The traditional Rash Mela full moon festival

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Sundarbans, Bangladesh

Every year during the full moon, a number of Hindus on their pilgrimage perform holy rituals and seek mercy from Banbibi, the spiritual “lady of the forest”.

Rash Mela makes for a unique cultural outing in Bangladesh’s southern mangrove forests.

To reach the location where this wonderful celebration was held, I had to go by boat through the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans. It took about a whole day to reach Dublar Char (coordinates: 21°46’04.2”N 89°33’43.2”E), a small settlement of a community living off of dry fishing. The route through the relatively untouched mangrove forest was astonishing. I was lucky to see a couple of snakes and other wildlife. It’s no wonder that the Bengal tiger took this area as its home.