MV Ganga Vilas, world's longest river cruise, to culminate in Assam's Dibrugarh

MV Ganga Vilas - the world's longest river cruise - will on Tuesday culminate its journey in Assam's Dibrugarh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the luxury cruise, which has a capacity of carrying 36 passengers, in Varanasi on January 13.

"MV Ganga Vilas will culminate its journey on February 28 in Dibrugarh. A welcome ceremony will be organised by the Inland Waterways Authority of India, under the aegis of ministry of ports, shipping and waterways...in Dibrugarh on the same day," Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) said in a statement.

The cruise was scheduled to travel over 3,200 km through 27 river systems in five Indian states and Bangladesh. It is carrying 32 tourists from Switzerland. Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Monday 'MV Ganga Vilas' has put India and Bangladesh on the global river cruise map, opening up a new horizon and vertical for tourism and freight carriage in the Indian subcontinent.

About journey of MV Ganga Vilas:

- MV Ganga Vilas was scheduled to travel over 51 days before reaching Dibrugarh via Patna Sahib, Bodh Gaya, Vikramshila, Dhaka, the Sundarbans and the Kaziranga National Park.

-The ticket price for this luxurious cruise per day is around ?25,000 to ?50,000. The total cost for the entire trip will be around ?20 lakh for each passenger.

-The international cruise is being offered by Antara Luxury River Cruises. Tickets can be booked from their website. The bookings are not open as the ongoing voyage has been booked by a Switzerland company. The next voyage is likely to be held in September for which booking will open.

-The famous 'Ganga arti' in Varanasi and Sarnath, a place of great reverence for Buddhism, Sundarbans, a Unesco world heritage site in West Bengal, Mayong, known for its Tantric craft, and Majuli, the largest river island and hub of Vaishnavite culture in Assam, are among places that MV Ganga Vilas’ tourists could experience.

-Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal had earlier said that the vessel would carry 32 tourists from Switzerland and 14 of them would disembark at Kolkata with an equal number of boarding again for the onward journey to Dibrugarh, from where they will fly back to New Delhi. He also said that another set of 32 tourists from the same country will board the ship on their way to Varanasi.

-Sonowal had also said the ‘MV Ganga Vilas’ would herald a new age of river cruise tourism in India. The global river cruise market has grown at 5 per cent over the last few years and is expected to constitute 37 per cent of the cruise market by 2027, according to an estimate. In India, eight river cruise ships are operational between Kolkata and Varanasi, while cruise movement is also operational on the Brahmaputra river.

(With inputs from agencies)