Karnaphuli

Introduction

Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill Tracts are defined by the Karnaphuli, the region's largest and most important river. It rises in the Saithah village of Mamit district in Mizoram, India, and runs southwest through the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Chittagong before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

The river is broad and fast-moving, second only to the Padma in the speed of its current, and it shapes how the city and the hill country around it are laid out and travelled.

Three days in Karnaphuli

Day one: Base yourself in Chittagong and get your bearings along the Karnaphuli, the river that gives the area its name and its working rhythm. Spend the afternoon around Saithah, where the streets and riverfront give you a feel for the city before you head into the hills.

Day two: Travel into the Chittagong Hill Tracts, where the landscape shifts to ridges, valleys and scattered communities. Continue on to Mamit, a quieter settlement where you can slow down and take in the hill scenery.

Day three: Push toward the Mizoram side and the border with India, following the hill routes as far as they go. If time allows, loop back toward the Bay of Bengal, where the Karnaphuli meets the water and the Padma's great delta system shapes the wider region.