Visit Chunti Sanctuary

When the busy life is filled with thousands of tasks, the mind may want to enjoy a little rest. You want to fly on the chest of the green, on the waves of the sea, on the chest of the mountains, or float on the raft of clouds. And to remove that work fatigue, you can visit Chunti Wildlife Sanctuary located in Lohagara Upazila of Chittagong District.

what you see

The forest area is located next to the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar highway, about 70 kilometers away from the port city of Chittagong. In 1986, Chunti reserve area was declared with about 19 thousand 177 acres of seven reserved forest areas of Lohagara, Satkania, Banshkhali, Chakaria area. The sanctuary is predominantly tropical mixed-evergreen forest, located in mild to steep hilly terrain and belongs to the roaring belt extending from Chittagong to Cox’s Bazar. There are more than 12 lakh trees of about 477 species in this forest, out of which about 15 species of trees have already disappeared.

There are several hundred-year-old roaring trees in this forest. Apart from this, plants such as Shall, Teak, Akashmani, Garjan, Bot, Hargoza, Chapalish, Haritaki, Bahera, Bamboo, Assam Lata, Chan etc. are more common. The most notable animal in this forest is the Asian elephant. Chunti Wildlife Sanctuary is a safe habitat for various animals including wild elephants. Red-faced monkey, red-faced Hanuman, jackal, monkey, deer, wild boar, fox, chameleon, sambar and other animals are usually seen in Chunti forest.

Among the snakes in this forest, Kalantar, Duash, Gokhra, Ajgar, Laudga etc. are notable. The forest area is also a haven for different types of birds. The notable birds of this forest are the Rooster, Red Grouse, Neelkanthi, Pahari Myna, Mathura, Dove, Finge, Woodpecker, Dhanesh, Tia, Bulbul etc.

This forest area and the surrounding area was important as a place for the reconstruction of the freedom fighters during the 1971 war of independence. Chunti Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1986 with seven thousand 764 hectares of protected forest land. The tireless call of insects on the road creates a different atmosphere. There are three walking paths or trails within Chunti Sanctuary. Short, medium and big routes can be hiked for half an hour, 1 hour and 3 hours respectively. Various wild animals including wild elephants can be seen on this route. After crossing a large dune by walking on a forest path on either side, the steep gorge. Then the path went uphill again. You will want to get lost while walking along this beautiful path. The sanctuary area has forest ponds, natural roaring forest, Asian wild elephant sanctuary, Gyalmara natural lake, forest pond foot trail, Jangalia foot trail, Golghar, student dormitory, nature conservation center, research center,

way to go

From Fakirapool, Kamalapur, Sayedabad etc. in Dhaka, board the bus bound for Cox’s Bazar and get off at Lohagara Bazar bus station. There are various AC and non-AC bus services from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar. Among them, Saudia, S Alamer Mercedes Benz, Green Line, Hanif Enterprise, Shyamoli Paribahan, Sohag Paribahan etc. are notable. The rent will be from 900 to 2000 taka per person. After that you have to go to Chunti Sanctuary which is about 10 km away from Lohagara market by three wheeler. Apart from this, you can also take a Cox’s Bazar bus from Chittagong’s Bahaddarhat and Oxygen Junction to Lohagara. Rent 150 to 200 taka.