Tourism Destinations in Rangpur Division of Bangladesh

Tourist Destinations in Rangpur, Bangladesh: Kantager Mandir, Ramsagar Dighi, Chini Masjid, Tajhat Palace, and others…

Rangpur is one of the eight divisions or provinces of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. There are a couple of tourist destinations that carry the history and cultural heritage of thousands of years old this land and its culture. Today we will study the prominent tourist attractions in the Rangpur Division of Bangladesh.

Hundreds of people visit those tourist spots every day to know the past and also enjoy the beauty of nature. Most of the tourist spots in Rangpur are preferable for archeology-based tourism in Bangladesh, though it has its offerings for ancient history researchers and philosophers.

Once Rangpur division was a part of the Rajshahi division in Bangladesh. At that time Rajshahi division had the crown of being the largest division in Bangladesh but in 2010 for the urbanization and development of urban facilities in the rural areas of Bangladesh, the government divided the Rajshahi division into two separate divisions.

One is the old Rajshahi division, another is the Rangpur division before this partition Rangpur was the name of a district among the 64 districts in Bangladesh. This division was held in 2010 and this was a historic incident after so many years that Bangladesh got another new division named, “Rangpur Division”.

This divination helped Rangpur to grow faster like the megacities of the world. After this incident Rangpur came to the limelight and many tourists started visiting Rangpur due to its developed roads, accommodation facilities, secure environment, and the friendly offerings of the world-known warm Bengali culture.

In this article, we will take you through the most attractive tourist destinations of Rangpur, Bangladesh. So, if you want to explore Bangladesh and mainly northern Bengal then you should stay tuned till the end of this blog.

01. Kantangar Temple / Kantajir Mondir

Locally known as the Kantojir Mandir, is formally the Kantanagar Temple; though there are a lot of nicknames such as Kantagar Temple, Kantaji Mandir, and Kantajew Temple; is specifically a late medieval Hindu temple/mandir in the Dinajpur district of Rangpur division in Bangladesh.

Kantangar Temple / Kantajir Mondir

This Kantajew Mandir is one of the magnificent religious temples that belongs to the early 18th century. This is a significant religious values-based place for the believers of Hinduism. The temple is dedicated to the most popular Hindu gods Kanta or Krishna, commonly Kanajee. This wonderful temple was built by Maharaja (Great King) Pran Nath as a token of his dedication towards Krishna and his wife Rukmini, commonly referred to as Ma Randha.

The construction of Kantanagar Temple/Mandir was started in 1704 CE and the establishment of this temple was completed in 1722 CE, during the rule of Maharaja Pran Nath’s son Raja(King) Ramnath.

 Terracotta of Kantangar Temple / Kantajir Mondir

The Kantaji Mandir is one of the greatest living samples of the Bengali traditional terracotta architecture. Moreover, this temple had nine spires but those were destroyed during the earthquake in 1897. If you are visiting or traveling to Rangpur as a tourist then visiting Kantajir Mandir is a must for you. Those tourists come to Bangladesh to explore the beauty, history, and culture of this portion (Indian Subcontinent) of the world they mostly pay a tour to Kantagew Temple as it is considered to be one of the most prominent tourist spots in Bangladesh.

02. Tajhat Palace

Tajhata Palace or Tajhata Rajbari is a historically important palace. This palace is situated at Tajhat, three kilometers southeast of the Rangpur town. The palace was built by Maharaja (Great King) Kumar Gopal Lal Roy.

King Kumar Gopal Lal Roy constructed this palace in the early period of the 20th century. Locally it is said that the name ‘Tajhat” appeared from the king’s jeweled crown which is called; “Taj” in Hindi and some sorts of Bengal.

Tajhat Rajbari or Tajhat Palace

The palace building has seen some sorts of different offices once there was the Rangpur High Court (1984-1991), a branch of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. In 1995 the Department of Archeology declared the palace a protected monument. In 2005 the Government of Bangladesh shifted the Rangpur Museum to the second floor of the palace.

Inside the palace, the main room at the top of the marble stairs has several display cases that show 10th–11th-century terracotta artifacts. There are some samples of fine Sanskrit and Arabic manuscripts, including copies of the Mahabharat, Ramayan, and the Al-Quran, it seems clear that the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb added this Arabic portion.

Tajhat Rajbari or Tajhat Palace

The back rooms have a couple of examples of black stone Hindu carvings, mainly of the deity Vishnu. Photography is abandoned inside the palace and museum by the authorities.

03. Shopnopuri Amusement Park

Shopnopuri is one of the prominent amusement parks in Rangpur, Bangladesh. The park is located at Aftabbganj of Nababganj in the Dinajpur district of Rangpur.

Shopnopuri Amusement Park

Shopnopuri is a beautiful artificial picnic spot popular in Bangladesh, especially in North Bangle. There you can enjoy artificial beauty and adventurous rids. The main attraction of the park is its statues that reflect the socialization of humankind, the liberation war of Bangladesh, the space, there is a theater that shows space-related movies and videos. There are rides, an artificial & a mini zoo, a few restaurants, many gardens, lakes, a central picnic center, and countless shopping areas.

