Kuakata

Gangamati dawn, Lebur Char dusk and a boat to Fatrar Char

Kuakata needs two days. On day one, ride a motorbike along the sand to Gangamati for sunrise, visit the Rakhine market and the towering Buddha at Misripara, then ride west to Lebur Char for sunset and grilled fish by the zero point. On day two, take a boat to the Fatrar Char mangroves and end on the town beach.

Be on a motorbike before dawn on day one and ride east along the sand to Gangamati, arriving as the sky lightens over the mangroves. The small crabs are out on the wet beach at this hour, and fishing boats push off through the surf. Ride back to town for breakfast, then walk to the Rakhine market to look at the cloth and the bronze Buddha. Late morning, take the bumpy track inland to Misripara and its towering Buddha. Rest through the heat of the afternoon.

In the evening, ride west past the casuarina woods to Lebur Char for sunset, then eat grilled fish at the stalls by the zero point.

Day two belongs to the water. Take a boat across the channel to Fatrar Char and spend a few hours walking under its trees, returning by early afternoon. Keep the last of the light for the beach in town, where families gather, Baul singers sometimes perform, and the sun drops straight into the sea in front of you.

Kuakata's fish stalls, Alipur hilsa and dried fish

Kuakata eats from the sea and the rivers behind it. After dark, stalls near the zero point fry or grill crab, prawns and whole fish to order, so agree the price by weight first. Alipur, up the road, lands hilsa in the monsoon, shutki dries along the coast in winter, and hotels serve rice, dal and bhorta.

Kuakata eats from the sea and the rivers behind it. After dark, stalls near the zero point set out trays of crab, prawns and whole fish, and fry or grill whatever you point at. Agree the price by weight before the cook starts, as tourists are an easy mark. Alipur, a short way back up the road, is one of the busiest fish landing centres on this coast, and in the monsoon months its boats bring in ilish (hilsa), the national fish, which hotel kitchens serve fried or in mustard sauce.

In the dry season, look out for racks of shutki (dried fish) along the coast; it is sold in the market and makes a pungent souvenir. Hotel restaurants keep to rice, dal, mashed vegetable bhorta and fish curry, which is filling and cheap. Green coconuts from beach sellers are the safest way to stay hydrated on a hot afternoon, and there is a tea stall wherever a few people gather.

Winter beach days, Rash Mela crowds and cyclone months

Visit Kuakata from November to February, when dry air and a clean horizon give the best sunrises and sunsets and nights are cool. The Rash Purnima full moon, usually in November, brings thousands of pilgrims and booked-out rooms. The months either side of the monsoon carry cyclone risk, and June to September brings rough, dangerous surf.

Winter is the season that matters. From November to February the air is dry and the horizon clean, which is what you need on a beach where the two big events of the day are sunrise and sunset. Nights are cool enough for a light jacket on the sand.

The biggest crowd of the year comes with the Rash Purnima full moon, usually in November, when Hindu pilgrims arrive by the thousand to bathe in the sea at dawn and a fair fills the beach. It is a remarkable sight, but rooms and transport are booked solid. The Rakhine community marks its own new year in mid-April with a water festival.

The months either side of the monsoon are cyclone season on this low, exposed coast, and Cyclone Sidr struck this stretch hard in November 2007. From June to September heavy rain and rough surf keep visitors away, and the sea is too dangerous for swimming.