Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

TTL Extreme Adventure to Bandarban

09-11 April 2009
Bandarban, Bangladesh

There are many places within Bangladesh that are in my dreamlist. And there are some that remain outside that list. Some of those places are in Bandarban. As I thought that I can never make it to those places, I simply kept them out of my dreams. But how wrong I was making that list so early. I thought I was too unfit to access those those places. Never even thought that things may change.

When the hyperactive Flickr group "Through the Lens: Bangladesh" (TTL) decided to go up to Boga Lake, I was thrilled; and I was a bit shaken as well. What I knew from my readings is that the place requires hours of trekking through some really tough hilly areas. I knew that I wasn't up to that. Probably I wasn't receiving the latest updates from the region, which kept me within those thoughts. When I finally got proof from the tour plan devised by our ultra-efficient planner Shudipto, I was bought over. Wheels were there after all! At least, during the dry seasons, vehicles cross those hills to reach Boga Lake. That was the crucial information I lacked and quite foolishly, kept the place out of my dream-list. My last two visits to Bandarban were in 2006 and in 2007. Those trips were not as rewarding; though I'm sure I've had some amazing views.

9th April was supposed to be a holiday (Buddha Purnima). All on a sudden, it was known that calendar makers have made a horrific mistake this year. The holiday was actually scheduled for May 09th, not April 09th. By the time this mistake was known, we had already booked our places. So, we had to manage a leave on the 9th. And 9th was supposed to be a full moon night. So, things progressed pretty quick.

We boarded our bus from Kamalapur, Dhaka. It was around 10:50PM on the 8th, when we began to roll. We occupied most of the bus; not just being a majority. All in all, 27 souls showed up; a last-minute drop of 6 and a last-minute surprise inclusion of Tahmind. It was a whole night's journey, so, we had to conserve energy. The night journey was tiring, yet, most of us tried to enjoy the journey. We even had a late night meal at Comilla during the break. But after that, it was mostly rest.

We woke up at the first light. We had already crossed Chittagong, even though it can be considered that we were late by at least an hour. The toil of the night travel was washed away by the views that were presented in front of us. Its the month of April and the summer is in full swing. But the sun was still struggling to cut through the thick curtain of mist. Mist hung under the glowing sun and tried to cover everything that tried to show its feet. Trees were covered in thick foggy quilt, but they were just able to show off their top branches under the sun. It was magical! It wasn't really possible to shoot such scenes from a moving bus; we let our eyes capture them. There can hardly be a better good morning present!

We reached Parjatan Complex just outside Bandarban town by around 7:00AM. We freshened up, had our breakfast and got busy. Two vehicles came up; rugged, open-topped trucks. They're locally called "chader gari" (meaning "vehicle of the moon"). But these were some of the better of those vehicles; Toyota Land Cruiser and Mahindra Jeep; quite tough actually. We squeezed into them along with our huge pile of bags. We learned that those vehicles are used to carrying 35-40 people! Then how come we had a hard time getting in? They told us that unlike us, the locals are tough cookies; they're small in size and can squeeze into any place. And we were burdened by our massize bags! Anyway, the journey began by around 9:20AM and we were on our way to Nilgiri Hill. On the way, we were supposed to stop at Shailaprapat and at Chimbuk Hill. We didn't have any plan to stop at Milonchhori though.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

The journey begins..............

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Life is tough in this part of the world....... a tribal woman carrying water from the stream named Shailaprapat.....

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

There are times for light work as well....... and if you need company, sometimes thats available too........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

We're just like dots on Nature..........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Nature's purity..........
Shailaprapat hardly had any water....... some of the water was stagnant; creating heaven for various insects.....

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Nature's rule.........



We reached Shailaprapat by around 9:15AM. It was harsh light. April heat was beating down on us. The stream was all but out of water. A few locals were bathing in it and collecting water from it, but the flow was too narrow to even categorise it as a stream! It was dry season. We roamed around and tried to capture whatever we could. It wasn't that rewarding a stopover though. I can still contrast with my visit there in 2006, when I found flowing water surrounded by greenery. We moved off by around 10:00AM.

