Patuakhali

About Patuakhali

Patuakhali stretches from the inland rivers south of Barishal down to the open Bay of Bengal. Eight upazilas, Patuakhali Sadar, Bauphal, Dashmina, Dumki, Galachipa, Kalapara, Mirzaganj and Rangabali, cover about 3,221 square kilometres and hold some 1.73 million people according to the 2022 census. The district is often called sagar kanya, daughter of the sea, after its long southern coastline.

The north is a patchwork of paddy, betel-nut groves and canals around Patuakhali town on the Laukathi river. Further south the land breaks into large islands and chars separated by wide channels such as the Tentulia, Agunmukha, Andharmanik and Rabnabad, ending in the mangroves and beaches of Kalapara and Rangabali.

Kuakata is the main reason most visitors come. Its 18 km beach faces due south, so on a clear day both sunrise and sunset can be watched over the water from the same sand. Recent years have changed the district fast: the Payra seaport and a large coal power plant now stand at Kalapara, and the Lebukhali and Padma bridges have put Kuakata within a day's drive of Dhaka.

History

The region belonged to the medieval Chandradwip kingdom and later to Bakerganj district. A common explanation of the name links it to a canal raided by Portuguese pirates, known locally as notua, that became Patuakhali in later speech. In the late 18th century Rakhine families fleeing Arakan settled the southern coast, cleared forest for rice and dug the wells, kua, that gave Kuakata its name. Patuakhali became a subdivision of Bakerganj in the 1860s and a district on 1 January 1969, and Barguna was carved out of it in 1984.

The 1970 cyclone and Cyclone Sidr in 2007 struck the district hard. In 1971 Patuakhali town saw fighting from late April and was freed in early December. The cricketer Sohag Gazi and the historian Ratan Lal Chakraborty are among its well-known natives.

Economy and livelihoods

Agriculture and fishing provide most livelihoods. Aman rice is the main crop, but the district is best known nationally for watermelon, grown on the chars of Galachipa, Rangabali and Kalapara and sold from big seasonal markets, and for mung beans, which cover large areas after the rice harvest. Sea and river fishing is centred on Mohipur and Alipur near Kuakata, where hilsa and sea fish are landed, and drying yards there produce shutki. The Payra port, the power plant and tourism at Kuakata bring new jobs, alongside the Patuakhali Science and Technology University at Dumki.

Food, culture and festivals

Patuakhali cooking is coastal: sea fish, crab, prawns and shutki, with coconut and mung dal on the side. The local dialect belongs to the Barishali family. In Kalapara and around Kuakata, the Rakhine community keeps its own language, Buddhist temples and festivals, including the water festival at their New Year, and weaves bright cotton cloth on handlooms.

Every November, the Rash Purnima full moon brings thousands of Hindu pilgrims to Kuakata for a dawn bath in the sea and a fair on the beach, and the Buddhist Maghi Purnima is also celebrated at the temples.

Places to visit in Patuakhali

1. Kuakata beach

   An 18 km beach in Kalapara upazila, famous for both sunrise and sunset over the sea. Walk east to Gangamati and Lal Kakrar Char for sunrise and red crabs, or west to the Fatrar Char mangroves by boat.

2. Misripara and Kuakata Buddhist temples

   Rakhine monasteries near Kuakata with large seated Buddha statues, an old well and traditional architecture. Dress modestly and remove shoes before entering.

3. Fatrar Char forest

   A mangrove forest across the channel west of Kuakata, reached by trawler, with keora and gewa trees, birds and a quiet beach. It is often described as a small Sundarbans.

4. Sonar Char

   A remote island in Rangabali upazila with a wildlife sanctuary, mangrove plantations and a long empty beach, reached by boat from Galachipa or Rangabali.

5. Payra seaport

   Bangladesh's third seaport, on the Rabnabad channel in Kalapara, visible on the drive to Kuakata and a sign of the district's fast-changing coast.

What Patuakhali is famous for

• Kuakata shutki (dried fish)
• Watermelon
• Mung beans (mug dal)
• Rakhine handloom shawl
• Sea hilsa

How to get to Patuakhali

Since the Padma Bridge opened, buses from Dhaka reach Patuakhali town in about 5 hours and Kuakata in roughly 6 to 7 hours, from Sayedabad, Gabtoli and Abdullahpur. Overnight launches from Sadarghat to Patuakhali take about 10 to 12 hours. The nearest airport is Barishal, about 2 to 3 hours by road from Kuakata. Inside the district, buses and auto-rickshaws link the towns, and boats serve the islands.

Markets and haats

Alipur and Mohipur fish landings

Twin fishing towns near Kuakata where trawlers unload hilsa and sea fish, and the shutki yards nearby sell dried fish in the dry season.

Kuakata Rakhine market

Stalls near the beach and the Rakhine villages selling handwoven shawls, lungis and bags, plus shell crafts and dried fish.

Galachipa watermelon markets

In late winter and spring, riverside markets in Galachipa, including Amkhola, fill with watermelons brought by boat from the chars and loaded onto trucks and vessels for Dhaka.

Patuakhali at a glance

Shops from Patuakhali on Midmart

No shop from Patuakhali is selling on Midmart yet.

Questions about Patuakhali

More districts in Barishal Division

• Barishal Rivers, rice and launches: the old heart of Bangladesh's south
• Barguna Where the Bishkhali and Baleshwar meet the Bay: hilsa, mangroves and Rakhine looms
• Bhola Bangladesh's biggest island, home of hilsa and buffalo-milk curd
• Jhalokati Land of guava and shitalpati, with a floating market on its canals
• Pirojpur Floating guava markets, timber, nurseries and gardens that float on water