Lawachara National Park

Lawachara National Park is one of the major national park and nature reserve in Bangladesh. The park is located at Kamalganj Upazila of Maulvi Bazar District. It is about 160 km northeast of Dhaka, 60 from Sylhet and 8 kilometers from the town of Srimongal. Lawachara National Park covers approximately 1,250 hector of semi-evergreen forests. The land was declared a national park by the Bangladesh government on July 7, 1996 under the Wildlife Act of 1974. It is the only forest of Bangladesh where a renowned English movie ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ was shouted in 1956.

 

The terrain of Lawachara is undulating with scattered 10 to 50 m hillocks. Locally known as tila, the hillocks are primarily composed of Upper Tertiary soft sandstone. The park is crossed by numerous sandy-bedded streams, one of which is the Lawachara tributary, from which the park derived its name. The climate of Lawachara is generally pleasant, the humidity is high throughout the year, and Lawachara experiences frequent rains with occasional cyclonic storms.

Lawachara National Park consists of 460 species, of which 167 species are plants, 4 amphibian species, 6 reptile species, 246 bird species, 20 mammal species, and 17 insect species. One of this is the critically endangered western hoolock gibbons, of which only 62 individuals remain in the area. The forest of Lawachara is of a mixed type, with the understory usually composed of evergreens, including Quercus, Syzygium, Gmelina Ficus. The upper canopy, meanwhile, is mainly composed of tall deciduous trees including Tectona, Tetrameles, and Pygenum. In the undergrowth are bamboo groves, as well as several fern species and other epiphytes. Other notable genera include Terminalia, Dioscorea, Artocarpus, Calamus, Piper, and Curcuma. Threatened indigenous plant species include Alstonia scholaris, Cassia fistula, Orexylum indicum and Garuga pinnata are also present here.

Among the mammal species capped langur, the delightful slow loris, orange- bellied Himalayan squirrel and barking deer are available. The bird-watching here is equally superb, with the blue-bearded bee-eater and the red-breasted trogon being big stars. Another highlight is the orchids, of which there are more than 20 varieties.

There are about eighteen villages near Lawachara. Two of them Magurchara punji and Lawachara punji are located within the boundaries of the park. Indigenous peoples in the area include the Khasia, the Tripuri, the Tipra and the Manipuri people. The rest of the populations are mostly Muslim migrants from Noakhali, Comilla and Assam.

Lawachara National Park is a wild and mysterious patch of tropical semi-evergreen forest absolutely crawling with life. It is a dense forest and also mostly maintained by the Nishorgo project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development.

Not only is the park one of the finest wildlife venues in the country, but also one of the easiest to visit. A large number of beautiful insects, bugs and wonderful birds are the endless source of joy for the visitor. Of these bugs, the most visible are the ropelike columns of aggressive ants, the flamboyant butterflies and the enormous orb spiders. Black, red and yellow monsters hanging from Spiderman-sized webs between trees, they might look like the devil incarnate though they are in fact harmless.

The visitors Centre has printed booklets with walking maps and some pointers on things to look out for. One can also hire ‘eco-guides’ from here. It is an attractive and important tourist place of beautiful Bangladesh for the national and international visitors.