Rajban Vihara

Rajban Vihara stands on a peninsula reaching into Kaptai Lake at Rangamati and is the main Buddhist monastery of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the seat of the region's senior monk, founded in its present form in 1974 and grown into a substantial complex of shrine halls, a Buddha image, monastic quarters and a bell, with the lake on three sides. The Chakma, Marma and other peoples of the hill tracts are largely Theravada Buddhist, and the monastery is the centre of that, busiest at the Kathina Chibar Dan robe-offering ceremony in autumn, when robes are woven, dyed and sewn within twenty-four hours and offered, drawing a very large gathering. It is a working monastery and visitors are received quietly.

What you actually see

• A monastery on a lake peninsula - water on three sides of the complex.
• The main shrine hall and image - the centre of hill tracts Buddhism.
• The autumn Kathina ceremony - robes made and offered within a day.
• Monastic quarters - the working community around the shrine.

When to go

November to March; the Kathina ceremony falls in October or November and is the largest gathering. One to two hours. Modest dress and shoes off in the shrine. Photography inside needs asking.

Honest expectations

It is a working monastery, not a monument, and quiet behaviour is expected. Interpretation is minimal. Permit rules for foreigners in the hill tracts apply and change. Rangamati is a long slow journey from Chittagong.

Nearby

Rangamati town surrounds it; Kaptai Lake is on three sides.