Join RV Katha Pandaw on this 20-day Upper Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers cruise from Guwahati to Varanasi. Uncover the charms of Assami city as you visit the Nilachi Hill temple and the Commonwealth Graves. Explore the intricately adorned portals of the De Parbatia temple and admire the medieval carvings at Cole Park, showcasing a diverse collection from the region. Experience a thrilling jeep safari to Kaziranga, a UNESCO World Heritage, home to the Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros and Indian Wild Water Buffalo. Visit the Tea Gardens and Sualkuchi Silk Village, then take your flight to Kolkata and continue your expedition down the Hooghly River. Stroll along the riverside, explore an 18th-century church, and trace the history of Dupleix's House, once the residence of the Governor-General of French India.
Highlights
Explore the Nameri National Park & take a float trip down Jia-Bhoreli River
Visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Kaziranga National Park
Experience the vast ISKCON temple in Mayapur, hub for Krishna devotees
Discover the home of Jim Corbett, a naturalist & protector of Indian tigers
Activity options vary depending on destination and operator. Activity level is determined by the range and intensity of activities you choose to participate in. Discuss with your Trip Planner which options are best for you.
Depart Varanasi in the morning and head to the train station for your journey to Patna where you meet your Pandaw vessel. Relax onboard and meet your crew and fellow passengers for the next 12 nights.
Morning city tour of Patna including a visit to The Golghar, a large stupa-styled granary built in 1786. Sail downstream during lunch before arriving at Barh, a town famous for Hindu ritual cremation at Urmanath and the Alakhnath Temple.
Stop at Mokama, once home to Jim Corbett the naturalist and protector of the Indian tigers. Surrounded by farmlands, Mokama has the second highest production of lentils in the country. Learn about the freedom fighters from Mokama such as Lalldin Saheb, who during the freedom struggle was sentenced to jail during British rule.
Munger is now a large and industrialized city but has an interesting history. In 1762, Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal, shifted his capital from Murshidabad to Munger and established a firearms manufacturing center here. Explore the Mughal fort, and East India Company cemetery and step inside the Bihar School of Yoga founded in 1964 by Satyananda Saraswati. One of the leading yoga schools in the country. The institution has developed yogic techniques through a synthesis of traditional yogic, vedantic, and tantric practices and contemporary health science.
Continue to Jahanigra Island, a place of pilgrimage with many rock carvings in high relief dating from the eighth century depicting aspects of Siva and Vishnu. In the evening moor off Sultanganj, with its pair of great granite rocks, one crowned with a mosque and the other a small temple dating from the 16th century
Sailing along this stretch of the river provides an opportunity to spot the rare Gangeatic dolphins. Land at Bhaglapur, a center of silk production, and visit the 18th-century mansion of the Collector, Augustus Cleveland. Passing the confluence of the Kosi river that flows down from Nepal, moor at the pretty town of Bateshwarsthan to uncover the 8th-century Buddhist site of Vikramshila, one of the two most important centers of learning in India during the Pala Empire, along with Nalanda.
Enter a section of river rich in bird life, before stopping at Samtaghat, otherwise known as Raj Mahal. Cross from the Lower Ganges or Hooghly River to the Ganges itself through the Farraka canal and lock, which was constructed in 1963- 75. Passing into the great river the great Farraka barrage is visible just downstream. This effectively dams the Ganges and strategically controls the flow of water into neighboring Bangladesh.
Continue cruising towards Murshidabad to where the great Hazarduari Palace dominates the waterfront. Explore the city, a hidden architectural gem along the river with dramatic, whitewashed, colonial-era structures including Katra Mosque and Katgola palaces.
Take a late afternoon walk to the Khushbagh, a peaceful Mughal-style garden that encloses the tombs of Siraj-ud-Daulah – the last independent Nawab of Bengal – and his family. Later, cruised past the battlefield of Plassey where, in 1757, Robert Clive, the Commander-in-Chief of British India, defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal.
Set off to discover the brass-working village of Matiari. Interact with the local artisans and learn how these skilled craftsmen all specialize in a different process – from beating the metal to etching the designs. Witness the whole process involved to create brass water pots, trays, and other vessels. Continue sailing towards Mayapur to explore the vast new ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) temple which dominates the skyline. As the headquarters of ISKCON or the Hare Krishna movement, the temple receives over a million singing and dancing devotees a year from around the world.
Land at the country town of Kalna and take rickshaws to see a group of some of Bengal's most attractive terracotta temples, as well as the unique Shiva temple with concentric rings made up of 108 lesser shrines. On the way back to the ship explore the colorful local market full of fruit sellers and fish mongers.
