Ganga Vilas, featuring the world’s longest river cruise, is set for its maiden voyage across 3,200km from Varanasi in India’s Uttar Pradesh to Assam via Dhaka.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the cruise on Friday from Varanasi before the passengers tour across the rivers of Bangladesh and India over 51 days, reports bdnews24.com.
The passengers will get the opportunity to visit 50 historic and structurally significant locations on the voyage.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Modi said: “This is a unique opportunity to connect with our cultural roots and discover beautiful aspects of India’s diversity.”
Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said: “Moving through 27 river systems, it will cover more than 3200 km in over 50 days from Varanasi to Dibrugarh through Bangladesh along India-Bangladesh Protocol routes.”
The luxury cruise will sail through the Sundarbans and Assam’s Kaziranga National Park, Indian media reported. Kolkata-based Anandabazar Patrika said after setting off, the Ganga Vilas is expected to reach Patna on the eighth day, passing through Ghazipur, Buxar, and Ramnagar.
From there, it will reach Kolkata in two days via Farakka and Murshidabad. From there, the cruise will set off for Bangladesh and roam around in the river veins of the country for another 15 days.
The vessel will pass through Guwahati and Sibsagar into India before completing the voyage in Dibrugarh in Assam.
The Indian government already entered a contract with Bangladesh for the vessel to navigate the protocol route. The Antara Luxury River Cruises has been put in charge of the Ganga Vilas.
According to Indian media reports, the ticket prices have been set at 24,692 rupees per person for a day, totalling 1.25 million rupees for the entire trip.
The cruise features music and cultural programmes among other recreational activities and can accommodate up to 80 people each trip. It also contains gymnasium and beauty care centres.