Cox Bazar is a city, fishing port, tourism centre and district headquarters in Bangladesh. The beach in Cox Bazar is sandy and has a gentle slope; with an unbroken length of 155 km. Cox Bazar is also known by the name Panowa, which Translates literally as “yellow flower.” Another old name was “Palongkee”. The modern Cox’s Bazar derives its name from Captain Hiram Cox, an officer of the British East India Company. Cox was appointed Superintendent of Palongkee outpost after Warren Hastings became Governor of Bengal. He embarked upon the task of rehabilitating refugees in the area and made significant progress. Captain Cox died in 1799 before he could finish his work. To commemorate his role in rehabilitation work, a market was established and named Cox’s Bazar after him. Unlike many locations in the Indian Subcontinent where name places dating from the colonial period have been changed, Cox’s name is up to the present retained in the city he founded. Today, Cox’s Bazar is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Bangladesh, although not a major international tourist destination. In 2013, the Bangladesh Government formed the Tourist Police unit to protect local and foreign tourists better, as well as to look after the nature and wildlife in the tourist spots of Cox’s Bazar. In 2017, the Kutupalong refugee camp for Rohingya people escaping from Myanmar opened near Cox’s Bazar.
History: The greater Chittagong area, including Cox’s Bazar, was under the rule of Arakan kings from the early 9th century until its conquest by the Mughals in 1666 AD. When the Mughal Prince Shah Shuja was passing through the hilly terrain of the present-day Cox’s Bazar on his way to Arakan, he was attracted to its scenic and captivating beauty. He commanded his forces to camp there. His retinue of one thousand palanquins stopped there for some time. A place named Dulahazara, meaning “one thousand palanquins,” still exists in the area. After the Mughals, the place came under the control of the Tipras and the Arakanese, followed by the Portuguese and then the British. After the end of British rule in 1947, Cox’s Bazar became part of East Pakistan. After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Cox’s Bazar started to get administrative attention. In 1972 the town committee of Cox’s Bazar was turned into a municipality.
*(All the above information are from Wikipedia.)
Transport
Airport: The Cox Bazar Airport is a domestic airport and is connected to major districts of Bangladesh.
Road: Cox Bazar is connected to Dhaka by N1. There are multiple bus services from Dhaka and Chittagong to Cox Bazar.
Local: Auto rickshaws, manual rickshaws, battery operated three-wheeler and buses are available for local transport.
Tourist Interest:
Inani Beach: It is the most popular beach in Cox Bazar with a long stretch of 18 km of sandy coast.
Himchori: Another popular destination in Cox Bazar is Himchori. It is a forested area with beautiful landscape gardening, manmade waterfalls and viewpoint to see the aerial view of the long coastline.
St Martin Island: This is a small inhabited island near Cox Bazar where you can enjoy the aloofness along with the sand, sun and the sea. Boats are available from Cox Bazar to visit this island. Hotels are available in this island so one can stay here or can go for a day trip too.
Ramu: Ramu is located at a distance of 10-12 km from Cox Bazar and is popular for its monasteries, khyangs and pagodas containing images of Buddha in bronze, gold and other metals with precious stones. The 100 feet long statue of golden coloured Buddha, the Sima Bihar and the Rungkut monastery, all are located within Ramu.
Aggmeda Khyang: It is a large Buddhist monastery, and a place revered by the Buddhist people of Cox’s Bazar; and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. It has a prayer chamber and an assembly hall along with a repository of large and small bronze Buddha images and a number of old manuscripts.
The other places of interest in Cox’s Bazar are Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, Teknaf, Sonadia Island and Maheshkhali.
Tour Planner:
This tour planner is made on the basis of the location of the destinations. One can make changes as per their interest, convenience and accessibility and duration of the trip.
Day 1: Visit all the places in Ramu and in the evening watch the beautiful sunset in Cox’s Bazar.
Day 2: Chill on the beaches of Cox’s Bazar and move around the long stretch of the marina. Visit the Himchori and the other places in the city.
Day 3-4: Visit the islands.
Hotels: There are many hotels in Cox’s Bazar and most of the hotels are located beside the sea beach. Online booking facilities are available for many hotels. Some of the hotels here are Cox’s Inn, Needs Bay Watch, Resort Beach View, Sea Crown, Exotica Sampan, Neeshorgo Hotel and Resort and more.