The Ganga Vilas luxury cruise which left the Kolkata port for Varanasi on December 22 reached the Ramnagar Port in the holy city on Wednesday, reported news agency ANI. The cruise was scheduled to reach Varanasi on Saturday but arrived late due to bad weather the news agency reported.
On Friday, January 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the river cruise which will cover 3,200 kilometres across 27 river systems in five states in India and Bangladesh in 51 days. 'MV Ganga Vilas' between Varanasi and Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh will be the 'the world's longest river cruise.
During the cruise the travellers will get to visit 50 tourist spots, including World Heritage Sites, National Parks, river ghats, and major cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Assam, the central government said in a statement on Sunday, reported PTI.
"The maiden voyage of MV Ganga Vilas will witness 32 tourists from Switzerland relishing the Varanasi to Dibrugarh journey," the statement further read.
MV Ganga Vilas will begin its journey from the famous Varanasi ghat, where 'Ganga Aarti' is performed, and cover Sarnath, a place of religious importance for Buddhists; Mayong, known for its 'tantric' craft; and Majuli, the largest river island in the world and hub of Vaishnavite in Assam.
The travellers on the cruise will also get to visit the Bihar School of Yoga and Vikramshila University.
The cruise will also sail through Sunderbans in Bay of Bengal, known for Royal Bengal Tigers, as well as Kaziranga National Park in Assam, which is famous for one-horned rhino.
The MV Ganga Vilas vessel has three decks, 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with all the amenities.
Currently, India has 8 river cruise vessels operational between Kolkata and Varanasi while cruise movement is also operational on National Waterways 2 (Brahmaputra), according to PTI