Destination guide
Gabkhan Bridge & Channel
গাবখান সেতু ও গাবখান চ্যানেল
One of the tallest road bridges in the country stands over the artificial Gabkhan Channel, proudly nicknamed "the Suez Canal of Bengal". In the afternoon thousands come to sit and stroll; you feel the deck hum under passing trucks, with green banks on both sides that turn into guava country in the monsoon. As one traveller put it — you feel like you're viewing the world from a drone.
History & significance
The Gabkhan Channel was cut in 1918, in the British era, joining Pirojpur's Sandhya river with Jhalokati's Sugandha. The ~18 km waterway shaves about 118 km off the Dhaka/Chattogram–Mongla shipping routes — hence "Bengal's Suez"; it is the country's only artificial international waterway. The bridge was built 1999–2002 as the 5th Bangladesh–China Friendship Bridge — about 1.8 km long; with no pillar in the channel, locals also call it a "hanging bridge".
How to get there
The bridge sits on the Barishal–Pirojpur highway, on the Jhalokati side. From town, an auto-rickshaw from the Fire Service Mor area costs about ৳10–20 and takes 10–12 minutes. Khulna–Barishal buses can drop you right at the bridge.
Entry fee
৳0 · traveller-reported
No fee — it is a public road bridge.
Opening hours & best time
Open at all hours; the crowds gather in the late afternoon.
Best time
Late afternoon to sunset is when breeze, light and crowd all agree; morning if you want it to yourself. Monsoon adds the orchard scenery — carry rain gear.
Traveller tips
Walking the shoulder with fast trucks is risky — keep to the edge and hold children's hands.
If heights unsettle you, don't look straight down; the deck trembles under heavy vehicles.
Sit a while under the huge banyan at the bridge base — the locals' favourite spot.
Don't climb down the under-bridge slopes — fenced off, overgrown, full of insects.