Maheshkhali Upazila is an administrative area of the Chittagong division of Cox’s Bazar district. It is considered as the ‘Vhati Anchol Dwip’ of Cox’s Bazar district. Another key point, it is the only hilly island in Bangladesh. It is also known as Maheshkhali Island or Maheshkhali Dwip. In particular, it became known as Mahesh Khali about 200 years ago. It was named with the name of Buddhist Sen Maheshwar.

Moheshkhali is an island that is quite hilly and fringed with mangroves. You will enjoy the simplicity of the island and the lifestyle of the people. This island is also famous for salt production. Adinath Temple is a famous pilgrimage site of the island where thousands of Hindu devotees congregate on an annual occasion.

The island is surrounded by forested hills and mangrove trees alongside the coastal beach. Some rickshaw-pullers patiently offer the tourists to have a unique tour of the island. Tourists can have a natural view of low range hills, mangrove forests, and hilly areas. There are some other attractive places here such as a Buddhist temple, a shrine of Adinath on the hill, salt field, Sonadia island, etc.

How To Go

There are two ways of going to Maheshkhali. You have to come to Cox’s Bazar first and this is the most convenient way who is visiting Cox’s Bazar also. You can come to Cox’s Bazar from Dhaka by roads, rail, and air routes. Among the buses from Cox’s Bazar to Dhaka, you will get Sadiya, S. Alam Mercedes Benz, Green Line, Hanif Enterprise, Shyamoli Transport, Sohag Transport, S. Alam Transportation, Modern Line, Shah Bahadur, etc. It will cost you from 900 to 2000 taka per seat according to the conditions of the seat.

If you want to travel Cox’s Bazar from Dhaka, you can travel from Kamalapur or Airport Railway Station with Sonar Bangla, Suborn Express, Torna Nishetha, Metropolitan Pravati / Godhuli, Chittagong Mail. Besides, several aircraft operate the flight from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar including Bangladesh Biman, NovoAir, USB, and Regent Airways.

If you want to go Maheshkhali from Cox’s Bazar, come to the Jetty (Ghat no. 6) from Cox’s Bazar city. Then it will take you to Maheshkhali with the local transport including engine boat or a speedboat. It will cost you only BDT 20 to 70. You can take the speedboat as reserved. If you are with 1 or 2 members, you can take the rickshaw with BDT 150 to 170 for traveling Maheshkhali. On the other hand, if you are in a team with 5 to 7 persons, you can hire an auto or easy bike to travel the whole Maheshkhali.