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Panorama of Cox's Bazar in the early morning: clouds on a blue sky, still water and forest in the distance.
Tourism[edit]
Cox's Bazar (Kolatoli Sea Beach) after sunset
The major economic activity in Cox's Bazar is tourism. A number of hotels, guest houses, and motels have been built in the city and coastal region, and many people are involved in the service industry.[citation needed]
Cox's Bazar Beach: The beach in Cox's Bazar is the main attraction of the town with an unbroken length of 150 km (93 mi) also termed the "longest natural unbroken sea beach" in the world.
Himchari National Park: Himchari is located just south of the Cox's Bazar town. It consists of lush tropical rain forest, grasslands and trees, and features a number of waterfalls, the biggest of which cascades down toward the sandy, sun-drenched beach. The National Park was established in 1980 by the government of Bangladesh as a conservation area for research, education, and recreation. Once it was the stomping grounds of herds of Asian elephant. It is still home to a limited number of these mammals.
Aggmeda Khyang: a large Buddhist monastery, and a place revered by around 400,000 Buddhist people of Cox's Bazar; and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The main sanctuary is posted on a series of round timber columns. It has a prayer chamber and an assembly hall along with a repository of large and small bronze Buddha images and a number of old manuscripts.
Ramu: about 10 km (6 mi) from Cox's Bazar, is a village with a sizeable Buddhist population. The village sells handicrafts and homemade cigars. There are monasteries, khyangs and pagodas containing images of Buddha in bronze, gold and other metals with precious stones. One of the temples, on the bank of the Baghkhali River, houses relics and Burmese handicrafts, and also a large bronze statue of Buddha measuring thirteen feet high which rests on a six feet high pedestal. Weavers ply their trade in open workshops and craftsmen make handmade cigars in their pagoda like houses.
Dulhazra Safari Park: Dulhazra Safari Park is the first safari park in Bangladesh. It was developed on an undulating landscape covering approximately 2,224 acres (9.00 km2) in Chakaria Upazila, Cox's Bazar District. The forest is characterized by tropical evergreen vegetation, rich in Garjan, Boilam, Telsur, and Chapalish, along with various herbs, shrubs, and creepers. The safari park is a designated protected area where animals are kept in a spacious environment that mimics their natural habitat. Visitors can easily observe the animals during their visit, whether by bus, jeep, or on foot. The park was established based on a South Asian model and serves as an extension of an animal sanctuary located along the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar road, about 50 km (30 mi) from Cox's Bazar town. The sanctuary itself protects a significant number of wild elephants native to the area. Within the safari park, domesticated elephants are available for rides. Other animal attractions include lions, Bengal tigers, crocodiles, bears, chitals, and a variety of birds and monkeys.
The only aquarium in Bangladesh is in Cox's Bazar. Attractions also include parasailing, water biking, beach biking, horse riding, Cox Carnival circus show, Daria Nagar Ecopark, numerous architectural attractions, Shishu Parks and numerous photogenic sites. The largest safari park in the country, Dulhazara Safari Park, is nearby. There is a forest reserve, Naf Tourism Park, which also has a cable car planned.
In 2013, the Bangladesh government formed the Tourist Police unit to better protect local and foreign tourists, as well as to look after the nature and wildlife in the tourist spots of Cox's Bazar.
Fishing[edit]
A large number of people are involved in fishing and collecting seafood and sea products for their livelihood.[citation needed] Cox's Bazar is one of the few major spots for aquaculture in Bangladesh. Along with Khulna, it is considered a major source of revenue from foreign exchanges.[citation needed], besides a mix of small-scale agriculture, marine and inland fishing and salt production are other industrial sources that play important roles in the national economy.[citation needed]