04. Kazi & Kazi Tea Estate

If you are a business or industrial tourism freak, then Kazi & Kazi Tea Estate Ltd might be a preferable destination for you to visit in Bangladesh. This is the only substantial organic tea grower in the country. The exact location of the garden is in Tetulia, in the northernmost district of Panchagarh in the Rangpur division.

Darjeeling, India is only 50 km south of Panchagarh so the weather and the natural scenario of both of Panchagar are quite similar to Darjeeling.

Kazi & Kazi Tea Estate Ltd

Kazi and Kazi Tea were inspired to produce high-quality organic teas to meet the growing demands of both inbound and outbound customers. The company was established in the year 2000, they acquired virgin lands that were never used for cultivation before the company arrived there.

After detailed research and discussion with the Bangladesh Tea Board, the plantation began on August 6, 2000.

Kazi and Kazi Tea Estate is a pioneer of tea plantations not only in Bangladesh but also in the entire  Darjeeling Tea Belt. Now the tea of Darjeeling is famous worldwide due to its flavor and taste. 

05. Ramsagar Dighi or the Ramsagar Lake

Ramsagar Dighi is the largest lake in the Dinajpur district of the Rangpur Division, in Bangladesh. The exact location of the Dighi(lake) is in the village named Tejpur, which is nearly 8 kilometers away from Dinajpur City. This is believed that this is the largest human-made lake in Bangladesh.

Ramsagar Dighi or the Ramsagar Lake

The planning and creation of Ramsagar Lake was done by the hands of Raja(King) Ram Nath, the son of Great-king Pran Nath the founder of the Kantajew Temple. During the years 1750-1755 to resolve the water crisis of local people, King Ram Nath decided to dig this large lake.

06. Mirapur Shahi Masjid (Mosque)

Mirzapur Shahi Masjid (Mosque) is situated at the Mirzapurvillage in the Mirzapur union under Atwari upazila of Panchagarh district, Rangpur Division. The artifice of the mosque is very similar to the mosque situated on the premises of Dhaka High Court, made in the year 1679. Based on this characteristic people believe that the mosque was built during the contemporary time of the Dhaka High Court Masjid (Mosque) which is the year 1679. That means the mosque is today around 344 years old. 

Mirapur Shahi Masjid (Mosque)

It is well known that the construction of this mosque was completed by a person named Dost Mohammad. There is a written slab above the middle door which contains the period of establishment. From the language and alphabet, it is supposed to be built during the rule of Mughal King Shah Alam.Terracotta of flowers and clay leaves are inscribed on the wall of the mosque building. The unique character of the front rectangular terracotta design is different from one another. Talking about the size of the mosque, the length of this mosque is 40 feet, the width is 25 feet and there are three domes in a row. The architecture and crafts of this historic mosque make a great appeal in the hearts of the tourists.

07. Chini Masjid (Mosque)

Chini Masjid, established in 1883 is one of the prominent mosques in Bangladesh, located at Syedpur Upazila of Nilphamari district, Rangpur Division. Also, Chini Masjid is one of the most fascinating and distinctive historical architects in the land. The mosque is also known as the Glass Mosque.

Chini Masjid (Mosque)

25 tons of small chips of Chinaware plate, pieces of various colorful and non-colorful glasses, and 283 pieces of Cross Marble stones were used to visualize the imaginary decoration of the mosque.

The entire building was done in the shortest period of only 1 year which seems unbelievable when we closely check out all the designs and the interior portion of the establishment. 

08. Itakumari Zamindar Bari (Palace of Landlord)

The historical tenant revolt of Rangpur took place in 1883, from this Itakumari Jomindar Bari of King Shiva Chandra. King Shiva Chandra is a witness of that period, and he founded this Zamindar bari( Palace of Landlord).

Itakumari Zamindar Bari (Palace of Landlord)

During 1883 the Anti-British Raja Shiva and Devi Chowdhurani led the tenant revolt and protected the peasantry of the Rangpur region from the tyrannizer Devi Sing. This Itakumari Zamindar Bari (House of Landlord) was the second new island for the undivided Bengal at that time.

The reputation of this Zamindar Bari is well-known all over the Indian subcontinent. Inside the premises of the palace, there are houses, temples, giant ponds, and various archaeological tokens and monuments.

Final Words: Tourist Destinations in Rangpur, Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the oldest lands from the ancient period, which witnessed kings rule, Mughal emperors, British and Danish Duch colonials ruling, and lastly independence in the last thousand years. That's why Bangladesh is full of historic, cultural, religious, and natural tourism resources. Rangpur is one of the oldest regions of this land it has a lot of tourism offerings. In this article, we have tackled the most prominent tourist destinations in Rangpur, Bangladesh.

Let us know which of the tourist spots in Rangpur, Bangladesh attracted you most, and also you can suggest the next destination that you want to know about. Also, if you suggest any tourism attraction in Rangpur that might not be on our list, we will visit the place and add it to the blog soon.

Thanks for your interest and tour of Bangladesh.