over Bangladesh. So, when you are visiting this amazing island, never forget to taste the fresh betel leaf.
How to go Maheshkhali Island:
At first, you have to go to Cox’s Bazar. Cox’s Bazar can be reached directly by road & air from Dhaka. There are so many buses from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar. They are- St. Martin, S. Alam, Soudia, Green line, Shyamoli, Sohog, Morden Line, Hanif, and Shah Bahadur etc Paribahan. There are AC and non AC buses rent will be between TK.900-2000. Cox’s Bazar can also be reached by airplanes in 40 to 45 minutes. There are so many airlines from Dhaka Airport to Cox’s Bazar. They are- Regent airways, Navo air, United Airways etc. The Plane fare will be TK.3500-8500. You can also go via train from Dhaka, Kamalapur to Chittagong. From Chittagong then you have to go to Cox’s Bazar by various bus services.
From Cox’s Bazar Kalatali, Sugandha or Laboni Point, you have to come to Jetty No.6. After coming to Jetty No.6 you can go to Maheshkhali Jetty No.1 by Speed Boat/ Engine Boat. Speed Boat fare TK.100 for per person and Engine Boat fare TK.70 for per person. It will take 20 to 25 minutes to go by speed boat and 1 hour to go by Engine Boat.
It is also possible to go to Maheshkhali by road. Maheshkhali can be reached directly by crossing Badarkhali Bridge through Chakoria by local bus service or reserve car.
To visit Maseshkhali Island you needs to auto rickshaw from the head of the Maheshkhali Jetty No.1. You can visit all the tourist spots of Maheshkhali Island with unlimited time for TK. 600-800 by bargaining.
Where do you stay?
There are some low quality hotels to stay in Maheshkhali. But you can easily come back from Maheshkhali to Cox’s Bazar. So, it is a better option to come back to Cox’s Bazar to stay.
Where do you eat?
You can easily come back to Cox’s Bazar having a very short distance from Cox’s Bazar to Maheshkhali Island (you can go to Maheshkhali from Cox’s Bazar in the morning and come back in the afternoon). For this reason, you can take snacks or light food from the island. Then take full dish when you will return to Cox’s Bazar. You must eat Shefali Ghosh’s “sweet betel leaf (misty paan)”. Moreover you can also eat watermelon there which is very tasty to taste.
At the end we suggest to travel Maheshkhali Island and enjoy the natural beauty.
It is our responsibility to keep our tourist spots clean. Let’s keep the spots neat & clean as we go around. Happy Travelling 🙂
I always love this place😍😍