A blend of hill and ocean charms

Cox’s Bazar’s Marine Drive from Kalatali to Teknaf along the Bay of Bengal is one such road that presents an exquisite picturesque setting - with the hills and the sea getting mingled.

The 80-kilometre road, with green forest on one side and sandy beaches with blue water on the other, has already become a major tourist attraction for the coastal city of Cox’s Bazar.

“On the way, the drive offers you to have a look on Teknaf Roar Forest. Beside the Reju canal, the sea meets the hills where there are endless rows of betel plants. Enjoying the sunset from here gives one an ethereal feeling,” Aziz Rahman, a tourist from Dhaka, said.

As there are a number of check posts, the road is safe for everyone, said Riaz Mia, another tourist who came from Chattogram.

“The army check posts are friendly, too,” he added. Enjoying the full moon from this drive is also very enjoyable, according to him.

The added attraction for the tourists could be beach flowers, pebbles, snails, oysters along with green hill views of this road, the tourist also said.

Abu Morshed Chowdhury, president of Cox’s Bazar Chamber of Commerce, said this road is the world’s longest marine drive.

“The drive has opened new avenues for employment including tourism, industrialisation, and the use of marine resources,” he added.

He also said that the fishes extracted from the sea would be able to reach any part of the country in the shortest possible time through this road. The Marine Drive took around 25 years to construct. Started in 1993, the project has been completed spending Tk 10.4 billion (1,040 crore).