Sonakanda Fort is a water fort built during the Mughal period. It is believed to have been built around 1850 by Mir Jumla, the then Subaddar of Bengal. It is located on the east bank of the Shitalaksha river in Bandar Upazila of the Narayanganj district. Sonakanda fort is one of the three water forts built in the seventeenth century to protect the city of Dhaka from external enemies.
An ideal place for a day trip. Sonakanda Fort is a fort built during the Mughal period. During the Mughal period around 1650, when Mir Jumla was the subedar of Bengal, three forts were built on the banks of the river to protect the prosperous city of Dhaka and its environs from the onslaught of Mughal and Portuguese enemies on the river.
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Sonakanda Fort Narayanganj
These three forts were called “water forts”. Two of the three water forts are on the two banks of Shitalakshya in Narayanganj. Hajiganj fort on the west bank of Shitalakshya, Sonakanda fort on the east bank of Shitalakshya, and Idrakpur fort of Munshiganj. The quadrangular Sonakanda fort is surrounded by strong high walls. Inside the fort, there are a large number of wide-wide tiny holes for safe firing from the walls. They could be used with guns and light cannons.
There are four octagonal towers at the four corners of the fort. The most interesting part of the fort is the huge round cannon platform that rises in the western part of it. You have to climb many big stairs to reach the platform. The Shitalakshya river used to flow through the western side of the fort.
So on the high platform of this west-facing cannon platform, strong cannons were placed to prevent pirates from entering the river. There is a strong north-facing entrance gate on the north side wall of the fort. This is the only entrance to the fort. The entrance is housed in a rectangular arch structure. No inscription has been found on the date of construction of the fort, but historians say it was built between 1660 and 1663 AD.
GPS Coordination: 23 ° 36’25.0 ″ N 90 ° 30’43.5 ″ E
The name Sonakanda Fort and Sonakanda are two very touching rumors in folklore. The first rumor is that Isha Khan, the ruler of the Bar Bhuiyans, forcibly married Sonabibi, the widowed daughter of Kedar Roy, the zamindar of Bikrampur, and brought her to the fort. Sonabibi could not accept the matter. He sat in the castle in silence and wept day and night. From then on the fort was named Sonakanda.
The second rumor is that Swarnamoyi, the daughter of Raja Kedar Roy, came to bathe in Langalbandh. A group of robbers attacked the golden barge. Abducts the goldsmith with lots of gold ornaments. Later Isha Khan rescues him and wants to send him back to Kedar Roy. But Kedar Roy did not take Swarnamoyee back on the charge that he was born to spend the night in a Muslim tent. Hearing this news, Swarnamoyee spent the day crying in the tent of the fort. And hence its name is Sonar Kanda or Sonakanda.
The Way To Go Sonakanda Fort
To go straight from Gulistan of Dhaka to Narayanganj by the festival, Bandhan, Himachal, Shital bus. Non-AC bus fare will be Tk 38 and AC bus fare will be Tk 55. A little further on from there is the Nabiganj 5th Ghat / Hajiganj Fort with 5 Tk from the auto stand. See Hajiganj fort and cross ferry No. 5, the fare is 5 Tk per person.
Then you can take the rickshaw reserve to Sonakanda fort. Or ferry No. 1 with 10 rupees per person, from there straight to Sonakanda fort in Oto with 10 rupees per person. If you take a rickshaw reserve, the fare will be 40 rupees.
If you want to go by train, take the train from Narayanganj suburban platform of Kamalapur to Chashara station. Rent 15 rupees. He will take a rickshaw from Chashara to Hajiganj Fire Station / Nabiganj Ghat / Fort. You can go from there as above. Another way is by bus from Dhaka to Madanpur, from Madanpur by sharing CNG or easy bike via Nabiganj to Sonakanda fort.
Where to Stay At Traveling Time
You can visit Sonakanda fort in one day as it is very close to Dhaka. In that case, you don’t have to worry about staying the night. However, there are good arrangements for those who will stay away from Narayanganj Sadar. Notable among these are – Hotel Mehran, Hotel Sonali, Hotel Narayanganj, Hotel Sugandha, Hotel Surma, Hotel Rupayan, etc.
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