Sitakunda Eco Park is a Park located in Sitakunda Upazila of Chittagong District in South-Eastern Bangladesh. Sitakunda Eco Park located in the evergreen Chandranath reserve forest range in Sitakunda Upazila of Chittagong district. It is the oldest eco-park in Bangladesh. It was set up on 808 hectares of land in 1999, the historic Chandranath Shiva Temple, a sacred shrine of Hindu religion is located on the top of the Chandranath hill having 410-meter height. Several other hills and hillocks along with fountains have added splendid beauty to the Sitakunda Eco Park. The Chandranath Temple is 5 kilometers away from the main gate of the park and the pilgrims have to reach the temple stepping over1600 stairs. Sitakunda Eco Park has 154 species of flora including fruit-bearing trees, timber, and medicinal plants.
The Park is especially significant for having a rare plant-Cycus. There is a perception tower, an excursion recognize, an orchid house, a desert flora house, a rose nursery and a plantation of occasional organic products in the park. There are a guest house and a large pond full of water lily, various species of wild animals and birds.
The temple is 5 k away from the entrance of the park. In the mouth of Falgun a big fair which is known as ‘Shiva Chaturdashi’ is held on according to the Bangla calendar. So bunches of Hindu travelers of any age come here from everywhere throughout the nation. Those are the occasional fascination of this temple.
History Sitakunda eco Park:
It has an eminent authentic foundation, which is the endowment of numerous holy people. Chittagong is known as ‘place where there are twelve holy people [bara Awliar’s desh]. It is known as once a sage named Bhargava made a pond (Kunda) for Sita Devi to shower in when her significant other master Ramchandra visited during his outcast in the forests. From that point, it conveyed by the name of Sitakunda. Sitakunda was also ruled by various Buddhist rulers as well as by many Muslim rulers of Bengal in the East. It is an explorer for these three primary religions in the country.
It was set up in 2001 on 808 hectares (1997 sections of land) on the Chandranath hills. It is built up for common recovery, to encourage biodiversity preservation, new estates and to elevate nature-based the travel industry to create pay. The park belongs to 405 hectares (1001 acres) and the garden, 403 hectares (996 acres) under the Baridhala Range of Chittagong Forest Division
The park is rich with various flora and fauna. Natural Gymnosperm tree species like podocarpus neriifolin. And different types of Gnetum and Cycas has grown here. Fishing cat, Orangutan, Monkey, bear, deer, pig, manis crass caudatan, etc. and many more species of animals are lived here.
There have 150 species of flowers in which 35 types of roses, 1500 species of trees along with medicinal, 100 number of Orchid of different types. A modern greenhouse is built here. Three natural springs are situated here. Two of them are named ‘Sohosrodhara’ and ‘Shuptodhara’. The springs look great during the Rainy Season.
Sitakunda eco Park Ticket Price:
The entry fee is only 10 BDT to per head but for educational institutions for every 100 people have to pay 100 BDT entry fee only. But for this, we have to inform before coming.
Opening Day:
This place is open for 24 hours.
Off Day:
There’s no off day by any means.
Contact Number:
Phone: +880 1837-622385
Address, Location (How To Go):
Sitakunda, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
It is easy to travel in Sitakunda Eco-Park tourists can come here by bus, microbus or by CNG taxi from Chittagong. If anyone wants to come here from Dhaka he can easily come by any bus services on the road.
Where to Stay:
There are many quality hotels available in Chittagong. Some of them have been mentioned below for your help:
1. Hotel Paramount
Address: 336 Station Rd Chittagong
Contact Number: +880 31-2856771, +880 1712-3248754
2. Asian SR Hotel
Address: 291 Station Rd Chittagong
Contact Number: 031-2850346-8, 01711-889555
Most Attractive Things (What You Can See There):
Sitakunda Upazila is a source of fascinating beauty. Where on one side has the hill with a high elevation and on another side has the estuary of the Bay of Bengal. Between them, there was some little space where people used to live and do their business. The lands of these areas are fertile and full of natural resources. Due to the scarcity of living places, there was no park or any other entertainment place. Because of this season, there build up an eco-park and a botanical garden which is named Sitakunda Eco Park. It is the largest commercial hub and the first Eco- Park in Chittagong.
Sitakunda Eco-Park is not only a mere component of forest management. It facilitates to enjoy the beauty of the jungles as well as to acquire first-hand knowledge on its ecology, particularly the growth and development of flora and fauna. Eco-Park also helps to increase public awareness about the necessity of maintaining bio-diversity. The department of the forest has set up nine Eco-Parks throughout Bangladesh considering their natural beauty specific features like geographical location.
The popular religious site of the Chandranath Mondir (Temple) is also located on one of these hills, attracting many devotees and tourists. Home to many gushing waterfalls, the Eco-park was developed for the set purpose of conserving biodiversity and encouraging tourism.
The aim of Sitakunda Eco-Park is to protect the inherited pool of plants and preserve ecological balance. It also has created scope foe ecotourism. It also creates physical infrastructure for tourists and opportunities for students and researchers. Each there are many visitors come to visit this place.