The journey to Chimbuk wasn't as dramatic as it was when I went there for the first time. The ride more like a roller-coaster than the office floor. The surroundings were barren, lacking the beautiful green that I've seen during the rainy seasons. There were signs of burn everywhere. At that time, we were not sure whether those burns were the result of intentional forest fire of not. We found the same marks on top of Chimbuk as well.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Chimbuk was pretty much barren......... this leafless tree tries to give that exact message...........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

In the name of religion..........
Yet another donation box........ this time on top of Chimbuk Hill........



We reached the top of Chimbuk Hill by around 10:45AM. It was burning hot and as barren as anything. The top of Chimbuk took the colour of charcoal. The bushes were all burned down. It looked like a sad story; we were not really pushing ourselves to stay there for long. This is in contrast with the visit to Chimbuk in 2007. That time, it was June, right in the middle of the rainy season. I could see green everywhere. Now, its utter barrenness everywhere. We boarded our vehicles again by around 11:30AM. Destination Nilgiri.

Nilgiri lies some distance away from Chimbuk. It was a longish ride. Nilgiri and Chimbuk both lie on the road to Thanchi. A road divider before Chimbuk separates the main road into two. We were on the one that went right, towards Thanchi; the one on the left went to Ruma. By the way, the ride to Nilgiri wasn't as smooth. The road was quite dusty in places and a bit rough most of the way, though paved or bricked. The road takes us way up in places and takes us through the highest road in Bangladesh, named "Route 69".

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Nilgiri, where heaven meets the earth.........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Steps...........

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The bend..........


We reached Nilgiri by around 12:15PM. We were tired like hell, yet we were amazed by the view it provided. Shudipto had to organise us to send us to our quarters. The view was too captivating, keeping us engaged for some time. We reached our quarters and got amazed once more! These quarters are just too luxurious to be at a place like this! We were over 1,500ft above sea level, but the kind of luxury that was awaiting us simply took us by storm! I was part of the group that was assigned the most luxurious of the quarters. It had wooden floors and walls; and massive glass panes to give a wonderful panoramic view. The only problem we faced was water. This was the dry season and there was not local source of water. The nearest source of water was the river Sangu, which was too far for any practical purpose. Water had to be carried by trucks from Bandarban, which lies more than 40km away through extremely rough hilly terrain. One trip with water costs as much as Tk 8,000. We supported conservation. This poor situation gets solved when there's rain. There are ways to capture rain-water. The place also has electric generators and solar energy. So, the night is usually lit. Though the light goes off after 9:30PM. You have to pay for each hour of electricity after 9:30PM. We paid for two extra hours to charge our batteries. We had a long journey coming; so, we needed a full tank. The place still requires authorization from the Army authorities to go there. Shudipto organized everything and we didn’t feel a thing.

We completed our lunch at the big hall-room by around 2:00PM. The room had an enviable panoramic view. Glass widows kept the wind out, but let all the lights in the world. We had a great lunch, not just because we had a great view, we were also hungry like hell!

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Paint my horizon.........
We saw this wonderful landscape on the way down from Nilgiri......... please have a look at the images below to compare the situation less than two hours later......


After lunch, the rest was short. But we enjoyed a great tea session on the open balcony of the dining hall. The view justified everything. We just wished the tea cup was bigger. By now, we were itching to go off with our cameras. We learned of a tribal village of Mro tribe nearby; that became our target. We moved even though the sun was still beating down. By around 3:20PM, we walked down the road and had a feel about what would happen to us when we would have to climb on our way back. Some of us went back not being able to keep up. We enjoyed some great landscapes on the way down until we bumped into a signboard that gave info about the Mro (also known as Murong or Mru) village. Kafru Para is 1,515ft above sea level and has a population of 350.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Village guards..........
These children were playing at the entrance of the Mro village........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Peeping through the window.........
Such pictures of peeping through the window is very common in tribal villages...... this was one of the many that I took that day in the Mro village.....

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Harvest..........
The young Mro girl processing rice............

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The Mro at work.............01
This is a matriarcal society........ women are the heads of the family and they make most of the decisions....... and needless to say, they're extremely hard-working.....

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

The Mro at work.............02
They learn their trade quite early..........

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The Mro at work.............03

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Faces and expressions..........
These girls playing a kind of pick-a-boo with us.......

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Absent minded...........

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Affection..........

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Mro beauty...........

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Mro life...........


