Sonargaon Old Capital & Panam City Day Tour from Dhaka





Description
Discover Sonargaon, the ancient capital of Bengal, on a day trip from Dhaka. Just 30 km away, this heritage site offers a glimpse into Bangladesh’s rich past. Explore the abandoned Panam City, the 16th-century Goaldi Mosque, and the Folk Art & Craft Museum. Visit Jamdani weaving villages to see the world-famous fabric still crafted by hand. With history, culture, and local life all in one place, Sonargaon is the perfect escape from Dhaka for curious travelers.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Jamdani was originally known as Dhakai named after the city of Dhaka, one of many ancient textile weaving centers in Bengal region.[5] Under the Mughal Empire the Persian term Jamdani came to be in popular use, since it was the court language of the Mughals. Jamdanis are popularly known as Dhakai Jamdani or simply Dhakai. The earliest mention of jamdani and its development as an industry is found into Dhaka, Bangladesh. Jamdani is a hand loom woven fabric made of cotton, which was historically referred to as muslin. The Jamdani weaving tradition is of Bengali origin. It is one of the most time and labor-intensive forms of hand loom weaving, and is considered one of the finest varieties of muslin, and the most artistic textile of Bangladeshi weavers. Traditionally woven around Dhaka and created on the loom brocade, jamdani is rich in motifs. In the first half of the nineteenth century, James Taylor described the figured or flowered jamdani; in the late 19th century, T. N. Mukharji referred to this fabric as jamdani muslin. Whether figured or flowered, jamdani is a woven fabric in cotton. This is a supplementary weft technique of weaving, where the artistic motifs are produced by a non-structural weft, in addition to the standard weft that holds the warp threads together. The standard weft creates a fine, sheer fabric while the supplementary weft with thicker threads adds the intricate patterns to it. Each supplementary weft motif is added separately by hand by interlacing the weft threads into the warp with fine bamboo sticks using individual spools of thread. The result is a complex mix of different patterns that appear to float on a shimmering surface. The pattern is not sketched or outlined on the fabric, but is drawn on a graph paper and placed underneath the warp. Jamdani is a fine muslin cloth on which decorative motifs are woven on the loom, typically in grey and white. Often a mixture of cotton and gold thread was used.
Built in 1519, the graceful, single-domed Goaldi Mosque is the most impressive of the few extant monuments of the old capital city, and a good example of pre-Mughal architecture. This mosque is one of the few remnants from the Sultanate period in Sonargaon, during the reign of Sultan Hussain Shah in 925 Hijri (1519 AD). It was built by Mulla Hizabar Akbar Khan in the early 16th century, during the reign of Alauddin Husain Shah at a place called Goaldi – half a mile northeast of Panam village in Sonargaon. Sonargaon was the administrative center of medieval Muslim rulers of East Bengal. It became as the capital of Bengal during Isa Khan’s ruling. The area falls under present-day Narayanganj District, Bangladesh. This mosque is more elegant and ornate in comparison to the earlier Sultanate mosques at Bagerhat.
There is a folk art and craft museum for the visitors & tourist travelling in Sonargaon. Sonargaon Folk Art and Craft Museum remains open from morning to afternoon (9 AM to 5 PM). Wednesday and the Thursday, this museum is closed for weekend. This is prosperous with several unique collection those you’ll never find at any other place. Some are lost from our country, and only those are remains. The main museum building is placed at the “Sardar Bari”. “Sardar Bari” was built by a Hindu Zamindar of Sonargaon in 1901. Alike the other Zamindar house of that period, this one also looks like Indian houses, but the shape of the house was looked like the European Palaces. The baroque decoration and the elaborated painting on the plaster of the building are really eye catching.
