বাংলার মুখ আমি দেখিয়াছি, তাই আমি পৃথিবীর রূপ 

খূঁজিতে যাই না আর: অন্ধকারে জেগে উঠে ডুমুরের গাছে

চেয়ে দেখি ছাতার মতন বড়ো পাতাটির নিচে ব'সে আছে

ভোরের দোয়েল পাখি- চারিদিকে চেয়ে দেখি পল্লবের স্তুপ

জাম-বট-কাঁঠালের-হিজলের-অশ্বথ্বের ক'রে আছে চুপ ;

ফণীমনসার ঝোপে শটিবনে তাহাদের ছায়া পড়িয়াছে !

মধুকর ডিঙা থেকে না জানি সে কবে চাঁদ চম্পার কাছে

এমনই হিজল-বট-তমালের নীল ছায়া বাংলার অপরূপ রূপ ...

(রূপসী বাংলা:জীবনানন্দ দাশ)

“I have seen the beauty of bangla and so I set out nowhere for searching it.” -Jabonananda Das, one of the greatest bangla modern poet, sketched the beauty of bangla in his literary works especially in poetry have imprinted an everlasting impression and touched Bangalees inner soul. One may get oneself spellbound by enjoying the enticing and charming scenery of Bangladesh. Ruposhi, a Bangla word stands for beauty and so Bangla becomes Ruposhi Bangla.   

Bangla which is also called Bengal since British colonial period, is a historical and geographical region in the northeast of South Asia. Today it is mainly divided between the independent sovereign nation of the Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India, although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal are now part of the India. The name Bangladesh means "Country of Bengal" in the official Bengali language.

Bangladesh is situated in north eastern part of South Asia between 20° 34' and 26° 38' north latitude and between 88° 01' and 92° 41' east longitude. The country covers an area of 1,47,570 sq.km and bounded by India from the west, north and most of east. Myanmar lies on the southeastern edge and Bay of Bengal on the south.

 Where can they find the place to go in search of beauty?  Small tracts of higher land occur in Sylhet, Mymensingh, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) regions. The coastal part of Bangladesh includes the famous Sundarbans Mangrove Forest. Villages appearing to be islands in a haor, thousands of migratory birds, Baor, Jheel and Beel are some of the fascinated areas of Bangladesh. As a riverine country, Bangladesh is proud of its vast rivers and therefore affectionately called ‘the Land of Rivers’ by its people. Every year they enrich the soil and make it more fertile.

Traditionally Bangladeshis subdivide the year into six seasons: Grismo (summer), Barsha (rainy), Sharat (autumn), Hemanto (cool), Sheet (winter) and Bashonto (spring). The  beauty of the nature varies from season to season.

The Haor Basin in the north eastern part of Bangladesh is a wetlands ecosystem considered to be of international ecological importance due to the extensive waterfowl population that uses the basin as its habitat.

Rivers are the most important geographical features in Bangladesh, and it is the rivers that created the vast alluvial delta. It’s been known that the out flow of water from Bangladesh is the third highest in the world, after the Amazon and the Congo systems. The Padma, Jamuna and the lower Meghna are the widest rivers, with the latter expanding to around eight kilometers across in the wet season, and even more during the floods.

The best way to see the real beauty of Bangladesh and its rivers is by taking a boat trip on the rivers. A trip from Dhaka to Khulna on board the famous Paddle Steamer through some big and small rivers gives you the opportunity to witness this unique beauty.

About 700 rivers including tributaries flow through the country constituting a waterway of total length around 24,140 km. Most of the country's land is formed through silt brought by the rivers. Following is a record of some of the major rivers of Bangladesh: Atrai River, Balu River, Baral River, Biskhali River, Bhoirov River, Brahmaputra River, Buriganga River, Dhaleshwari River, Feni River, Gorai-Madhumati River, Halda River, Jamuna River, Karnaphuli River, Kopothakho River, Kushiyara River, Khowai River, Karotoa River, Mahananda River, Meghna River, Naf River, Padma River

Punarbhaba River, Pusur River, Shitalakshya River, Surma River, Teesta River, Titas River, Turag River etc.