We stayed at the entrance to the village for a while, looking for a helping hand; someone who can guide us through; someone who can help us melt the ice. We took help from one of the farmers walking past us. He took us to the village and there we go. We got real help from a young woman who was well educated and worked for a local NGO. She understood our purpose and was a real help. We went around the village shooting with her help. It sure wouldn't have happened without her help. We documented the unique lifestyle of the Mro people. We shot them working both in and outside their homes. They wondered about our frantic efforts with the cameras. They asked many questions, but again, our new female guide saved us. They wondered why we needed that many photos, and too bad, we didn't have a satisfactory answer.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Burning Nature.........01

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Burning Nature.........02

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Burning Nature.........03

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Burning Nature.........04



We also hoped to get a glimpse of the sunset; so, we rushed once more. By around 5:00PM, we were on our way up. This time we could feel the heat. Climbing was really having its toll on us. But we endured. On the way back, we witnessed a sad event. The very landscape that we captured on our way down, was now burning. Its been barely one-and-a-half hour. How much can happen within such a short time. The whole place was under smoke. Bushes were on fire and we could hardly keep our eyes open. I couldn't help take some snaps even though they made me sad. It seemed like a normal event to the locals. These lands were being cleared away for farming. Economic needs overpowered the need for saving the environment. My body was tired because of the climbing; but my mind was tired seeing these injustice.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

A pale sunset on top of Nilgiri.......

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

The bend once more..............

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Night is burning...........


By around 5:30PM, I was back to the top of Nilgiri along with some others. The sun was slowly going down on the western sky. But it looked bland and didn't present the best sunset I have ever seen. Yet, I tried to capture some moments in the fading light. After around 6:00PM, it was too dark to shoot without tripod. By around 6:40PM, I was able to see the red flames rising from the bushes way below. The fire continued to wage and continued to burn down the precious little forest we have. Such a pity.

The night was a beauty on top of Nilgiri. The full moon rose up and shone with all its beauty. Someone shouted that they could see clouds. And there we ran. I at first thought it was fog. Then soon enough, I could realise the irony of it. Lights on top Nilgiri made the clouds visible in the dark. The clouds were racing past and making us wet. We could see our shadows in the fast-moving cloud procession. Tried with a bit of video, but there's always something that you simply can't describe with photos. The video failed to show anything, although our didn't want to miss that extraordinary gift of Nature. Nilgiri Resort's residents said that usually clouds are seen better during the morning hours in this season; and if someone wants to see real clouds, he/she should come during the rainy season, when there's hardly anything seen other than clouds.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

A moonlit night on top of Nilgiri...........



By around 8:00PM, we could see the hills under moonlight. So, it was time to experiment a bit with our cameras. We tried to capture a bit of that beauty of the moonlit night. It was difficult actually, with the force of the moon, it was not that easy to bring other things to the fore. Still, it was worth the try. For a while we could see some clouds flying past the hills on the east, but they faded away soon enough and didn't feature in our photography efforts.

Anyway, we finished our luxurious dinner (in this place, anything other than local food is absolute luxury) and tried to catch some sleep. Some of were not willing to go down that easily. They spent the night awake. Others like me, were too tired to keep eyes open, so went to sleep with the aim of waking up early enough to see dawn. There wasn't as much problem with mosquitoes as we thought. But we took precautions as usual.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Good morning from Nilgiri.............

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Shooting the heavens...........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Clouds over Nilgiri...........

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Eyewitness...........

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Call of the morning............ [model: Neaz Ahmed]

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

First light...........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Heaven's calling......... its time to wake up.........



Some of us did dare to wake up at 5:00AM. The sun was yet to come up, but we could see some hints of colour in the horizon. We rushed with our cameras. Some high clouds showed up and filled most of the eastern sky. Distant shallow hills of the east were under cover of mist. I moved towards the helipad and found the first hint of rays. They soon flickered through the clouds and created magic. The rays weren’t there for long, but had been there for long enough to make it a great sunrise. It was worth waking up early. We went on shooting until around 6:30AM. We came back to our quarters and relaxed, but didn’t really stop shooting. We found a colourful lizard, which Zamir Bhai identified as Changeable Garden Lizard and needless to say, we started shooting all guns blazing. This shooting went on until we were completely satisfied that there was nothing else to shoot. Poor lizard; it got its life’s best photoshoot; yet, didn’t realize at all.

