• Highlights

Fringed by the Khasi and Jaintia hills to the north and the hills of Tripura to the south, Sylhet division is essentially one broad valley. The countryside is covered mostly with terraced tea estates, small patches of tropical forests, and large pineapple plantations and orange groves.

This area has an annual rainfall of 5000mm — the highest in the country. Just north across the border in the Indian state of Meghalaya is Mawsynram, the wettest place on earth. On the whole, however, the area has the best climate in the country — it is temperate and cool with clean, crisp, fresh air in winter, and is moderately warm in summer.

This is a tea-growing region with more than 150 tea estates spread over 40,000 hectares, producing over 30 million kilograms of tea annually, mostly for export. Sylhet is considered the richest region of the country, with its agricultural produce including oranges and pineapples, and its mineral resources including gas reserves and possibly oil deposits. The region has also been a disproportionately large source of migrants, and remittances are a significant source of income.

The valley is fed by two rivers, the Kusiyara and the Surma. The Surma River passes through the city of Sylhet and eventually joins with the mighty Meghna further south. The valley is dotted with broad shallow natural depressions known as haors (HAW-or). These low-lying marshy areas are permanent wetlands and provide verdant sanctuaries for migratory birds from places as far away as Siberia. These haors and Sylhet's subtropical forests combine to make this region one of the best in the country for bird-watching. An incredible variety of ducks, other wetland birds that are scarce elsewhere in Bangladesh, Pallas' fishing eagles and other migratory birds, such as geese and snipe, abound. There are also reportedly a few jungle cats and wild boars roaming in the small patches of forests, but travellers are very unlikely to see any of them.

The hilly area along the northern border at the foot of the Khasi-Jaintia hills is tribal land. There are also tribal communities scattered through the southern hills. The Khashia (or Khasi), Pangou, Tripura and Monipuri people who live here are all easily distinguishable from the Bengali population by their slightly slanted eyes, a reflection of their oriental heritage, and their shorter stature. They tend to shun regular contact with the outside world, venturing only occasionally from their settlements. The Monipuri (Manipuri) are the exception to this; they have become artisans, jewellers and businesspeople, and have entered into the general Bangladeshi community. Monipuri classical dance, seen only during Hindu festivals dedicated to the worship of Radha-Krishna, is the best known feature of Manipuri culture. The Radha-Krishna cult is distinctive to eastern Indian and Bangladeshi Hinduism. It is centred on the tale of Krishna's love affair with the female cowherd Radha. She symbolises human spirituality, while Krishna is the embodiment of divine love.

The Khashia people are noted horticulturalists, and grow most of the nation's betel nut crop, which is the prime ingredient in paan.

The Sylhet region lacks the magnificent mountainous backdrops and much cooler climate of Darjeeling, but the rolling scenery is nevertheless quite pleasant and fun to explore, especially by bike. The tea estates here are every bit as interesting to see, though the terrain is not so steep and the tea itself is of lesser quality.