Day 1 — Silk City Welcome: Train to Rajshahi, Looms & the Padma

Board the Dhumketu Express and watch city blocks melt into paddy, palms and ponds. In Rajshahi, a working silk factory opens its doors: from cocoons to shimmering thread, looms beat a steady rhythm. As evening cools, stroll the Padma (Ganges) riverfront or board a local boat; the sky turns copper, nets arc, and the river breathes.

Day 2 — Mango Capital & the Lost City of Gauda

Spend the morning in Kansat among orchard rows heavy with fruit (June–Aug) and lively markets stacked with fragrant varieties. Then switch gears to history in the borderland ruins of Gauda. Walk the quiet grace of Khania Dighi, the scholarly hush of Darasbari Mosque & Madrasa, the evocative Tahkhana complex, and the elegant stonework of Choto Sona Mosque. Expect vast skies, birdsong, and hardly another tourist in sight.

Day 3 — Terracotta Royale: Bagha, Puthia & Natore + Varendra

Start at Bagha Shahi Mosque, where terracotta plaques burst with floral scrolls and geometry. Continue to Puthia, a village square ringed by soaring Shiva and Govinda temples, Dol and Roth, and the Panch Ani Palace — a feast of red-clay storytelling. Step into Natore Palace to connect with Rani Bhabani’s legacy, then cap the day at Varendra Research Museum, Bangladesh’s oldest, where Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic artefacts place everything you saw into context.

Day 4 — Stones & Bricks: Kusumba, Paharpur (UNESCO) & Mahasthangarh

At Kusumba, one of Bengal’s rare stone mosques, admire the finely carved mihrab and raised gallery — a very different language from terracotta. In Dhonjuil village, meet the Pahan families and try puffed rice fresh from the pan. Then reach the day’s epic centre: Somapura Mahavihara (Paharpur), a monumental 8th-century Buddhist monastery whose geometric plan fills the horizon. Continue to Mahasthangarh, a 3rd-century BCE citadel; from the ramparts, time feels beautifully elastic. Overnight Bogra.

Day 5 — River Lives: Jamuna Char • Return to Dhaka

A wooden country boat noses across the Jamuna to a char — a sand-island that seasonal floods shape and erase year after year. Farmers tend fragile plots; children chase goats along silt ridges; resilience becomes the daily craft. After tea and smiles, drive back to Dhaka with memory cards full and dust on your boots — the best souvenir.