Kaptai Lake, Chittagong Division, Bangladesh

5Sajan I 5:00 PM Oct 17, 2016

Kaptai Lake
When I visited Kaptai Lake, this was overflowed with monsoon water - this was mesmerizing. Kaptai Lake is the largest man made lake in Bangladesh. It is located in the Kaptai Upazila under Rangamati District of Chittagong Division. The lake was created as a result of building the Kaptai Dam on the Karnaphuli River, as part of the Karnaphuli Hydro-electric project. The Kaptai Lake's average depth is 100 feet (30 m) and maximum depth is 490 feet (150 m). Construction of the reservoir for the hydro-electric plant began in 1956 by the Government of the then East Pakistan. As a result, 54,000 acres (220 km2) of farmland in the Rangamati District went under water and created the lake. The land that went under water as a result of the dam construction, was 40% of the total arable land in the area. Along with that, 29 square miles (75 km2) of the Government-owned forest, and 234 square miles (610 km2) of other forest land went under water. About 18,000 families with a total of almost 100 thousand people were also displaced. The palace of the king of the Chakmas was also flooded and is now under water. Social and ecological effects: Inhabitants of the storage reservoir area who lost their homes and farmland due to flooding were not compensated. More than 40,000 Chakma tribals emigrated to India. The scarcity of land is considered a main cause of the continuing conflict in the area. The building of the dam and reservoir also caused destruction of wilderness and loss of wildlife and wildlife habitats.

4very-sunny 5:00 PM Apr 16, 2012

authentic and colourful
Lake Kaptai is a lovely situated over tens of islands. It is a great place for a bout trips, wathing wild life and visitting local communities of Chakma people. On some islands you can visit modern Buddhist monasteries but don't expect anything remarkable. The best are all the meetings with locals, specially kids, wathing them playing cricket on the afternoons, visiting local schools or fishermen. late afternoon and early evening is the best visiting time. Bargain hard for the boats renting. Local tourists pay lass than 1000Tk for 4-5 hour trip. I paied 700Tk for 3 hours trip (first price was 2000Tk) Try to skip weekends as it is a popular holiday spot fro local turists. Lake can be easily reached from Rangamati where you can find some basic accommodation.