Mainamati (Shalban Vihara)

Archaeological · Cumilla, Chattogram

The great Buddhist ruin field of the Mainamati-Lalmai ridge outside Cumilla: more than fifty mounds along a low laterite spine, of which Shalban Vihara - a 115-cell monastery around a cruciform central shrine, seventh-to-eighth century - is the excavated showpiece open to visitors. The adjacent Mainamati Museum holds the bronzes, terracotta plaques and copperplates that made the ridge famous. With Paharpur and Bagerhat this completes the country's early-monument trinity - and unlike them it comes with a caveat the row states plainly: several ridge sites (Kotila Mura, Charpatra Mura and others) fall inside military cantonment and are restricted or permission-only.

Kotbari Road, Mainamati, Cumilla, Chattogram, Bangladesh

Shalban Vihara and the Mainamati Museum keep Department of Archaeology hours, roughly 9-10 AM to 5-6 PM with the assumed Sunday closure and Monday half-day - UNVERIFIED for 2026, verify locally. Restricted ridge sites inside cantonment have no public hours at all. Morning visits beat heat and light both.

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