Our breakfast was at 8:00AM, but right on that hour we found yet another lizard right outside our door. And it got its life’s biggest scare for sure. We finished our breakfast and prepared for the long journey. It was hard for us to leave this kind of luxury behind us. The days ahead would be hard journey with modest facilities. So, we had to make the most of our the luxury. Anyway, the last time for that was around 9:15AM when we boarded our vehicles once more. This time the destination would be Boga Lake.

Boga Lake was in my memory as pictures. The place was about to become a reality for me. But there lies a hard journey in front of us. Good things in this world don’t come cheap, to be honest. The first stop in the journey ahead wouldn’t come in less than two hours. We actually went back a little from Nilgiri. We were going towards Bandarban. As said earlier, a road divider ahead of Chimbuk divides the road from Bandarban between Thanchi and Ruma. We were on the Thanchi road when we went to Nilgiri. So, here we were; at it once again. We went past Chimbuk once more and turned towards Ruma. The real journey began.

The road to Ruma wasn’t as smooth as the one leading to Nilgiri. And as already said, the road to Nilgiri wasn’t really bad, but it wasn’t as smooth as the one leading up to Chimbuk. So, the Ruma journey presented a bit more challenge not just in terms of longer duration, but also because of rougher terrain. The road to Ruma wasn’t going as high as the one near Nilgiri though. Yet it was a tough journey and we all looked at the milestones to see how much still remained. We paused at a small bazaar for several minutes as well; taking breath.

The long and tedious journey to Ruma ended just short of Ruma. The road ended on the River Sangu. Now what? It was around midday and there were some boats on the river. Ruma Bazar in not just on the opposite bank to be exact. A road journey would be required at the other end of the river to reach Ruma Bazar. But we didn’t have that arrangement. We had to board the boats. We arranged four boats and boarded accordingly. These boats usually carry ten people, but because of our luggage, we had to be content with around 7 per boat.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Boat journey in the Sangu............



The moment we boarded the boats, we discovered some problem. This is the dry season and that meant that the river was virtually dry. There’s hardly any water in it. The small boats had a hard time pushing through most of the places. We were constantly zigzagging to get the boat through. Our boatmen were basically pushing the boats, rather than rowing. We seemed like burdens on the boats. So, guess what? We jumped into the water. I mean, we didn’t have to jump in the real sense; we rather stepped into it. Water in most places was knee-high. It was a great feeling getting that lovely touch of water. We had such a hectic journey and after conserving water on top of Nilgiri, this splash was heavenly. We started to push and pull our boats. A competition ensued. In some places, water depth was a bit uncomfortable; we simply boarded the boat, or ran on the shore barefoot to keep up. It was fun to say the least. This wiped away all the toils of the long journey from Nilgiri to the Sangu. The surroundings were picturesque. A warm day in April; so, not too much activity in the river. Although we’ve some people going on with the daily active live. Some were even trying to catch fish. There were lots of bamboos floating on the river. Things made of bamboos were also lying around all over the river. When we ran along the river, we had to be a bit careful. I couldn’t capture frames from the river; as I was mostly in and out of water all the time. My camera was mostly resting inside the boat.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Boats at Ruma.........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Colours of Ruma..........



It took more than an hour for us to reach Ruma. Ruma is a bustling place. It can be understood pretty easily, that this is a place of real importance here. There were boats anchored all over. And many people were going about their daily activity on the river. Ruma Bazar stands on a higher place. A few steps needed to be crossed to reach the plain of the Bazar. Ruma has the typical look and feel of a busy rural bazaar of Bangladesh. We were to have lunch there. It was around 1:45PM. After the hard journey and playful boat-ride, we had a great lunch. We were hungry like hell and ate like monsters.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Trekking on wheels............


By around 2:30PM, we were again on board vehicles. This time, the destination was Boga Lake. This is part of the journey that I thought didn’t exist. I only knew that trekking was the only way to reach Boga Lake from Ruma Bazar. We met Anwar Bhai on the way, who happens to be a colleague of Neaz, one of our tour mates. We heard a lot about him as an avid trekker. This would be Anwar Bhai’s 25th visit to Boga Lake. He was on another vehicle; in fact, he was on that vehicle’s roof. And he would never go to Boga Lake using a car; he would be walking. He was on a parallel journey to Boga Lake through the 17km trekking route. And we were on the road, not having the heart or the health to equal such an attempt. We had lunch at the same restaurant.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Reaching for the heavens.........
Please note the River Sangu on the top left corner of the image........


