Bangladesh's main attractions – in pictures

From the world's longest beach to its largest mangrove forest, and from lush tea estates to Bengal tiger territory, there is plenty for tourists to discover in Bangladesh – and you're likely to have it all to yourself...

At 125km, Cox's Bazar is the longest natural beach in the world, and a popular Bangladeshi tourist spot. Beyond the built-up main town, its empty sands stretch into the distance. Photograph: Majority World/UIG via Getty Images

Sonadia island, 9km off Cox's Bazar, is home to Bangladesh's nascent surf scene. It started when a visiting Australian left his board there in 2002. Photograph: Lovedesh/Nawaz Alamgir

Stretching across south-west Bangladesh and south-east India, the Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world. Its freshwater rivers merge with the salt water from the Bay of Bengal. Photograph: Alamy

The Sundarbans are also home to most of Bangladesh's remaining endangered royal Bengal tigers – around 500 are left. Tourists take boat trips to experience the beauty of the canals and rivers – and possibly make a rare tiger sighting. Photograph: Farhana Haque Jenny/Flickr Vision

Bangladeshi fisherman catch fish in the Sundarbans with trained otters, a centuries-old fishing partnership that has long since died out in other parts of Asia. Photograph: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images

The new Panigram resort, near Jessore, is a peaceful rural base for exploring the Sundarbans. Ahead of its official opening later this year it is offering reduced rates (from £95 a night) to people willing to stay on the unfinished site

Srimangal, in Sylhet division in the north-east, is famous for its picturesque, terraced tea estates. Photograph: Alamy

Srimangal's DuSai (rooms from $120) is a new resort that claims to be Bangladesh's first five-star hotel outside Dhaka. Photograph: Lovedesh/Nawaz Alamgir

Outside Sylhet city, the region's rural villages and rolling hills are largely untouched by tourism. Photograph: Lovedesh/Nawaz Alamgir

Wilderness Resort (rooms from £72 a night) in the Sylhet hills is set among jackfruit and mango trees

It's not just the traffic in the country's capital, Dhaka, that is noisy, chaotic and colourful. With a population of 15 million – and more than 400,000 rickshaws – it is one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the world. Photograph: Alamy

The University of Dhaka presents a more peaceful side of the city. Photograph: Guiziou Franck/hemis.fr/Getty Images

Arrange by dearJulius.com Team