Lawachara National Park (লাউয়াছড়া জাতীয় উদ্যান)

Lawachara National Park lies in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar district in north-eastern Bangladesh, about 8 kilometres from the tea town of Sreemangal. It covers about 1,250 hectares inside the larger West Bhanugach Reserved Forest and was declared a national park on 7 July 1996.

Much of the forest was planted during the British period on hills cut by streams, and over time it grew back into a mixed semi-evergreen and deciduous woodland. Khasi and Tripura communities live in villages inside and around the forest, and Khasi betel leaf gardens can be seen climbing the trees.

The park is one of the best places in Bangladesh to see the western hoolock gibbon, the country's only ape, whose loud morning calls echo through the forest. Other animals include capped langurs, rhesus and pig-tailed macaques, slow loris, barking deer and many species of birds, butterflies and reptiles. Three marked walking trails, of about 30 minutes, one hour and three hours, lead through the forest. The Dhaka to Sylhet railway line runs through the park, and a scene from the film Around the World in 80 Days was filmed here in 1956.

The forest is managed by the Bangladesh Forest Department with local co-management groups, and trained local guides can be hired at the entrance.

An entry ticket is charged, higher for foreign visitors. Early morning gives the best chance of seeing gibbons. Leeches are common in the rainy season, so long socks are useful.

The park sits inside the 2,740-hectare West Bhanugach Reserved Forest, about 160 kilometres north east of Dhaka and 60 kilometres from Sylhet. The ground rolls over low hillocks, known locally as tila, 10 to 50 metres high and made of soft sandstone, and is crossed by sandy streams; one of them, the Lawachara, gave the park its name. It was declared under the Wildlife Act of 1974.

Surveys have recorded 460 species in the park: 167 plants, 246 birds, 20 mammals, 6 reptiles, 4 amphibians and 17 insects. The original mixed tropical evergreen forest was largely cleared or replaced in the 1920s, so most of what you walk through is secondary forest, with small patches of rich older forest. Tall deciduous trees such as teak and Artocarpus chama form the upper canopy, with figs, Syzygium and bamboo groves below.

Temperatures average from 26.8 °C in February to 36.1 °C in June, and humidity is high all year, with frequent rain and occasional cyclonic storms. Dry winter mornings are the most comfortable time to walk.