BP Tourism Desk
The long stairway, locally known as Mayung Kopa or Hatimatha, on the hills at Panchhari upazila in Khagrachhari, is a great attraction for tourists from home and abroad.
Although the hilly stairway is termed ‘Hatimatha’ by local people, the travelers have renamed it ‘stairway to heaven’.
The stairway, named‘Edo Sirey Mon’ in tribal language, is the only way of communication between several villages in hilly area.
Mentionable, the 308 feet high steel stairway once built to facilitate the tribal people of Peruachari of Khagrachhari is attracting a good number of tourist nowadays.
Chattogram Hill Tracks Development Board constructed the stairway at a cost of Tk 12 lakh in 2015, facilitating a good number of people from 15 villages in traveling the deserted steep mountainous.
Besides some other attractive tourist spots in the district, the stairway to heaven is becoming more popular among the tourists. The stair leads the tourists towards a beautiful village on top of the mountain.
Crossing the Chengi River from Perachara, after one and half hours of walking, the stair will appear before the tourists.
After reaching the top of the mountain through the stairs, tourists will forget their tiredness while seeing rows of green mountains.
Peruchara union parishad chairman Tapan Tripura said the stairway is adding new dimension to the district’s tourism. Proper maintenance will also help to develop the lifestyle of the people of hill town.
Khagrachhari is a district located at south-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chattogram Division and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Its local name is ‘Chengi’.
The town of Khagrachhari is the hometown of the Mong Chief (currently King, or Raja, Saching Prue Chowdhury), the head of the Arakanese descendants living in the circle. It also is the administrative headquarter of Khagrachari district.
Way to go
To go to Hatimatha, tourists will have to reach in front of the Jamatoli passenger camp at Khagrachhari town at Panchhari. There are available bus service from Khagrachhari Sadar to Jamtali, which will take Tk 15.
Take a guide from the spot who will show you towards Mayong forehead/ elephant mound via Kaptala. It will take an hour to reach year.