Anyway, this road is more like a trail in many places. And its surely not for the faint-hearted. The two vehicles we received now were a bit smaller than the two we had earlier. This meant that we would have to squeeze a bit more. The road took us from the bank of the river straight to the top of the hill surrounding Ruma. That took the breath out of everyone’s lungs. We just had lunch. Now, the moment we reached the top of the hill, we realized that the road simply crossed over the hill from one base to another. We now prepared for the fall. I was at the back of the vehicle and I could see a lake way down there right in front of our eyes. And I could see the lake over the cockpit of our vehicle. That just gave me an idea about the degree of elevation we were about to descend. We sat tight; in fact, we squeezed so tightly that we didn’t have to hold one another. The road took a sudden turn to the right just before the lake, meaning that we were still on the ground rather than on water.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Passing shadows..........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

In the Kingdom of Dust.........01

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In the Kingdom of Dust.........02


This road wasn’t paved. Dust ruled. Yesterday, we were in the Kingdom of Clouds; now we were thrown into the Kingdom of Dust. Perhaps we failed to pay homage to the Dust Gods; so, we now had to eat dust. The road took us up and brought us down as it wished. This wasn’t roller coaster. Roller coasters are much smoother. This is thorny. The road was brick-laid in some places; other places were simply soil roads. The journey separated our bones and brought them back together again. This road doesn’t work in the rainy season. This is perfect weather as far as road travel to Boga Lake is concerned.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Land of the golden hills..........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

God-dust and coal-dust.......



The surrounding landscape was awe-inspiring. And it was amplified by the afternoon lights. The landscape simply glowed. Even the dust glowed in sunlight. Sporadic “kaash ful” waved their plumes in that glowing light. The only thing that didn’t match with this setting is the charcoal-shaped hill-sides in many places. These hills and their forests were being burnt to make room for more cultivable land. It’s the sad tale we witnessed throughout our journey. Most of the trees were devoid of any kind of greenery. They were bald and were waiting for the rainy season.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

It was a gruelling walk for us to reach the hills surrounding Boga Lake....... but the afternoon sun created enough magic to keep our cameras busy......

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Afternoon magic............


The grueling journey ended by around 4:15PM when we were asked to get down and rely on our feet. The task was to climb the hill, which leads to the valley of Boga Lake. We had to carry our luggage individually. So, curse anything that you didn’t bring out of necessity. We soon realized that the hill was a bit harder to climb than what we realized. Adding to this, it was the end of the day; it was really sapping our energy. The hill was a bit steep for our liking and the loads on our back took their toll. It was afternoon and the sun was glowing on the surrounding hills with all it colour. The eastern hills were brilliant gold. I couldn’t help take some photos forgetting the climb that remained in front of me. But I sure had a thought—I wasn’t fit enough to properly undertake such a journey. We all took quite a lot of rest on the way. I reached the top of the hill by around 5:05PM.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

I watched Tushar Bhai disappearing beyond the hills......... I waited for my turn....

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

The last wait........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Boga Lake........ first view.....

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

The view was from the south side of Boga Lake....... the whole western hills turned into gold...........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Boga Lake Para basking in the afternoon sun........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Boga Lake: Bamboos and water lily......

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Sunset at Boga Lake........


I saw Tushar Bhai disappearing behind the hilltop in front of me. He stood there for a while before going down into the valley. I also took my time reaching there. I was delighted with optimism; waiting to see what brought me here at the cost of so much effort. I could see the eastern hills around Boga Lake bathed in afternoon glow. The moment I steeped into the valley, I forgot the hardship of the long journey. I took a pause and breathed. The sun was leaning behind the western hills, creating a contrast of lights and shadows. The lake rested in the tranquil shadows whereas Boga Lake Para on the base of the eastern hills glowed in afternoon sun. It was heaven. I could hardly move. I took almost half and hour to come down from the hills to the southern bank of the lake. I only aimed my camera several times; leaving my eyes satisfied. My camera utterly failed to capture the beauty of the place. Thanks to God, I had the pair of lenses, which would beat even the most expensive lenses in the world. The first view of Boga Lake will be in my memory forever.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Colours of the dark........