Many major rivers of Bangladesh flow west to east into the Bay of Bengal: in the north, the Ganges River (or Ganga), Meghna River and Brahmaputra River rivers. Brahmaputra is the 28th longest River in the World (2,948 km or 1,832 mi), and it discharges into the 'Bay of Bengal' and travels through India, China, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. The Sundarbans mangrove forest is formed at the delta of the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal.

The mighty river Ganges, which begins in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, enters Bangladesh from the north west through Rajshahi Division. It joins the Brahmaputra in the centre of the country, north west of the capital, Dhaka. The Ganges changes it’s name to Padma as it passes into Bangladesh, while the main flow of Brahmaputra is known as Jamuna. It is these great rivers and their countless tributaries that have the most apparent effect on the landform – constant erosion and flooding over the alluvial plains change the course of rivers, landscape and agriculture. The Jamuna alone is estimated to carry down 900 million tons of silt each year.

Hiking down the highway from Dhaka to Mymensingh and Tangail, trees line both sides of the road giving a semblance of abundance to the Madhupur forest. Monkeys venture out in small groups to steal bananas that are travelling on the back of vans, heading to different marketplaces.

The image of abundance is, however, an artificial front. A few steps inside the forest lies hundreds of hectares of barren land, dead roots sit in place where large trees once stood, while banana trees, pineapple trees and other fruit trees, cultivated for human consumption, have replaced the age-old indigenous trees of the forest.

According to a Nishorgo handbook, the Madhupur Sal Forest, which has captured the cultural diversity of Bangladesh with members of Garo and Koch descent, endangered Capped Langur, the Wild Boar, Barking Deer, 11 types of mammals, 38 species of birds, four types of amphibians, seven reptiles and 176 species of plants within an area of 8,436 hectares is experiencing huge forest and animal loss every year.

while walking through the hiking trails within the forest, tourists will be able to see birds chirping, apes brachiating and foot prints of exotic cats like the panthers, rather than barren lands will candy wrappers littered hither and thither.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts is the only major hill region in Bangladesh. Situated in the southeast of the country, this Bangladeshi mountain range covers around 13 184 km squared or one-tenth of Bangladesh's land area. Keokradong is a well known mountain in Bangladesh and was at one stage considered the highest point in the country.

To the west there are several scarps featuring waterfalls and cliffs. Large rivers such as the Feni, Sangu, Karnafuli and Matahuhuri empty into the Bay of Bengal. The major mountain ranges in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts are Barkal, Phoromain, Saichal, Dolajeri, Wayla, Bhuachhari, Muranja, Chimbook, Saichal-Mowdok, Batimain, Politai and others. Anticlines in the hill ranges trap natural gases in the mountains.

Within the hills there are two natural lakes and a man-made lake, Rainkhiangkine Lake, Bagakine Lake and Kaptai Lake respectively. The soils of the region are chiefly brownish loam to shale or sandstone at various depths. The soil is also very acidic. This Bangladeshi mountain range has a tropical monsoon climate. From June to October it is monsoon season and the weather is warm and wet. The hills contain thick natural vegetation and agricultural farming takes place in the valleys. Thick bamboo forests, creeper jungles and large trees stretch across the mountain ranges in Bangladesh. The valleys feature verdant forests. Animal life in the hills includes various snake species (examples: king cobras, rat snakes and reticulated pythons), monkeys, jungle cats, wild boars, fishing cats and foxes. A wide variety of amphibians and other reptiles also reside here. Birdwatchers will be amazed at the abundance of bird life in the Chittagong hills.

Living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts are some 13 tribes that are further divided into almost 100 sects. The majority are Mongolian tribes such as Tipra, Magh, Murong and Chakma. Many of the tribes believe in animism whilst others follow Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity.

