Sylhet lies at the foot of the Meghalaya hills, where clear rivers run out of India over beds of stone. Within reach of the city are a flooded swamp forest, emerald rivers and rolling tea gardens. The city itself is a place of pilgrimage, centred on the shrine of the saint Shah Jalal.
- Ratargul swamp forest
- Jaflong
- Tea gardens
- Shah Jalal shrine
- Shatkora beef
Places
Place Ratargul Swamp Forest
রাতারগুল জলাবনA freshwater swamp forest where you glide by boat between half-submerged trees in green, silent water.
Place Jaflong
জাফলংClear water flows over pebbles beneath the Meghalaya hills, with a suspension bridge visible across the border.
Place Bichanakandi
বিছনাকান্দিA wide bed of boulders where cold streams from the hills spread out in clear, shallow pools.
Place Lalakhal
লালাখালA river of startling blue-green water winding past tea gardens and forested hills.
Place Shrine of Shah Jalal
হযরত শাহজালাল (রহ.) এর মাজারThe resting place of Sylhet's most revered Sufi saint, alive with pilgrims, prayers and catfish ponds.
Place Malnicherra Tea Estate
মালনীছড়া চা বাগানOne of the oldest commercial tea gardens in South Asia, rolling green right at the edge of the city.
Place Sada Pathor, Bholaganj
সাদা পাথর, ভোলাগঞ্জWhere the Dhalai river comes out of the Meghalaya hills over a bed of pale stones, reached by boat from Bholaganj.
Place Shrine of Shah Paran
শাহ পরাণের মাজারThe hilltop shrine of Shah Jalal's nephew and companion, the second great pilgrimage stop in Sylhet.
Place Keane Bridge
কীন ব্রিজSylhet's old iron bridge over the Surma, the city's best-known landmark, beside the Ali Amjad clock tower.
Foods
Food Shatkora Beef
সাতকরা গরুর মাংসSlow-cooked beef with chunks of shatkora, a bitter-aromatic citrus found almost only in Sylhet.
Food Sylheti Akhni
সিলেটি আখনিA fragrant rice dish cooked with meat and spices, the festive centrepiece of Sylheti homes.
Food Hidol Bhorta with Naga Chilli
হিদল ভর্তা ও নাগা মরিচPungent fermented-fish mash, fired up with Sylhet's naga chilli, the bhorta every Sylheti meal is judged by.
Food Sylheti Home-Style Rice Meal
সিলেটি ঘরোয়া ভাত-ভর্তাRice, dal, a free spread of bhortas and Sylheti fish and meat curries, served fast in Zindabazar's busy home-style restaurants.
Food Jara and Shashni Citrus
জারা ও শাশনি লেবুGiant fragrant jara citron and cardamom-scented shashni lemon, Sylhet's prized citrus, eaten peel and all.
Traditions
Where to stay
Hotel prices in every district →- Budget hotel
- ৳1,000–2,500
- Good hotel
- ৳2,800–6,000
- Upscale / resort
- ৳8,000–20,000
Peak season: Winter, the monsoon (for waterfalls and haors) and Eid/Puja holidays fill most hotels; big hotels gave up to 50% off in Ramadan.
Named hotels (2)
Where these prices come from
Mid level from 2026 Parjatan Motel Sylhet and Motel Jaflong rates; upscale from Prothom Alo's May 2026 survey (five-star resort basic rooms 8,000–20,000+, boutique 6,000–11,500). The budget band for residential hotels around Dargah Gate is an estimate.
Prices come from newspapers, the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation website and the hotels' own listings. Call the hotel to check the rate before you book.
Where to eat, and what it costs
Room and food together here come to roughly ৳950–3,900 per person a day
From a budget hotel and local eateries up to a good hotel and good restaurants. We assume two people share a room, so each pays half the room rate. Travel, tickets and upscale places are extra.
Restaurants and dish prices (4)
- Biyai Restaurant Sonatila, Tamabil, on the Sylhet-Tamabil highway
- Duck curry (rice, dal and salad free) · ৳300/bowl
- Mixed small-fish curry · ৳150/bowl
- Beef curry · ৳200/bowl
- Country chicken curry · ৳250/bowl
Good restaurants 2026 prices · Source - Kacchi Bhai Sylhet city branch
- Basmati kacchi biryani · ৳330/plate
- Special mutton tehari · ৳270/plate
- Plain polao with chicken roast and borhani · ৳320/plate
- Borhani · ৳80/glass
Good restaurants 2026 prices · Source - Pearl of Orient Shahjalal Upashahar crossing, Sylhet city
- Buffet dinner · ৳1,573/plate
Upscale 2024 prices · Source - Signature Restaurant Badshala, Khadimnagar, near the airport
- Buffet breakfast · ৳1,581/plate
- Buffet dinner · ৳3,000/plate
Upscale 2024 prices · Source
Taste these
- Shatkora Beef Local restaurants around Zindabazar and Ambarkhana, Sylhet city About 250–400 BDT per plate
- Sylheti Akhni Restaurants in Zindabazar, Sylhet; especially around iftar time in Ramadan About 150–300 BDT per plate
- Hidol Bhorta with Naga Chilli Home-style rice restaurants around Zindabazar, Sylhet city; dried hidol and naga chillies are sold in Lalbazar
- Sylheti Home-Style Rice Meal Panshi and Panch Bhai restaurants, Zindabazar, Sylhet city
- Jara and Shashni Citrus Citrus stalls at Lalbazar, Sylhet city Jara about 200–1,000 BDT each; shashni about 140–350 BDT each (2022 prices)
Where these prices come from
Budget figures follow rice-hotel prices outside Dhaka (fish or meat meal 80-150 Tk) nudged up for Sylhet city's tourist trade; mid follows a highway restaurant near Tamabil where a meat or fish curry with free rice and dal cost 200-300 Tk in 2026; upscale follows 2024 hotel buffets at about 1,500-1,600 Tk. Upscale breakfast and snacks are estimates.
Prices come from newspapers and the restaurants' own listings, and they change over time.
Crafts and food from this district are in our shop.
