Daily Times

The Ganga Vilas cruise ship will provide visitors with the chance to explore more than 50 significant architectural sites as it travels 3200 kilometres in 50 days through 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh.

On January 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially launch the “Ganga Vilas,” the longest river cruise in the world, which will go from Varanasi to Dibrugarh via Bangladesh.

Visitors will be able to visit over 50 architecturally significant locations, including world heritage sites, as the cruise ship travels 3200 miles in 50 days and passes through 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh.

According to the website of Antara, a company that organises ‘luxury’ river cruises, the Ganga Vilas cruise has been “built with a unique design and a futuristic vision”. It will cover “prominent destinations that lie along Kolkata’s River Hooghly to Varanasi’s River Ganges.”

Sites covered during travel: From the famous “Ganga Arti” in Varanasi, the ship will stop at Sarnath, a place of great reverence for Buddhism. It will also cover Mayong, known for its Tantric craft, and Majuli, the largest river island and hub of Vaishnavite culture in Assam. The travellers will also visit the Bihar School of Yoga and Vikramshila University, gifting the travellers the experience of the rich Indian heritage in spirituality and knowledge.

Travelling through the biodiversity-rich World Heritage Sites of Sunderbans in Bay of Bengal delta, the passengers might catch a glimpse of the famous Royal Bengal Tigers and also the famous one-horn rhino while travelling through Kaziranga National Park.