A river-borne weekend to Barisal: cruise from Dhaka, meet river gypsies, and tour a 200-year-old floating market.
Meet at your hotel or residence and transfer to the boat station (Sadarghat or Hasnabad) to board the ship towards Barisal. The launch departs Dhaka at 8:00 am for a four-hour cruise crossing the mighty Padma/Ganges, Meghna, and Sondha rivers, arriving at Bhola Elisha ghat around noon. After disembarking, transfer 10 km to Veduriya ferry ghat, cross by speed boat or ferry, and visit the largest floating gypsy fisherman village, a little-known community living on small boats for generations. Continue to Barisal town, stopping at the Oxford Mission Church (subject to permit) before hotel check-in.
Early in the morning, drive to Banoripara boat station and board an engine boat with seating and a tea/coffee facility for a backwater floating market tour. Cruise through the river and a network of small canals, witnessing the everyday water-based life of locals as farmers bring crops by wooden boat to the markets. The floating market is a tradition more than 200 years old, with 50 to 200 boats trading between 7:00 and 10:30 am. See the floating vegetable gardens, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant or boatman's house, then drive back to Dhaka (around 5 hours), stopping to visit the beautiful 18th-century Mia Bari Mosque on the way.
