This whole area is a Chakma stronghold, but two islands in particular are interesting to visit. Rajbari (which means palace) is where the Chakma king has his rather unimpressive, recently rebuilt palace. You can’t enter the palace, but you can peek inside the nearby Buddhist temple. There are stalls set up here selling brightly coloured handmade Chakma fabrics, and if you follow the road down behind the stalls you eventually reach some small Chakma settlements. A rowboat (Tk 2) brings people across to Rajbari from Rajbari Ghat. You can also be rowed across to Bana Vihara, although a bridge also connects that island to the mainland.
Bana Vihara , which can be reached, either via Rajbari Ghat, or via a bridge slightly further west, houses a large Buddhist monastery, constructed by Chakma Buddhist monks in 1972. You can wander the grounds, peek inside the temples (ask first) and see monks making wooden boats by the water’s edge on the eastern side of the island.
The lane leading from the main road to Rajbari Ghat is signposted UNDP. The United Nations Development Program has an office here.
