Bangladesh is a country in South Asia, nestled in between the Bay of Bengal and the Himalayas; surrounded mostly by India, shares a border in the south-east with Mayanmar and fronts onto the Bay of Bengal. The country is flat, and dominated by the braided strands of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta, the largest delta in the world. Bangladesh is known as the land of rivers, with 290 rivers criss-crossing the country. Where Bangladesh end and the sea begins, there is a murky zone of shifting sediments, watercourses, floodwaters and silt. Over 90% of the country are composed of alluvial plains less than 10m above sea level, making it an inviting proposition to flood-prone rivers and tidal waves. The only relief from these low-lying plains occurs in the northeast and southeast corners where modest hills rise to an average height of around 240m and 600m respectively. Rivers do cause devastating floods but the sediments they bring down from the Himalayas create wonders for Bangladesh. These sediments form a lush evergreen landscape, which is the envy of many a country. Behind the images of cyclones and floods is a strikingly lush and beautiful land with a rich history and a variety of attractions unusual for a country this size.

Roughly two-thirds of Bangladesh is fertile arable land and a little over 10% remains forested. The country is home to the Royal Bengal Tiger, leopards, Asiatic Elephants (mostly migratory herds from Bihar), and a few remaining black bears. There are also plenty of monkeys, langurs, gibbons (the only ape on the subcontinent), otters and mongooses. Reptiles include the sea tortoise, mud turtle, river tortoise, pythons, crocodiles, gharials and a variety of snakes. There are more than 600 species of birds: the best known is the mynah but the most spectacular are the kingfishers, fishing eagles, parrots and cockatoos.

The climate of Bangladesh is subtropical and tropical with temperatures ranging from an average daytime low of 21 degrees Celsius in the cold season to a top of 35 degrees in the hot season. Bangladesh has three main seasons: the monsoon or `wet' season from late May to early October; the 'cold' season from mid-October to the end of February; and the `hot' season from mid-March to mid-May. There is also a 'cyclone season' - May to June and October to November.