Young adventurer and cyclist Bir Kumar Tanchangya, from Wagga Union in Rangamati’s Kaptai upazila, set off from Cox’s Bazar on Sunday on a bicycle for Nepal, with the ultimate goal of reaching the Everest Base Camp.
He began his ‘Sea to Himalayas’ expedition by collecting plastic waste at Kabita Chattar beach in Cox’s Bazar at 8:39 a.m. before starting his journey to Nepal.
As part of the expedition, Bir Kumar plans to travel by road from Cox’s Bazar to Nepal and take on four challenging Himalayan routes — the Manaslu Circuit, Annapurna Circuit, Annapurna Base Camp and Everest Base Camp.
He will carry Bangladesh’s red-and-green national flag at different stages of the expedition.
According to his plan, Bir Kumar will first cycle from Cox’s Bazar to Dhaka, then head toward Panchagarh.
He is scheduled to enter India through the Banglabandha immigration point, travel through Siliguri in West Bengal and then make his way to Nepal.
Bir Kumar Tanchangya said Bangladeshi adventurers usually fly to Nepal and begin their cycling expeditions from there.
He, however, wants to take a different route by cycling from Bangladesh’s sea level in Cox’s Bazar all the way to Nepal before completing the Himalayan expedition.
“One of the main objectives of this expedition is to project a positive image of Bangladesh internationally and showcase the country’s potential for adventure tourism to the world,” he said.
Bir Kumar has previously travelled across 10 Indian states by bicycle. He began that journey in December 2023 and covered around 5,700 kilometres in nearly 71 days, returning to Bangladesh in March 2024.
He has also cycled Bangladesh’s longest cross-country route from Teknaf to Tetulia and travelled by bicycle through all 64 districts.
By Mohammad Morshed
Photo: Collected
