Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to flag off the world’s longest river cruise — ‘Ganga Vilas’ on January 13.
In brief
It will travel from Varanasi to Dibrugarh via Bangladesh to visit over 50 architecturally important places, including world heritage sites.
The cruise will also pass through national parks and sanctuaries, including the Sundarbans Delta and the Kaziranga National Park.
Minister provides information
Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways had tweeted back in November, “The world’s longest river cruise will commence its journey in January next year.
Ganga Vilas will set sail from sacred Varanasi to Dibrugarh via Bangladesh covering 4,000 km on the two greatest rivers of India, Ganga and Brahmaputra.”
Features
It features facilities such as music, cultural programs, a gym, a spa, an open-air observation deck, personalised butler service, etc.
The luxury river cruise has a capacity of 80 passengers with 18 suites.
According to the official website, it is “Built with a unique design and a futuristic vision.”
It will “meander across various prominent destinations that lie along Kolkata’s River Hooghly to Varanasi’s River Ganges.”
Itinerary
According to the timetable released earlier, the journey will begin from Varanasi and will reach Patna on the 8th day, passing through Buxar, Ramnagar and Ghazipur.
From Patna, the cruise will set sail for Kolkata and will reach there on the 20th day via Farakka and Murshidabad.
The next day, it will set off for Dhaka and enter the Bangladesh border where it will remain for the next 15 days.
Finally, it will come back to India through Guwahati before sailing through Sibsagar and reaching its final destination at Dibrugarh.
USPs
According to Forbes, guests onboard will visit major landmarks ranging from Varanasi – one of the oldest cities on earth– to the abandoned Buddhist monastery Vikramshila
The Bangladesh leg of the trip will give them a chance to take in the beauty of the ghost city of Sonargaon and the ornate 1400s-era Sixty Dome Mosque, among other historically and culturally significant places.
