SAINT MARTIN'S ISLAND - THE UNIQUE CORAL BEACH AND TOURIST SPOT OF BANGLADESH

It is the only coral island in Bangladesh. In this Island, one can find the beautiful Coral reef and long Coral beach and lots of coconut trees. St. Martin's Island is a small island (area only 8 sq. km) in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula, and forming the southernmost part of Bangladesh. There is a small adjoining island that is separated at high tide, called Chhera Island. It is about 8 km west of the northwest coast of Myanmar, at the mouth of the Naf River. The first settlement started just 250 years ago by some Arabian Sailors who named the island ‘Zajira’. During British occupation the island was named St. Martin Island. The local names of the island are "Narical Gingira", also spelled "Narikel Jinjira/Jinjera", which means 'Coconut Island' in Bengali, and "Daruchini Dip". Saint-Martin is approximately 300 km (186 miles) east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km island is divided roughly 60/40. However, the Netherlands side has the larger population. It is the smallest inhabited sea island divided between two nations, a division dating to 1648. The southern Dutch half comprises Sint Maarten and is one of four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The northern French half comprises the Collectivity de Saint-Martin (Collectivity of St. Martin) and is an overseas collectivity of France. In this Island, one can find the beautiful Coral reef and long Coral beach and lots of coconut trees. The local name of the coconut is Narikel and the original name of this Island is Narikel Jinjira is derived from that. Accommodation in St. Martins Island is limited. Motel Nijhum is one of the best hotels in St. Martins Island. To book in Motel Nijhum, confirm you reservation from Dhaka. You will hardly get a chance to stay in this hotel if you are a sudden visitor of St. Martins Island. The other good hotels are Prashad Paradise & Sraboni Bilash. Saint Martin has a land area of 87 km2, 53 km2 of which is under the sovereignty of France, and 34 km² under the sovereignty of the Netherlands. The main cities are Philipsburg (Dutch side) and Marigot (French side). While the city with the highest population, Marigot, lies on the French side, the Dutch side is more heavily populated. The highest hilltop is the Pic Paradis (424 m) on center of a hill chain (French side). There are no rivers on the island, but many dry guts. Hiking trails give access to the dry forest covering tops and slopes. The average yearly air temperature is 27 °C (min 17 °C, max 35 °C) and sea surface temperature 26.4 °C. The total average yearly rainfall is 995 mm, with 99 days of thunder. The island is south of Anguilla, separated from the British territory by the Anguilla Channel.