Lawachara National Park
A pocket of tropical rainforest inside the tea belt - home to Bangladesh’s only wild population of hoolock gibbons.
📍 Location & access
🧭 Planning your trip
The best window for Lawachara National Park is Oct – Mar. November to February is the easiest season for travel across Bangladesh generally - cool and dry - while the monsoon between June and September is when the haors, waterfalls and hills are at their most dramatic.
How to reach: A short CNG or rickshaw ride of about 20–30 minutes from Sreemangal town, itself reached by train or bus from Dhaka (roughly 4–5 hours).
Moulvibazar is known for sreemangal - tea capital, Lawachara rainforest, Madhabkunda.
History
Declared a national park in 1996 to protect a remnant patch of tropical semi-evergreen rainforest inside the surrounding tea estates, Lawachara holds the country’s only wild population of western hoolock gibbons, alongside several Khasi Indigenous punji (villages) inside its boundary.
✅ Tips for visiting
- Go early morning when gibbons and other wildlife are most active and vocal.
- Hire a Forest Department nature guide at the entrance - spotting wildlife alone is hard.
- Stay on marked trails; parts of the forest border a Khasi punji community.
🧭 Nearby
- Sreemangal tea gardens
- Madhabpur Lake
- Magurchara gas field site
Sunrise and sunset at Lawachara National Park today
Useful for planning the golden hour - 11:35 of daylight.
More places like this
Sreemangal Tea Gardens
Tea capital of Bangladesh - endless green terraces, the seven-layer tea and Lawachara rainforest.
Nature MoulvibazarMadhabkunda Waterfall
The tallest waterfall in the Sylhet region, crashing through the Patharia hills into a natural pool below.
Waterfall MoulvibazarThe Sundarbans
Largest mangrove forest on Earth and a UNESCO World Heritage Site - home of the Royal Bengal Tiger.
Forest KhulnaRatargul Swamp Forest
The only freshwater swamp forest of the country - paddle a boat between submerged tree trunks.
Forest SylhetBhawal National Park
A sal forest just north of Dhaka, once the royal hunting ground of the Bhawal zamindars.
Forest GazipurFrequently asked questions about Lawachara National Park
Where is Lawachara National Park?
Lawachara National Park is in Moulvibazar district, Bangladesh, at 24.3225°N, 91.7810°E.
When is the best time to visit Lawachara National Park?
The best season to visit Lawachara National Park is Oct – Mar.
What is Lawachara National Park known for?
A pocket of tropical rainforest inside the tea belt - home to Bangladesh’s only wild population of hoolock gibbons.
How do I get to Lawachara National Park?
A short CNG or rickshaw ride of about 20–30 minutes from Sreemangal town, itself reached by train or bus from Dhaka (roughly 4–5 hours).
How much does it cost to visit Lawachara National Park?
Entry roughly ৳50 (locals), ৳100–300 (foreigners approx.); a nature guide costs around ৳300–500.