Several tour operators offer treks and cultural visits to the mountains of Bangladesh. This is a great way to experience both the natural beauty of the country and its people.

The Bay of Bengal, the largest bay of the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered by Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal to the north (where the name comes from), India and Sri Lanka [citation needed] to the west and Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the east. Cox's Bazar is one of the longest stretches of beaches in the world and Kuakata beach in Bangaldesh is only sea beach of Bay of Bengal where from same location both sunrise and sunset at sea can be observed.

Its southern boundary extends as an imaginary line from Dondra Head at the southern end of Sri Lanka[citation needed] to the northern tip of Sumatra.

The Bay of Bengal occupies an area of 2,172,000 km². A number of large rivers – Padma (distributary of Ganges), Meghna (distributary of Brahmaputra), Jamuna (branch of Brahmaputra, Ayeyarwady, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna and Kaveri – flow into the Bay of Bengal.

The Bay of Bengal is full of biological diversity, diverging amongst coral reefs, estuaries, fish spawning and nursery areas, and mangroves. The Bay of Bengal is one of the World's 64 largest marine ecosystems.

The Haor Basin in the north eastern part of Bangladesh is a wetlands ecosystem considered to be of international ecological importance due to the extensive waterfowl population that uses the basin as its habitat. The saucer shaped shallow depression (also known as a backswamp) covers parts of the Sunamganj, Moulvibazar and Habiganj districts, and stretches as far as the Kishorenganj and Netrokona districts of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh lies in the floodplain of three major rivers and the Bengali language has a number of terms to describe different bodies of water. These include Baor, Haor, Jheel and Beel. The Haor Basin consists of about 400 haors and beels (small ponds with static water), and includes rivers, streams, irrigations canals, and vast areas of seasonally flooded cultivated plains.

The Haor Basin is estimated to stretch over an area of between 4450 square kilometers and 2.5 million hectares. It is further estimated that the total area of haor-type wetlands throughout Bangladesh exceeds 8 million hectares. The Haor Basin is surrounded by the mountain ranges of India, with Meghalaya to the north, Tripura and Mizoram to the south, and Manipur and Assam to the east. Due to the unique characteristics of the Haor Basin, anaerobic conditions inhibit normal plant growth and only the plant groups known as hydrophytes have adapted to thrive there. Fishing is the main income-generating activity for the local people.

Although a large area around the Haor Basin has been exploited by man, mainly to fulfill fuel needs, the Haor Basin itself has protected status as a Ramsar site under the Ramsar Convention, which provides for the protection of wetlands. A number of Government bodies are working together in the interests of preserving the wetlands environment, of which the Haor Basin is one of the most significant. Approximately 207 species of birds either live in or visit Bangladesh and the Haor Basin is a destination of choice for a large number of these birds.

Recognizing its unique beauty, the Haor Basin is steadily becoming a popular tourist attraction in Bangladesh. In winter the Haor Basin is home to thousands of migratory birds and is an ideal time for bird-watchers to visit.

The line of difference between an haor, a beel and a baor is usually very thin. A beel is usually a depression or topographic low generally produced by erosion or other geographical process. These are generally smaller and seen all over Bangladesh. These are marshy in character. Sometimes beels are remains of a river that has changed its course. Many of the beels dry up in the winter but during the rains expand into broad and shallow sheets of water, which may be described as fresh water lagoons. Beels are generally smaller than haors, but there also are large beels like Chalan Beel in Rajshahi Division, through which the Atrai River passes. It has shrunk over the years but still occupies an area of 26 km² in dry season. Sometimes small permanent water bodies within the haors remain after the haors dry up. These are also called beels, which occupy the lowest part of the depressions.

A baor is an oxbow lake, found mostly in the moribund delta as in greater Comilla, Faridpur, Dhaka and Pabna districts.The haor is predominantly a feature of north-eastern Bangladesh.

