Sreemangal

Sreemangal is the ground zero of Bangladesh's tea industry — more tea estates per square kilometre than anywhere else in the country. The rolling hills are covered with immaculately kept tea bushes in every shade of green, with workers in bright saris moving between the rows. Lawachara National Park on the town's edge protects a patch of mixed evergreen forest that is home to hoolock gibbons, capped langurs, and over 240 species of birds.

The famous seven-colour tea — seven distinct layers of flavoured tea visible through a glass — was invented here. Dozens of tea stalls around town serve it in small glasses, each flavour carefully poured to preserve the layers: a spectacle as much as a drink.

Sreemangal also serves as the gateway to the Hail Haor wetland — an inland sea during monsoon that transforms into a vast meadow in winter. Day trips can reach Madhabpur Lake, Baikka Beel bird sanctuary, and the tea research station.