SHILLONG, Nov 2: The Ministry of railways, in a collaborative
initiative with IRCTC Ltd, is about to operate a “North East
Discovery” tour to promote the relatively untraversed
Northeastern states of India.
The specially curated tour on Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC
Tourist train will be commencing its journey from Delhi
Safdarjung Railway Station on November 16, 2023. The tour
will cover Guwahati, Sivasagar, Jorhat and Kaziranga in
Assam, Unakoti, Agartala and Udaipur in Tripura,
Dimapur and Kohima (by bus) in Nagaland and Shillong and
Cherrapunji (by bus) in Meghalaya over the 15 days tour.
The Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC Tourist Train has a host of
modern features including two dining cars or restaurants, a
contemporary kitchen (flameless), shower cubicles in AC I
and AC II coaches, sensor-based washroom functions, a foot
massager and mini library. The fully air-conditioned train
provides three types of accommodation viz.
AC I, AC II and AC III. The train also has enhanced security
features like CCTV cameras, electronic safes and dedicated
security guards appointed for each coach.
Spanning over 14 nights and 15 days, the first stop of this
train is Guwahati where tourists will visit Kamakhya Temple,
followed by Umananda Temple and a sunset cruise on the
Brahmaputra river. This train will further depart on an
overnight journey for Naharlagun Railway Station which is 30
kms from the next destination Itanagar, the capital of
Arunachal Pradesh. The next city to follow is Sivasagar
– the old capital of the Ahom Kingdom in the eastern part of
Assam. The famous Shiva temple Sivadol is a part of the
itinerary besides other heritage sites like Talatal Ghar and
Rang Ghar (Colosseum of the East).
Further the tea gardens at Jorhat and an overnight stay at
Kaziranga along with an early morning jungle safari at
Kaziranga National Park will be experienced by the tourists.
Later, the train departs for the state of Tripura where the
guests cover the sightseeing of the famous heritage site of
Unakoti in the densely covered Jampui Hills. Later
they proceed for the capital city of Agartala, the tour of
which includes the famous Ujjayanta Palace, the Neermahal
and the Tripura Sundari Mandir at Udaipur.
Post Tripura, the train departs for Dimapur to cover the state
of Nagaland. The scenic train journey between Badarpur
station to Lumding can be witnessed by the guests in the
early hours of the morning from their seats.
From Dimapur station, tourists shall be taken to Kohima by
buses to visit the local sites including a tour of the Khonoma
village to experience the Naga way of life. The next halt for
the tourist train will be Guwahati from where the sightseers
will be taken to Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya, by
road with a pit stop at the majestic Umium Lake en route.
The next day starts with an excursion to Cherrapunji nestled
in the East Khasi Hills. Shillong Peak, Elephant Falls,
Nawkhalikai Falls and Mawsmai caves are a part of the day’s
sightseeing.
From Cherrapunji the tourists travel back to Guwahati Station
to board the train for the return train journey back to Delhi.
Around 5800 kms will be covered in the course of the entire
train tour.
It is pertinent to mention that the Bharat Gaurav Tourist
Train launch is in line with the Government of India initiatives
“Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” and “Dekho Apna Desh” to
encourage domestic tourism.
The IRCTC tourist train will be a 15-day all-inclusive tour
package with train journey in respective class, night stay at
AC hotels, all meals (vegetarian only), all transfer and
sightseeing in buses, travel insurance, services of tour escort
etc. All necessary health precautionary measures will be
taken care of and IRCTC will make efforts to provide a safe
and memorable experience to the guests.
