Types of cruises.
- City cruise- A river or lake cruise restricted to city limits.
- Day Cruise- May stretch from 5 to 16 hours and may cover a distance of 50 km. Generally undertaken from dawn to sunset and does not involve night stay.
- Long distance river cruise -Over night stay and distance traveled can exceed 100 km.
River cruise on Ganga.
1.Pandaw Cruises
The river cruises on the Ganges is currently undertaken by Irrawaddy Flotilla Company. (They also operate Pandaw River Cruises on the Irrawaddy River in Burma, Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia and Rajang River in Borneo, Malaysia).
Pandaw Cruises have successfully completed 6 voyages between Kolkatta and Varnasi till January 2010. Many other cruises were undertaken in 2011. More are planned in 2012.
The intenerary includes visits to the monuments of colonial Kolkatta, visit to the former French colony of Chandernagore, Plassey, Hazarduari Palace, Bihar School of Yoga at Munger, State Museum at Patna, Bodh Gaya and Nalanda. Trips to Sarnath and Varnasi. Sightings of fresh water river dolphins in the Ganga.
2.Vivada Inland Waterways Ltd
They have the following cruise products:
- Sunderban Eco cruises.
- Heritage Trail.
- Europe on Ganges.
- Ganga Sagar Mela.
- City Cruises.
3.Assam Bengal Navigation- an Indo-British joint venture.
Operate throughout the year between Kolkatta and Jangipur and between Kolkatta and Farakha on the Hoogly and Bhaghirathi river and to the world famous mangrove forests of Sunderbans.
4. West Bengal Tourism Development corporation
Undertake cruises on the Hoogly river with facilities of day and night stay.
Best time for cruises.
winter months are the best time to go for river cruises.summer months are not recommended owing to temperatures going upto 45 degrees centigrade in the Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
River cruises on Brahmaputra
Brahmaputra is a vast river, which at places is is more than 20 kms wide. Wilde life and wilderness are the unique selling points of this river cruise. Khaziranga, the national park, home to the one horned rhino and Manas National Park a project Tiger reserve, on the India Bhutan border are accessible through the river.
Tea gardens of Assam, world famous Majuli island- a vast river island having unique Vaishnavite hindu monastries famous for performance of religious dance dramas and Sualkuchi village where famous Assam silk is produced and hand woven are some of the destinations covered by the cruise.
1. Assam Bengal Navigation
Provides luxury river cruises with en suite air conditioned cabins. Operates from Assam from October to April with day and night cruises.
2. Brahmaputra Cruise Private Ltd
A long distance omnibus package of jeep safaris at Kazjranga National Park, Tea Garden including Tea factory visits, Majuli island, see the culture of Assamese culture and tribal lifestyles, Maa Kamakhya and Shivasagar (Sibsagar) temples and forts of Ahom Kingdom.
River Cruise in gods own country, Kerala
National Geographic Traveler has selected Kerala, as one of its 50 must see destinations of a life time.
A river cruise in the backwaters of Gods own country offers a visual spectacle of incomparable scenic beauty.
The backwaters include the Kuttanad region- rice bowl of Kerala- where paddy cultivation is done on fields which are below sea level. ; Lake Vebanad- the largest stretch of backwaters in Kerala; Lake Ashtamudi and Lake kayamkulam.
Day and night cruises are available.
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