'Sajek Valley: Unveiling the Heavenly Beauty of Nature '

 

"Have you ever imagined that your childhood fantasy of soaring above the clouds would ever come true? The queen of hills, Sajek Valley, not only offers this fantasy to come true but also fascinates us with its dreamy appearance. The mesmerizing beauty of Sajek Valley will make you get lost in its charm.

 

SAJEK VALLEY:

Sajek Valley known as Queen of Hills and Roof of Rangamati, is a famous tourist spot in Bangladesh. It is situated in the north of Chittagong Hill Tracts, under Baghaiachari upazila in the Rangamati Hill district. It is about 70-80 km away from Khagrachhari and close to the Indian border state of Mizoram, situated at an altitude of 450m above sea level.

A Sudden Tour Plan:

Last winter while bored during the semester break, my parents surprised me with a sudden plan to visit Sajek just a week before my break ended. I was so surprised that I was confused between being happy or worried about the upcoming semester. However, I started packing and planning as soon as I heard the news with lots of excitement. Noted that visitors must carry their National ID Card as Sajek is under the restriction of the Bangladesh army.

 

 

A Different Route for this Trip:

The most common route from Dhaka to Sajek is going straight to Khagrachori first. But we decided to stay our first night in Chittagong. As per our plan, we started for Chittagong the selected day which took us approximately 6 hours from 8 am to 2 pm. There we stayed at my father’s rest house for that night. We started exploring Chittagong just after having our lunch. On our visit, we were fascinated by the stunning beauty of Bangabandhu Tunnel, Parky Sea Beach, Potenga Sea Beach and Chittagong Boat Club. Lastly, we came back to our rest house and had our dinner there.

Journey to Sajek:

We started our journey to sajek the next morning taking two private cars, since there were two families, at around 11.30 am which took us approximately 5 hours to reach.  As there are only two Military Escorts at Dighinala for entering Sajek at 10 am and 3 pm, we aimed for the second one. It's almost 125 km from Chittagong to Dighinala, which takes almost 3 hours and 20 minutes by private car. So, we skipped our lunch and just took a short tea break as we were worried about missing the escort. But unfortunately, we missed the escort which left around 2.30 pm. Luckily the guards were kind enough to permit us to enter considering our situation but strictly prohibited us from stopping anywhere in between. Along the way, we saw a village of indigenous people and were overwhelmed by getting greetings from children of all ages who were expecting tips. Finally, we reached Sajek at around 4.30 pm.

 

At Sajek Valley:

 ·     Resorts in Sajek:

We planned to stay in Sajek for 3 days and 2 nights. For the first night, we booked two rooms for our two families at Sajek Eco Valley Resort which offered us a magical natural view of evergreen mountains and cotton-like white clouds playing on top. The next day, we booked another resort named Megh Kabbo and the other family booked Fodang Thang Resort. The view from both of the resorts was stunning which was enhanced by a small amount of rain.

                                                                           

·     The weather of Sajek:

Sajek Valley offers different views and weather in different seasons. As it was winter during our visit, we experienced sunny weather in the daytime which got chilly after sunset. We were captivated by the breathtaking foggy view of a sea of clouds on top of the green mountains in the first dawn and after the rain, the foggy sight became clear and gave us a greener view the next morning.

·     Places to visit in Sajek:

·     Sajek Helipad:

    Just after arriving in Sajek, we left to visit the famous Helipad which was about 5-7 minutes distant from our resort. Despite being overcrowded, it offered us a spectacular sight of natural beauty and the beauty of the small arranged valley with a newly made beautiful mosque and church. We left the place after experiencing the mesmerizing view of the sunset.

·     Lusai village:                                                                     

The next morning after having our breakfast, we visited the famous Lusai village which offers the history of the Lusai ancestors. We were amazed by experiencing the beauty of the place furnished with bamboo cottages, flower gardens, and hillside swings. After taking some photos we started trekking for 10-15 minutes to see the water source there and on our way back we visited a local Lusai cottage and were overwhelmed by their hospitality.

·     Konglak hill:

On the second day of our trip, after having lunch we left to visit the Konglak Hills which was the last village of Sajek Valley. We trekked the Konglak Hills for 30 minutes to reach the top and experienced spectacular views of the origin of the Karnafuli River and the Lusai Hills of India. After enjoying the natural beauty we enjoyed local fruits and juices there and as the sun was about to set, we departed from there and left for our resort.

·     Foods in Sajek:

We tried several dishes in Sajek. Firstly, there were several food stalls with a variety of street foods near the Helipad from where we tried momos, fried bamboos, and pithas. Besides, we had our breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Hotel Montana, Chhimbal, and Peda Ting Ting where we had BBQ, duck curry, desi chicken curry with rice, bamboo Chicken, khichuri, and porta-dal, but the food needed to be pre-ordered. We also enjoyed teas from several tea stalls and some of them offered bamboo cups. However, I didn't find the food in Sajek very attractive and it was overpriced from my perspective.

·     Phone network:

Only the Robi or Airtel network works there. So, we were facing trouble without a network as most of us carrying the Grameen phone sim.

·     Simplicity of the indigenous people:

We came across lots of local indigenous people during our trip and were overwhelmed by their simplicity and hospitality. We visited a local house in the Lusai village and as a gesture of appreciating their hospitality, we bought some turmerics from them. We also encountered a local Tripuri woman who respectfully denied our photoshoot request but some local children were excited about the photoshoot.

·     Entertainment:

During the night, a group of locals entertained the customers by group singing in front of different restaurants which made the environment more relaxing.

·   Medical care:

There was a lack of opportunities to obtain medical care and I didn’t find any medical stores or medicine shops there. So, visitors should always carry their first aid kits during their visit.

·     Gift Items:

Gift items there were a bit overpriced as they mostly came from Chittagong. However, I bought some bamboo cups, chocolates, and pickles for my relatives which are famous in Sajek.

·     Return to Dhaka:

After spending some unforgettable times in sajek, we left for Dhaka. We aimed for the military escort at 10 am. But it took us around two hours to pass the escort as it was Friday and the place was overcrowded. The return journey was so tiring which drained all our energy as it took almost 10 to 12 hours to return. Along the way, we had our lunch at a famous hotel in Khagrachori and had our dinner at the Hotel High Way Inn.

 To sum up, travel to Sajek left a great impact on my mind by offering its breathtaking sights just as Miriam Beard said, "Travel is more than the seeing of sights. It is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the minds of the living."

 

Reference:

"Sajek Valley".2024. Bangladesh Tourism Board.Retrieved from https://beautifulbangladesh.gov.bd/cat/spring/11