Kuakata Beach
Beach · Kuakata, Barishal
An 18-kilometre sweep of sand at the southern tip of Barishal division, famous as the "Sagar Kanya" - the Daughter of the Sea - and as one of the few beaches on earth where you can watch both sunrise and sunset over open water from the same stretch of shore. Behind the beach live the Rakhine community whose Buddhist monasteries, giant Buddha statues and weaving villages give Kuakata a hinterland unlike any other Bangladeshi seaside town. Long a hard place to reach, it has been transformed by the Padma Bridge, which put it within a single road day of Dhaka with no ferries.
Kuakata Beach Road, Kuakata, Barishal, Bangladesh
The beach is open at all hours year-round with no entry fee. Practical season is November to February; monsoon months (June-September) bring rough seas, cancelled boats and erosion. Temples open daylight hours. Festival full moons (Rash Purnima in November, Maghi Purnima in January-February) are the busiest dates of the year.