Panam City is situated at Sonargaon, Narayanganj in Bangladesh. It is an ancient historical city in Bangladesh. Among the three cities of boro nogor (Big City), khas Nogor, Panam City, it was most attractive city. There are many historical buildings which were built centuries ago and those are related with the history of Baro-Bhuyan. It covered 20 km area of Sonargaon. Panam City is one of the most visited tourist spots in Bangladesh. As the capital of the fifteenth-century Bengal ruler Isa Khan, and once an important trading and political center, Sonargaon boasts architecture of the Sultanate, Mughal, and colonial periods. For travelers making their way along the 2,500-kilometer Grand Trunk Road from Peshawar in the Hindu Kush, Sonargaon marked the end of the line. Threats to the site include flooding, vandalism, unauthorized occupation, illegal development etc.
it is a beautiful island location in the middle of the Megha river, to go and visit there we will go by boat to enjoy the river beauty and village life of Bangladesh
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
it is a private tour , so we will pick up clients from their own hotels inside Dhaka city
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(21)
Mahadi at Bangladesh Eco Adventures and team really made the trip a dream come true - they handled all logistics, were on time, excellent communicators, well priced and had immense local knowledge. We went to the Sundarbans for a few days, as well as day tours in Sonargoan and Dhaka. Sundarbans in particular is a must see. Myself and my friends had a wonderful time and would not hesitate to recommend them as the people to trust with all your travel and tourism in Bangladesh.
I had very good time at the tour.My guide was Mr Jerry and he told me about many historical stories of the place and many fun facts . It was really enjoyable tour and because it was a private tour, the driver and Mr Jerry helped me to have fun and go smoothly with the schedule. このツアーに参加して本当に良かったと思います。まずダッカの郊外に行くためには交通手段が複雑なため専用の車で移動することができることは非常に助かりました。ツアーの内容は十分すぎる、なんなら時間が許されるのであればもっと見たいぐらいです。自分のガイドさんはMr.Jerry さんだったんですがとてもわかりやすい英語でいろいろ説明してくれて歴史についてよく知ることができました。長年ツアーガイドをされているため経験豊富なためいろんなことを聞くことをお勧めします。バングラデシュの人はとても外交的であんまり観光客がいないため日本人の自分が行けばいろんな人に声をかけられることが度々ありましたがその度に通訳をしてくれて現地の人との交流ができたことも良かったです。ツアーのあとのアフターフォローなど最後まで手厚くサポートしてくれてとても充実した1日になりました。またいつかバングラデシュに訪れたときには別の形でお願いしたいです!
We had a great day with Afridi, he was extremely knowledgeable about Bangladesh history providing great context to each of the places we visited during this day trip.
This tour was absolutely incredible. Our guide Afridi showed us so much and was amazing in answering all of our questions and sharing his knowledge with us. We felt so safe and comfortable with him, and learned lots about his country and the culture here. I'm so happy we booked this tour and we were blessed to have him as our guide. I would definitely recommend this to anyone else visiting!
Eco Adventures was very flexible in adapting the tour to my wishes and interests. The guide was great and I had 4 amazing days with culture, history and lots of nature. We went there by car and back by train. Highly recommended.
It was really interesting to make this trip to see Sonargaon and Panam City. The tour was well organized and we had a very knowledgeable guide.
Wonderful tour! It was such a great experience visiting Sonargaon and local villages. Afridi was fantastic tour guide, he is so knowledgeable and passionate about his country. I would 100% recommend this tour while in Dhaka
This was a great tour to see the ancient Sonargaon and Panam City. Especially the stop at the weaving factory I found most interesting. Our guide Afiri was very knowledgeable and could answer all our questions. We can recommend booking the tour with Afiri.
The bus ride is an adventure in itself. You see so many beautiful situations along the way. Crazy for words. Old Buses, tuktuk. Nature. Once there also nice cozy interesting experiences.
We enjoyed our tour of Dhaka so much that we decided to go with our guide Afridi to see the city of Sonargon. Despite the traffic jams the trip was super comfortable in an air-conditioned car. We visited the weaving mills, saw the oldest mosque in Sonargon, took a boat trip down the Meghna River to an island, and socialized with local children. Very strong impression was made by the palace in Bangladesh Folk & Art Museum and of course by the abandoned Panam City. It was something incredible. I never thought I would see such a thing. Thanks for our guide Afridi for his caring attitude and interesting stories. Come to Bangladesh, you will be met by wonderful people.



