Dhaka The Capital of Bangladesh

Dhaka is a thriving, colorful and congested metropolis of some 12 million people, and growing steadily. Given the amount of people that live there, Dhaka is one of the most frenetic places on Earth. The streets and rivers are filled with colorful chaos. It also plays host to the highest number of rickshaws in any city, totaling around 400,000; you certainly won't miss them. Experiencing the city for the first time can often seem overwhelming.

According to recorded history it was founded in 1608 A.D. as the seat of the imperial Mughal viceroy of Bengal. Dhaka has been developing fast as a modern city and is the country's center of industrial, commercial, cultural, educational and political activity. The gap between rich and poor is widening throughout the country but it's at its most glaringly obvious here. Depending on where you start from, a thirty minute rickshaw ride can take you from impossibly crowded shantytowns near Old Dhaka to the glitzy high-class neighborhoods of Gulshan and Banani where a meal costs more than most people make in a week.

Motijheel is the main commercial area of the city. Dhaka's main waterfront, Sadarghat, is on the banks of the river Buriganga in Old Dhaka and is crowded with various ferries, yachts, paddle steamers, fisherman's boats and floating dhabas all bustling with activity.

The weather is tropical - hot and very humid during the monsoon season (April-August) and drier and cooler in the winter (October-March). Visitors from colder countries might want to visit in the winter when temperatures are around 20C and humidity is low (around 60-70%).