Panam Nagar

About this place

Panam Nagar is an archaeological site in Sonargaon, Narayanganj District, east of Dhaka, the remains of an old settlement that was once a thriving trade centre. Today it consists of crumbling buildings along a single street, with arches, windows and plaster decoration. Walking it gives a rare sense of a town where time stopped, and it makes an easy half-day trip from the capital. It goes back to the 13th century and declined in the 17th century after the capital moved from Sonargaon. It revived in the 19th century when wealthy Hindu merchants redeveloped it under British rule as a hub of the cotton trade. After the partition of India and events of 1964 it was abandoned, and it was declared an archaeological site in the 2000s. You walk a long straight street between two-storey houses in red brick and pink plaster, some with arches and balconies and some overgrown with plants. Many cannot be entered as they are fragile, so do not cross the barriers. Restoration is under way in parts of the street. The photos here also show the ponds and trees around the site. It is about 21 km in a straight line from Ahsan Manzil, though traffic makes the trip long, so start in the morning. The Folk Art Museum in Sonargaon is close by, and you can combine them in one visit. The street fills with families on Fridays and Saturdays.