The military had the southern slope of the hills covered. To the east lays Boga Lake Para, the small village where we were supposed to stay. The highest point on the west was the helipad, which turned out to be a forbidden place. We arrived at the cottage of Siyam Didi, a generous lady who is the refuge for all the trekkers who come and go here. We occupied two cottages for our 27-member team. We freshened up and joined the evening adda. Just before seven in the evening, Anwar Bhai and his companion showed up after several hours’ trekking. We welcomed them with claps. I can never contemplate something as daring as this one; let alone in such weather.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

A restaurant at Boga Lake Para...........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Night at Boga Lake........



A huge moon showed up over the eastern hills after some time. Everyone aimed their camera and set their tripods. There were thousands of stars in the sky too; although the moon overshadowed most of the sky. The full moon lit up Boga Lake and we could see the reflections of the hills on the water. We went on with our photographic experiments with the night sky until we finished our dinner by around 9:00PM. After dinner we began our planning session for the next day. After a lot of confusion, it was decided to form two groups. One would take the adventure to a Murong village down the slope of the hill on the south. And the other team would stay closer to Boga Lake and venture to the Marma village on the plains. The teams were formed on the basis of the amount of walking/trekking needed to be undertaken. But confusion remained regarding the amount of trekking that needed to be undertaken and whether permission would be awarded for doing photography at the village. Available information was not enough for verification. We depended more on the advice of our local guides. Whatever the confusion, we ultimately formed the teams and made plans accordingly. I was part of the team staying near Boga Lake. We went to sleep by around midnight. As usual, some were not willing to go to bed quietly. There were lots of adda during the night. Some even went out at night with Anwar Bhai to see the surrounding areas in moonlight. Anyway, we all had plans to wake up early. So, some rest was badly needed.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Moon-set on Boga Lake...........01

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Moon-set on Boga Lake...........02

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Start of another day.........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Morning work........01

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Morning work........02


The next day started early. I woke up at 5:00AM. Some others also woke up around this time; while others decided to have a bit more rest. Boga Lake Para was more-or-less quiet at this hour. The moon was slowly setting over the Lake. Tribal women were collecting water from the Lake for their day’s activities. The sun was far from showing up. The valley is surrounded by high hills, which prevent the sun from showing off anytime soon.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Julian setting fire..........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Clearing the bushes..........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Cultivation at the cost of deforestation.........



We walked to the eastern trail. There, we found activity by a Bawm family. Julian was setting fire to the bushes to complete the clearing of the surrounding forest and bushes. They would plant some potatoes of local variety. He was working there with his sister. He is one of five sons and one daughter. Their works were obviously very important to them. But the face of the surrounding landscape was burned beyond recognition.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

First lights hitting Boga Lake.........


We moved a bit further, taking the trail to Keokradang. There were some dried-out streams. We could feel their power when in full bloom during the monsoon. We walked along the road uphill, which was basically a road for vehicles. This road leads straight to Keokradang. The road is not paved or brick-laid; indicating that its only a dry weather road. From that high position, we could see Boga Lake Para in shadows, whereas the first lights were hitting the hills on the west.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Lights and shadows........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

The first lights created magic......... gave life to the stones.......

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Morning shows the day..........
Children playing and bathing on Boga Lake..........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Yet another jump in basic clothing.......

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Morning mirror.........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Boga Lake in colour..........


As the sun began to make its mark on the surrounding landscape, magic ensued. The hilltops began to glow. Slowly but surely, the sun began to devour the shadows. Colours of nature began to change. We proceeded towards the lake once more, because the lake was changing as well. Sunlight created some great colours and wonderful reflections on the lake. Children were playing while bathing, making the tranquil environment vibrant. A lone, but colourful boat also showed up carrying some bamboos.

We finished our roaming by around 8:00AM and had breakfast. The other team for Murong village had already left quite early. It was planned to meet them at the base of the hill outside Boga Lake, where we started our climbing the day before. But this time, our luggage was to be carried by a car. The other day, we heard from the locals that the road climbing Boga Lake was too steep for vehicles, which is why we climbed on our feet. Now, we learned that vehicles can reach Boga Lake with some risk. So, they can carry our luggage, but it might not be a good idea to bring all the people down on vehicles. The Murong team thus left their luggage to be carried by the vehicle.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Boga Lake from the north.........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Marma village at the base of the hill........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

House of the hills.........01

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

House of the hills.........02
Also note the distant road which we used to reach Boga Lake........


