Current Time in Cox’s Bāzār, Bangladesh

Cox's Bazar lies on the south-eastern coast of Bangladesh, on a narrow strip of land between the forested hills of the Chittagong region and the Bay of Bengal. It is best known for its beach, an almost unbroken ribbon of golden sand running for around one hundred and twenty kilometres along the shore, widely described as the longest natural sea beach in the world. The Bakkhali River meets the sea at the northern end of the town, and offshore islands and mangrove creeks complete a landscape shaped entirely by water.

Roughly three hundred thousand people live in the municipality, though the district around it holds several million. Tourism dominates the local economy, with hotels, guesthouses and restaurants lining the beach road and millions of Bangladeshi holidaymakers arriving each year. Fishing is the other mainstay, supported by dried fish processing, shrimp farming and one of the largest salt producing areas in the country. Handicrafts in shell, bamboo and woven cloth are sold in the markets, and a deep-sea port and power projects nearby have brought further investment.

The town takes its name from Captain Hiram Cox, an East India Company officer who was sent in the late eighteenth century to settle refugees from Arakan and who died before completing the task. A market established in his memory gave the place its name. The area has long been a meeting ground of Bengali and Arakanese cultures, and a substantial Rakhine Buddhist community has lived here for centuries, maintaining monasteries and their own language and festivals. In recent years the district has drawn international attention as the site of the vast camps at Ukhia and Teknaf that shelter around a million Rohingya refugees who fled violence in neighbouring Myanmar, forming the largest refugee settlement anywhere in the world.

Along the shore, Laboni, Sugandha and Kolatoli beaches are the busiest stretches, while Inani, further south, is famous for its coral boulders and quieter water. Himchari National Park offers waterfalls and viewpoints over the sea from wooded hills, and the coastal road towards Teknaf, built between the mountains and the surf, is among the most scenic drives in South Asia. The island of Maheshkhali has a hilltop temple and Buddhist shrines, and Saint Martin's Island, the only coral island in the country, lies off the southern tip. In the town, the Aggmeda Khyang monastery, built of wood on carved pillars, and the busy Burmese market are the main cultural sights.

Life here mixes the rhythms of the fishing fleet with the seasonal surge of visitors, and the food is dominated by seafood, rice and Rakhine dishes rarely found elsewhere in Bangladesh. Colleges, a medical college and a maritime and marine science university serve local students. A new railway line from Chattogram opened in 2023, dramatically improving access, and the airport has been expanded to take international flights.

Cox's Bazar is important as the principal seaside resort of Bangladesh, a centre of fishing and a place of great humanitarian significance.