Classroom lesson 路 Cox's Bazar - a beach that just keeps going馃嚙馃嚛 Bangladesh

Cox's Bazar - a beach that just keeps going

One of the longest unbroken sea beaches in the world

Two figures walking on the wet sand at Cox's Bazar beach at dusk, with a pink-and-grey sky above the sea

Photo 路 Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

Cox's Bazar is a long, golden sandy beach on the south-east coast of Bangladesh. It stretches for around 120 kilometres in one almost-straight line - that's like walking from London to Birmingham along sand. It's one of the longest unbroken sea beaches in the world, and a much-loved holiday spot for families across Bangladesh.

Tell me more

Imagine setting off down the beach at one end and walking all day. You walk, and walk, and walk. After hours of walking, the beach still stretches in front of you to the horizon. That's what Cox's Bazar feels like. Most beaches end after a few kilometres at a cliff or a town. This one just keeps going.

The beach was named after a Mr Cox, an English official who lived in Bangladesh hundreds of years ago. 'Bazar' just means market - the place where his old market used to be. Today the town behind the beach is full of seafood restaurants, hotels and shops selling shells.

The Bay of Bengal - the sea Cox's Bazar sits on - is warm and pretty calm in winter, which is why families love going there from December to February. Children fly kites, paddle in the shallows, and ride on horses along the sand. At sunset the sky and the wet beach turn pink and gold together.

Just inland from the beach are green hills and tea gardens. A short boat ride south is St Martin's Island, the only coral island in Bangladesh, where the snorkelling is famous. The whole coastline is one of the country's natural treasures.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01How long do you think it would take to walk 120 km along a beach? How many days?
  2. 02Why might it feel different to walk along a 120 km beach than a 1 km one?
  3. 03What would you take to a beach holiday with your family? What's the first thing you'd do when you arrived?
Try this

Classroom activity

Find Cox's Bazar on a map. Then on a UK or local map, find a city about 120 km away from your school. Mark the two ends of an imaginary beach that long. As a class, discuss what would be different along its length - shops? cliffs? rivers?