Sail past the Portuguese settlement of Bandel and the old Dutch settlement of Chinsura before arriving at Chandernagore, a French possession until 1950. Stroll along the riverside promenade, and visit the 18th-century church and Dupleix’s House, the erstwhile Governor-General of French India. Moor overnight near Kolkata.
Disembark the ship at 08:00 and transfer to the airport for your flight to Guwahati. On arrival transfer to the ship and explore this pleasant Assami city visiting the Nilachai Hill temple and Commonwealth Graves. Late afternoon cast off upriver.
Exploring the town by trishaw you visit the De Parbatia temple with its richly carved portals and Cole Park with its collection of medieval carvings collected from across the region.
After an early breakfast, drive for some two hours to the Nameri National Park at the foot of the blue hills of Arunachal Pradesh, the old North East Frontier Agency. Here, you take a float trip of around two hours down the Jia-Bhoreli River through the park. There are excellent bird-watching opportunities here (look out for the great Hornbills) and, perhaps, the chance of sighting wild elephants. After lunch, take a village walk before returning to the ship. Continue upstream, passing below a seemingly endless new bridge across the vast width of the riverbed, to moor at Silghat.
Jeep safari to Kaziranga an area of approximately 430 sq km, this UNESCO World Heritage is home to the world’s largest population of the Indian OneHorned Rhinoceros as well as the Indian Wild Water Buffalo. It has the highest density of Royal Bengal Tigers with one every five sq. km. The park is an incredibly rich biodiversity hotspot with its marshy swamps and thickets of elephant grass, this park supports large populations of Indian elephants, Indian bison, swamp deer, and capped langurs. Besides wildlife, Kaziranga National Park is also a birding paradise. A few of the bird species found here are the oriental honey buzzard, black-shouldered kite, white-tailed eagle, himalayan griffon to mention a few.
Return downstream to visit a tea estate and historic plantation house on the way. Learn about the tea production process from start to finish in this idyllic setting.
Sailing down past Guwhati moor here in the afternoon to see silk production from the cocoon to spinning and weaving to make the typical saree worn by Assami women.
Day 20: Guwahati | Disembark
1 Breakfast
Disembark in the morning and transfer to the airport.
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Main Deck Staterooms
8 main deck staterooms
Bedroom: 12' x 10'
Bathroom: 6' x 4'
Showeroom: 2'8" x 3'4"
Single Bed: 6'7" x 3'3"
*Available in Twin and Double Configuration
Upper Deck Staterooms
4 upper deck staterooms
Bedroom: 12' x 10'
Bathroom: 6' x 4'
Showeroom: 2'8" x 3'4"
Single Bed: 6'7" x 3'3"
*Available in Twin and Double Configuration
Everything was amazing! The planning with Adventure Life went smoothly. The actual trip was fantastic! One of the best trips I have experienced. The cruise staff members were knowledgeable and attentive. I will be writing more about this on the blog!
The persons I spoke with knew the material. I wont know until I actually take the trip if it was all correct but at this point they were helpful in finding a trip that met my criteria
SS
4 days ago
Creating a checklist was very beneficial and meeting objectives on certain dates helped as well (to keep my trip organized). The Adventure Travel personnel helped keep me on track which is why my trip was so successful. Communication from both travel agencies (AT/MT) was vital.
Iziah Carthens
5 days ago
This is an amazing company to work with. I generally do not use tour companies as I am more of an independent traveller so I was slightly reticent. They were fantastic from the start - 10/10 - from lining up a phone call to discuss requirements, then their ongoing communication in the lead up to the tour and during it (thank you, Franny and Phen). They also explored cost-effective options (eg group transfers). The tour was in Patagonia so Adventure Life organised a pickup from the El Calafate airport to the El Chalten accommodation, two day hikes with a private guide and then to the El Calafate accommodation. A tour coordinator came to the hotel to explain, using the maps, what was involved in each day tour and what should be expected, and patiently answered all questions. The tour guide Marcos was excellent - very professional, knowledgable, communicative and at all times felt very safe with his navigational skills (important in the Patagonian wilderness). On the second day I forgot to take hiking poles so Marcos kindly gave me his. I honestly wouldn't have changed a thing and would happily recommend and book through them again.
Petrina Sta
1 week ago
Adventure Life has been great throughout my planning process for our up and coming Galapagos cruise. Kevin Moore, in particular, was very helpful in assisting me in making choices and providing me with options. He was also very patient, as I worked through figuring out what I really wanted in this vacation.
Lucy Greenway
1 week ago
Adventure Life was a pleasure to work with. They helped us find different options for our charter and answered a lot of questions with patience and clarity.