Some of the most extensive seasonally flooded areas in South Asia are situated in bowl-shaped depressions known as haors located between the natural levees of rivers subject to overflow during the monsoon. The major rivers in the area are Surma and Kushiyara. Some of the tributaries are: Manu, Khowai, Jadukhata, Piyain, Mogra, Mahadao and Kangsha. These form the dense drainage network of the haors. The rivers are primarily responsible for providing inputs - rainwater and sediment load to the basin. The hilly rivers coming down from the Khasi and Jaintia hills in Meghalaya carry particularly high volumes of water as they come from some of the rainiest places in the world.

During July to November due to flood these areas go under deep water and look like seas with erosive water surface. During wind storm these waves reach up to 1.5 m in height.[1] It remains under water for seven months of the year, turning haor settlements mostly built on earthen mounds into islands. During the dry season most of the water drains out, leaving small shallow lakes or may completely dry out by the end of dry season. This exposes rich alluvial soil, extensively cultivated for rice.

The fight against natural calamity of the locals people, mostly day laborers, relies on traditional and indigenous methods which with limited effect. Many villages have already been washed away, and many more are on the verge of extinction, forcing people to migrate to urban centers.

The Hijal or Hual, Korij or Koroch, Bhui Dumur (Ficus heterophyllus), Nol (Arundo donax), Khagra (Pharagmites karka), Ban Golap (Rosa involucratia) and Barun (Crataeva nurvala) are the main plant species found in the swamp forests. All of them are flood-tolerant species and can survive in the submerged condition for extended periods of time. However, among these, hijal, tamal and koroj trees are of the greatest value to the people and the environment. Other plant species available in Bangladesh wetlands include Madar (Erythrina variegata), Gab (Diospyros peregrina), Makna (Euryale ferox), Singara (Trapa bispinosa), Jaldumur (a kind of Ficus), Chitki (Phyllanthus reticulatus), Thankuni (Centella asiatica), Kalmi (Ipomoea aquatica), Helencha (Enhydra flactuans), Hogla (Typha elephantina), duckweed, water hyacinth, lotus and water lily.

About 207 species of birds live or visit Bangladesh. Among the birds 30% are waterfowls, 26% waders, 20% bush and her bland birds and the rest are grassland, air hawking prey. Of these fresh water birds 129 species (62.3 %) are resident and the other are migratory. The list of extinct wetland birds include spotbill pelican, pelican, scavenger vulture, Bengal florican, pinkheaded duck, greater adjutant and king vulture. There are several endangered species. Poachers pose the biggest danger to migratory birds. Although the Wildlife Preservation Act prohibits the hunting of migratory birds and wild animals, the law is not being implemented. Open sales of wild and migratory birds in the cities are all too flagrant. Guest birds trapped in Sylhet's haors are held captive in Srimangal town for sale in other cities. The poachers take advantage of the people’s lack of awareness of the importance of migratory birds.

While poaching, killing of birds, and their open sale in towns continues, it would be wrong to say that in Bangladesh there is no place where birds are safe from harm. In Kanglar haor in Sunamganj, guest birds are neither shot nor caught. Near the haor is the Birampur village, where people understand that as part of Mother Nature guest birds need to be cherished, not hunted. The local panchayet in this village banned the killing of birds in 2001. The initiative to save the birds was taken by Abdus Samad, an elderly villager, whose step has become a united move worthy of replication.

Haors are unique wetlands and have started attracting tourists, although in limited numbers. The best time to visit the haors is at the end of the monsoons, say around August-September, when they are full with water. Thereafter, the water in the haors starts receding but still provides an awe-inspiring sight. In winter, the haors and beels receive thousands of migratory birds. It is the ideal season for bird-watchers, but then the haors are reduced in size and lose much of their watery grandeur. As summer sets in the haors are no more there, but one can still see numerous beels.