Bangladesh is a country defined by water and while parts of it frequently fall prey to floods and tropical cyclones, its rivers (the three main ones are the Padma, the Jamuna and the Meghna and it has hundreds of smaller waterways) give it life, making it a green, fertile and very, very lush country.
A shade over 40 years old, this densely populated nation of 150 million people has had its hard times. Today, it is progressive with a promising emerging economy, a thriving women's movement and it invests heavily in the education and health of its people.
Dhaka is the capital, a teeming city in perpetual motion. It's one of South Asia's mega cities, known by some as the City of Mosques and by others as the Rickshaw Capital of the World. Its old quarter is fascinating, a swirl of narrow streets and bustling bazaars, mosques and Hindu temples.
Visitors arriving on cheap flights to Bangladesh and wanting to see the highlands should venture up to the Chittagong Hill Tracts and those looking for a beach will be rewarded with the longest natural sandy sea beach in the world - Cox's Bazar. The Sundarbans are unmissable. It's the world's largest mangrove forest, home to exotic flora and fauna including the Royal Bengal Tiger.
For travellers, flights to Bangladesh are often a jumping-off point for jaunts around India, Nepal, Thailand or Cambodia.
