Swapnaghuri is a travel group. They conduct various tours in the country and abroad throughout the year. On November 18th, I went on a one-day tour with Swapnaghuri to Sonaichhari trail, one of the most dangerous trails in the Mirsarai Pahar range of Chittagong district.
Each tour usually has a host. The hosts of this tour were Mr. Iftakhar Hamid and Mr. Apurbo Roy . Also there were other moderators of Swapnaghuri. Before organizing a tour, an event is announced on Swapnaghuri’s Facebook page. There are various instructions for joining the tour of that event. A certain amount of money has to be included in the tour. The fee for this tour was Tk.1600. Note that a total of 51 travelers were members of this tour. The tour was called “Mysterious Sonaichari Trail and Mahamaya Lake with Swapnaghuri”. A day before the trip, a messenger group was opened with the members of this tour and gave various directions there. Our bus was scheduled at Dhaka’s Fakirerpool bus stand on 17th November night.
Our journey started on 17th November around 11:30 PM. Before boarding the bus, the tour host assigned the bus seats. I took the seat accordingly. Stopped at a hotel in Comilla at night and reached Mahamaya Lake at 6 am the next day i.e. November 18.
No matter how much we say about the diversity of Mahamaya Lake, it is not possible to understand it without seeing it with our own eyes. Like a canvas painted by an artist’s skillful hand. So beautiful all around. Light green clear water, reflection of surrounding green mountains on the water, every scene is amazing. That feeling is indescribable. The pure and clean air of the lakeside will instantly refresh your body and mind. Swapnaghuri arranged kayaking in Mahamaya Lake for us. So soon after sunrise we went down to Mahamaya Lake for kayaking. 8 km area of Mahamaya Lake can be explored. 2/3 people can ride in one kayak. All kayakers have life jackets, so even those who can’t swim can enjoy kayaking.
After the trip to Mahamaya Lake our main destination is Zainal Bhai’s house at Hadi Fakirhat in Mirsarai for Sonaichari trail trek. Zainal Bhai’s house is called the base camp of Sonaichari trail. The host of our tour operator Swapnaghuri ordered lunch at Zainal Bhai’s house there.
Zainal Bhai’s house is very popular here. Those who come to see Sonaichari Jharna order food here. Basically they cook after receiving the order. You can eat as much rice as possible with these 3 items: chicken, mashed potato and lentil. By 9:30 PM we left Zainal Bhai’s house to trek the Sonaichari trail. To enter the Sonaichari trail one had to pay 20 Taka for the ticket which was arranged by the host of Swapnaghuri. Sonaichari trail is located in Hadi Fakirhat Bazar area of Mirsarai Pahar range of Chittagong district. And it is a hilly area under Baraiydhala Sanctuary. The rocky walls on both sides of the narrow but wide deep kum known as Baduizzakhum or Bandurer kum on this trail are steep 100-150 feet high. Our walk on the hilly path started along the Jhiri path. The slow flow of cold water was giving us great relaxation. It is better to buy separate shoes for trekking. We were moving forward on the instructions of the guide on the deserted jungle road. The amazing aspect of Sonaichari trail trek is that - as you move along the winding path, surprises await you at every moment. In some places, the water may be moving very fast over the flat rocks.
There are big rocks and water. There is also a huge mountain chasm. Horrible but incredibly beautiful. Mountains on both sides and a narrow road in the middle. I have already said that the road is not an easy road. Sometimes you have to cross big stones, sometimes you have to cross small water holes. Then you have to climb the mountain again.
Lie quietly on the rock, then cut through the green chest and look up at the sky. The cool water stream and the sweet gurgling sound will give you the strength to live with a smile for a long time. Or suddenly there will be a cave between two mountains. Those moments of crossing the torrent through the cave will accumulate countless stories in your pocket. Black rocky walls rise up on either side. Beauty is radiating from that black wall. After a while, huge boulders of stone stood blocking our way. They sometimes had to be crawled across because of their size. I read in the writings of different people, Sonaichari trail is very scary. But so far there has been no trouble. Others may find this easy trail too difficult. But in many places the rocks of the trail are terribly slippery. My trekking sandals also slipped a few times. In this way we reached the last spring of Sonaichari after trekking for about three and half hours to see one wonder after another. There was an extraordinary calmness among all the tired team. After a long walk, the guide said, I have come to the end. Looking ahead, I saw a waterfall coming down the hill. Very little water is flowing down. If it rains, this shower may become beautiful! The height of Sonaichari fountain is not very high. Big tide will be 40-50 feet maybe. But the natural beauty around it is unmatched. Wetting the body as desired, wetting the chat goes on at the same time. As the day wore on, the traffic of travelers increased, so we took our way back. We took another hilly route to return. It was an opportunity to see the beauty of nature. The reason for going this different way is the easy way. And this easy road is known because of having a guide. You have to climb up the hill next to the waterfall. After that, it is only a short walk down the hill. Saint Augustine has a saying, “The whole world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page of it.” When the desire to know and the desire for new experiences are combined, people go out in search of new places, new things. Be it a historical place, mountain, or sea - these diversity around the world will spread fascination.
Finally thanks to Swapnaghuri Group for providing trekking opportunity on Sonaichari trail.
Some photographs:
If you want to find the value of the whole trip, you have to talk about trekking first. It is not easy to go deep into big rocks and mountains. Apart from this, you will get the taste of enjoying the beauty of nature.
Video journey to Sonaichari trail
How to go:
You have to board any bus from Dhaka to Chittagong and get down at Hadi Fakirhat Bazar. Hadi Fakirhat can be reached by train from Sitakunda. From there you have to walk along the lane of Hadi Fakirhat Jame Masjid to go to Sonaichari trail. The trail starts from there. It may take three to five hours from the beginning of the hill at the end of Hadi Fakirhat village to the end of the Sonaichari trail. It is possible to visit this area in one day.
