Rajshahi

Local food to try

Mangoes
Rajshahi
Fazli, Himsagar, Langra and Gopalbhog, picked ripe from May to July. Many shops will send boxes home for you.
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Kalai ruti
Rajshahi
A thick flatbread of black gram and rice flour, eaten hot with chilli-onion bhorta or beef. Best on a winter evening.
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Kacha golla
Rajshahi
Natore’s famous soft sweet of fresh chhana, on the way to or from Puthia.
Padma river fish
Rajshahi
River fish, hilsa in season, cooked as curry or fried.

Where to eat

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Kalai ruti stalls
Across Rajshahi city
Roadside stalls that bake kalai ruti to order, busiest in the evening and in winter.
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Shaheb Bazar
Rajshahi city
The city’s central market, with restaurants, sweet shops and, in season, mango sellers.
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Padma riverside
Rajshahi city
Tea and snack stalls along the river at sunset.
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Where to stay

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Shaheb Bazar and the city centre
Rajshahi city
Most of the hotels, close to the museum, the shrine and the river.
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Near the Padma
Rajshahi city
Hotels within walking distance of the riverside.
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Day trips from the city
Puthia, Natore, Bagha
Puthia, Natore and Bagha are easy day trips, so most visitors stay in Rajshahi and travel out.
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Culture

Rajshahi is the Silk City: silk has been woven here for centuries, and the city’s showrooms sell Rajshahi silk saris and cloth.

The mango season, from May to July, is the region’s great event; the orchards of Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj grow Fazli, Himsagar, Langra and more.
Gombhira, a folk song of satire and dialogue, comes from Chapainawabganj.
The Varendra tract around the city holds some of the country’s oldest heritage, from Paharpur to Puthia’s temples.

History

Rajshahi lies on the north bank of the Padma, at the edge of the Barind — the raised red-soil country of north-west Bangladesh. This was the heart of ancient Varendra, ruled in turn by the Pala and Sena kings; the great Buddhist monastery at Paharpur, built by the Palas in the eighth century and now a World Heritage Site, is a short journey away in Naogaon.

The Sufi saint Shah Makhdum came here in the medieval period, and his shrine on the river bank is still one of the city’s landmarks. In the eighteenth century the zamindars of Natore and Puthia held much of the region; the Puthia temples, a short drive east, are what remains of their wealth.

The town itself grew from a river port called Rampur Boalia. In 1825 the British moved the district headquarters here from Natore, and the town took the district’s name. Rajshahi became known for its silk and its mangoes, and for learning: the Varendra Research Museum, opened in 1910, is the oldest museum in the country, and the University of Rajshahi was founded in 1953.

Today Rajshahi is known as one of the cleanest and greenest cities in Bangladesh, with a long promenade on the Padma for evening walks.

Plan your visit

Best time to visit

October to February; May to July for the mango season

How to get there

Buses from Dhaka take about 5–6 hours via the Jamuna bridge, with day and night departures. Trains run from Dhaka to Rajshahi station, and Shah Makhdum Airport has domestic flights.

Getting around

The city is compact, green and easy on foot or by rickshaw and battery auto-rickshaw.
For Puthia, Bagha, Natore and Chapainawabganj, take intercity buses from the city’s terminals, or hire a car for the day.
The riverside is best in the late afternoon.