Unseen Bangladesh
Moulvibazar District · Sylhet Division · বাইক্কা বিল
Baikka Beel travel guide
A sanctuary in Hail Haor; a watchtower for winter migratory birds.
🗓️ Best time to visitDecember–February
⏱ How long it takes2–3 hours
💰 Estimated costSmall entry fee
History and background
Baikka Beel, part of Hail Haor, was declared a permanent fish sanctuary in 2003. Managed by the local community, it is now a safe home for birds and fish. From the three-storey watchtower you can see thousands of waterbirds in winter.
How to get to Baikka Beel
About 15 km from Sreemangal.
Moulvibazar is about 200 km from Dhaka; the journey takes 4–5 hours.
- 🚌 By bus: Sreemangal/Moulvibazar buses from Sayedabad (Hanif, Shyamoli, Ena), non-AC ৳500–650.
- 🚆 By train: Parabat/Joyontika/Upaban from Kamalapur to Sreemangal, fare ৳300–900 (the most comfortable).
Where to stay
- Grand Sultan Tea Resort & Golf (luxury)
- Dusai Resort & Spa
- BTRI/Parjatan tea resort
- Many cottages and guesthouses in Sreemangal (৳1,500–4,000)
What to eat
Nilkantha's seven-layer tea, Khasia paan, hill pineapples
Good to know
- Bring binoculars
- More birds at dawn or in the afternoon
More places to visit in Moulvibazar district
- Lawachara National Park — Evergreen rainforest; hoolock gibbons, monkeys and a railway through the forest.
- Sreemangal's tea gardens — Green tea gardens to the horizon, the Tea Museum and tea workers' life.
- Madhabkunda Waterfall — The country's best-known waterfall, falling from about 200 feet.
- Madhabpur Lake — A lake among tea-garden hillocks, where blue lotuses bloom in summer.
- Hamham Waterfall — A waterfall deep in the Rajkandi forest; for adventure lovers.
- Hakaluki Haor — One of the country's biggest haors; hundreds of thousands of birds in winter.