After breakfast we started to move towards the Marma village, which lies on the northern side of Boga Lake. We started off just before nine in the morning. We took some snaps of Boga Lake while crossing the narrow trail along the Lake. Along the way, we saw a tree-felling by members of the army. But we received a bit of a shock when we reached the northern end of the trail. We found the village alright; but it was way down to the bottom of the hill. The distance was as much as what we had climbed the earlier day. Some of us had already taken the adventure and went down quickly. Others like me took a bit of time going down. We realized that the distance we go down, has to be climbed again. That turned out to be a tough proposition. Even the toil from yesterday was still in our feet. We took some time enjoying the picturesque setting of the Marma village and then moved on backwards. We would wait for the others to come up from the village with their exploits. It was around 10:30AM when we returned back to Boga Lake Para.

The short venture didn’t even start to become enjoyable, when it ended for us. So, we looked for something to cover-up the losses. We decided to have a nice little dip in the cool waters of Boga Lake. The Lake is quite deep actually, but close to the shore, its quite shallow and would allow people to bathe. We took the plunge and enjoyed a fantastic time. We were among the water lily, enjoying a picturesque bath. Small fishes were poking at our bodies while our legs rested on gravel and small stones. The bath was so soothing that we didn’t really want to come out. After almost quarter of an hour’s dip, we came up and readied for the final journey.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Boga Lake........ the last view......


We were supposed to rendezvous at the outside base of the hill surrounding Boga Lake. We bade goodbye to the fantastic Boga Lake. I spent a few moments at the same place where I took a pause and breathed the day before. Anyway, we would take the same route as we did the earlier day. Only our luggage was to travel on wheels. This time, to help our trekking, we were each given a bamboo stick to keep balance. And this helped quite a bit. Because of the lack of luggage, the helping stick and because of the fact that we were going down, instead of going up, it was a very easy venture. We reached the base of the hill within 15 minutes.

The other team from Murong village was already there at the base. They had a field day. They were given free access and they did photography at their heart’s content. On the other hand, the Marma team reported that they weren’t allowed to draw their camera. They were shown a pretty hostile attitude and they came back disappointed. While we were planning for the trips the night before, we though that Murong would be the more difficult one because of their relative lack of touch with the outside world. The Marma was considered easy, as they are the biggest of the tribes and the most educated. As it turned out, these things don’t depend on anything known.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Reaching for the heavens........... [credit for noticing: Faisal Akram Ether]

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

The Kingdom of Dust once more.......
Please notice the village houses down below....... now guess the degree of elevation.........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

The Dust King!!....... [model: Kamal Pasha]

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

The climb........01

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

The climb........02

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

The climb........03

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

The climb........04


We again boarded our vehicles by around 1:00PM. This time we had three vehicles to have a better journey. The vehicle carrying luggage also had three of us on board. They reported that the road leading up to Boga Lake was worse than what we had already crossed. Anyway, the journey started once more and it was the same old topsy-turvy journey through the Kingdom of Dust. After one-and-a-half hour’s struggle, we reached Ruma Bazar once more by around 2:30PM. We finished our lunch there and again boarded our vehicles. This time, we not crossing the Sangu by boats. We would travel to the same spot where we boarded the boats the other day and cross the river on foot. The water level was low enough to allow us that luxury. By around 3:30PM, we crossed the Sangu in a soothing walk on water.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Its been a tired day........ I wish I could do that..... but we were only at Ruma Bazar...... a long way to go yet......

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Through lights and shadows......... going back to Bandarban.........

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

Gold-dust........


We had our other day’s two vehicles waiting for us at the other bank. There we go again. The same long journey ensued. In exactly two hours we reached Bandarban. It was around 5:30PM. We didn’t want the sun to go down while we were on the road.

From From Nilgiri to Boga Lake, April 2009

End of the day at Parjatan Complex at Bandardan...... tiredness shows in the picture, I guess........ was too lazy to go up to get a better view......


We once again boarded the Parjatan Complex to get freshened up. Our bus for Dhaka was at 8:30PM. So, we had enough time to get prepared. Our ride to Dhaka was not dramatic. We were just too tired to do anything other than sleep. We reached Dhaka by 5:30AM.

When I look back to this journey, I only find that there are too many memories I left behind. I’m not at all sure whether I would ever be able to go there again. But if I ever had an empty feeling regarding not being to Boga Lake even once, that was gone. This was one of the most extraordinary journeys I’ve ever made. So far, this is the extreme for me.