18 JANUARY /2023
PM Modi flags off world's longest river cruise
PM Modi flagged off the ship MV Ganga Vilas from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, for a luxury river cruise on January 13. It's touted as the world's longest river cruise.
A 3,200-kms long river voyage
Ganga Villas will sail across 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh. The 3,200- kms river voyage will end at Dibrugarh, Assam on March 1
'Experience of a lifetime'
"Tourist will be able to experience the spiritual, the educational, the well-being, the cultural as well as the richness of the biodiversity of India. From Kashi to Sarnath, from Majuli to Mayong, from Sunderbans to Kaziranga, this cruise packs an experience of a lifetime, "Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of ports, shipping and waterways, said in a press release
The maiden voyager
32 tourists from Switzerland will embark from Varanasi on its maiden joourney. As per reports, the tourists boarded on January 10,2023, but PM Modi will officially flag it off on January 13.
Duration of the cruise
The cruise will last 51 days, covering cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkatta in West Bengal, Bangladesh's capital Dhaka and Guwahati in Assam.
Popular tourist destination covered
The cruise will cover over 50 tourist spots including-world heritage spots,national parks and river ghats. It will also include a tour of the famous Ganga Arti in Varanasi, the ancient Buddhist site of Sarnath; the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, and the mangroves of Sunderbans.
The cost
Reports state that the tickects are priced at Rs.12.59 lakh per person. While it's not clear how many people can be accommodated in a suite, reports indicate that Swiss tourists paid a whopping Rs.38 lakh per suite. It's also booked for 2 years and reservations are only available over cancellation, Antara Luxury said.
The facilities on MC Ganga Vila
There are three decks and 18 suites on the luxury cruiser. Reports also state the cruise has a lavish restuarant,spa,sundeck and a 40- seat reatuarant on the main deck.
Other luxury cruises by Antara
Antara cruises, the company that runs the Ganga River cruise, offers 9 other luxury cruises, like the 5-day-long Sunderbans jungle cruise, with fares starting from Rs.1 lakh. The fares for the 4-day-long incredible Banaras tour starts from Rs. 1.12 lakh.