Intrepid’s Urban Adventures Dhaka
Intrepid’s Urban Adventures offers a tour of Dhaka after sunset – Dhaka After Dark. The tour focuses on historical sites in the older part of town and Dhaka University campus. Guides encourage groups to wander amongst the myriad of food stalls sampling the local fare and chatting with locals. It also throws in a performance at the national theatre.Dhaka Walk
Dhaka Walk has created an array of half-day walking tours to portray the history and diversity of Dhaka city. Instead of trying to tick off all the major sights in one go, the guided tours concentrate on small chunks of the city. There are separate architectural tours of heritage buildings and ruins, along with one that solely focuses on Louis Kahn’s genius, the Parliament building and surrounds. For those more interested in getting a glimpse into the lives of Old Dhaka residents, there is a tour that covers the tiny laneways, where groups can meet residents and learn about their lives.Urban Study Group
The Urban Study Group (UGS) is not a tour company, but a voluntary group of campaigners who work towards the conservation of Old Dhaka’s heritage buildings. The Group is comprised of architects and local volunteers knowledgeable about the city’s Mughal architecture. Architect Taimur Islam, founder of UGS, describes how the walking tours came to be. While documenting the oft ignored heritage buildings and campaigning for their preservation, the Group began inviting members of the civil society to accompany them on their expeditions. Over the past decade, they’ve guided tourists and members of the public through the warren of lanes in Old Dhaka, educating them on the city’s Mughal past, its culture and architecture. Currently they run four tours focusing on the following areas – Farashganj, to view the 18th and 19thcentury mansions built by Hindu Zamindars; Armanitola-Chawkbazar, covering historic monuments and Mughal-era mohallas (traditional neighbourhoods); Narinda, which includes a visit to a 400-year-old Christian cemetery and the exotic Baldah Gardens, and a walk along the banks of the Buriganga River showcasing two Mughal Caravansaries - Boro Katra and Choto Katra. Tours are currently conducted on weekends for a small fee of Tk. 500 which goes towards financing their operations.GPSMYCITY
GPSMYCITY is an app that offers self-guided walking tours. The app provides a number of different routes around Dhaka city, complete with maps and GPS navigation. In addition to a Southern Dhaka tour which covers Old Dhaka, the app has custom walking tours to cater to a variety of interests. These range from museums and art gallery tours, a shopping trail, a walking tour to cover key places of worship as well as one covering prime government buildings. The cherry on top? The app works offline so no data plan is required when you’re on the go.Triip
Triip.me is a website via which tourists can book experiences with locals. Unlike traditional tour companies, the website allows anyone to create a tour package and sell it to registered users. There are a few passionate Dhakaiites who’ve capitalised on this and a quick search will reveal a diverse range of tour itineraries, many of which are free.