Kaptai Lake, a reservoir in the hills

Bangladesh's largest man-made lake was created by the Kaptai Dam and now shapes life, travel and fishing in Rangamati.

Kaptai Lake was formed in the early 1960s when a dam was built across the Karnaphuli River at Kaptai to generate hydroelectric power. The rising water filled valleys of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and created the largest artificial lake in Bangladesh, with long fingers of water winding between green hills. The reservoir brought electricity and a large inland fishery, and boats became the main way to reach many villages around Rangamati. It also displaced many families, especially Chakma communities, whose farmland and homes were submerged — a history that remains part of how the lake is remembered today.