Ratargul Swamp Forest

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Freshwater Swamp Forest_{One Of The Largest In South Asia}

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The city of Rain is beautiful in the rainy season, though it was a bit difficult to touch each point due to the presence of kids. Finally, it was just amazing to go for the half-merged forest standing above water.

The rain made the way slow to reach our destination, the amazing Gowain River where we would find one of the freshwater swamp forests in the world called "Ratargul". We reached Goyainghat in the afternoon and found a little clear weather.

Let's have a quick fact about the forest:

• It is more than 3300 acres where around 500 acres declared as animal sanctuary
• It is the largest swamp forest discovered so far (sweetwater)
• The forest mostly evergreen by "Koroch Tree" (Dalbergia reniformis)
• During the rainy season the trees are submerged under up to 9m of water
• Average rainfall in this region is 4162 mm per year
• Average temperature is 32°C in the summer which becomes 12°C during winter
• 80% Of the Forest area is covered with the umbrella of the tree
• Snacks, Mongooses, Monkeys, Water Monitors, herons, egrets, kingfishers, parrots, and bulbul could be seen here. In the river, Batasio, Rita, Pabda, and Rohu are common fish.
• A bit expensive for a small family but good to go as a group of 6-8 people, there is no hotel in the spot & best to stay in the city which is an hour away only.

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We reached the bank of "Goyain River" at about 3 pm and found no trees around as we had to cross the river to be our destination, actually, we were on the river the whole time as the flood water from India made the river overflow and the forest area and river cannot be differentiated.

We could hire a boat for 9 of us including 4 kids! But watching the river I couldn't be brave enough to be on a single boat so, we hired two (each of them 850BDT and another 55BDT per person as an entry fee. I felt the boat fare much more than I was expecting.

Whoever cannot swim please get a safety kit as the river gets dangerous during heavy rain. Let's know about a little for the "Goyain River", it is another transboundary river of the country that starts from uphill of Meghalaya in India it is known as the Dawki/Umngot River which is claimed as one of India's cleanest rivers.

We divided into two bots, on my boat we were 5 along with two kids. All of the nine people could fit in a boat but it would be too crowded to enjoy the natural beauty around us.

The boatman started the boat and fell straight into the swamp, the more we approach the view was getting spectacular. The more we go inside the forest gets deeper, and suddenly a little passage of waterway appears through the Murta Plants. On two sides of these deep plants and trees above them made a huge umbrella of green trees. These thousands of trees made the afternoon darker than usual but sometimes we could see the sky through these trees.

I have uploaded a short video to show the view as it cannot be described well by writing only!

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Both of the boatmen started to sing popular songs which made the environment amazing, only two boats around and the sound of the paddle of a rowing boat, the song and the silence made the atmosphere something more than we expected.
Alas, I wish we could stay there for at least a couple of hours! The weather is cloudy so the forest becomes darker so the boatman decides to return to the jetty.

It was an amazing 45 minutes of boat riding which could be remembered for years.

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Boat ride in this area for an hour or couple- the amount of money seems too high. 500 BDT would be best per boat as the boatman only gets 200BDT at best (per ride) and the rest of the money mostly goes to people maintaining the ticketing only! I hope the government receives most of the balance amount though I have not seen any bin for at least plastic bottles, or any initiative to attract tourists in any manner as well.

The watchtower is old so it is closed to the tourist. This place could be a hub for international tourists if they arrange some kind of eco-resort here.

It is safe to be there with kids and best for a group of people. People should keep silent while touring the amazing swamp forest to enjoy the utmost feeling of deep nature and also it will help the wildlife. On the way back we have seen many Buffaloes.

I hope you have enjoyed the tour with me!

360° of Goyain River!

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_{As we love nature we should take care of it, please do not take plastic with you. Please do not use one-time plastic material. We shouldn't through any nonperishable things to the environment.}

Previous post of this series:

1. Sada Pathor- Bholaganj: The Haven Of White Stone

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