Maheskhali

The eastern part of Maheskhali, Cox's Bazar is cut off from the heartland by the Maheshkhali channel.

According to a tradition a local peasant found a stone-image from the forest and when he found that the image is of 'Mahesh' the name by which Shiva is also known he built a temple and kept the image there. Thus it is said that the island got its name Maheskhali from the name of the temple and the temple came to be known as Adinath Mandir which is a famous archaeological sight of Maheskhali, Cox's Bazar. On the hill by the side of the Adinath Mandir you would also find a Buddhist pagoda.

However, both from the documents of Caesar Frederick, a Portuguese traveler and Dr. Suniti Bhusan Kanungo the island of Maheskhali, Cox's Bazar was formed after it was separated from the mainland by severe cyclone and high tides during 1559.

Both at the center as well as the eastern coast of Maheskhali, Cox's Bazar you would find a series of low lying hills which are about 300 feet high. But the areas in the western as well as the northern side are low lying areas and bordered by mangrove jungle.

Though there are various spots of tourist attractions in Maheskhali, the most important one is the Adinath Temple which you would find on the top of the Mainak hill which is a part of the Thakurtala village under Gorakhghata Union. The Adinath Temple is 6 m high and measures 10.5 m x 9.75 m and has three parts of which the northern part is the oldest one. In the northern part you would find two squared rooms - the eastern room contains the image of Adinatha Banalinga and the western room contains the image of an eight-armed Durga.

The Maheskhali, Cox's Bazar witness lots of tourists during the time of Shiva Chaturdashi every year since a huge fair is organized in the Adinath Mandir which lasts for eight to ten days and lots of pilgrims visit the temple.