Varanasi launched the MV Ganga Vilas luxury cruise, the world’s longest river cruise would depart from Varanasi and travel 3,200km in 51 days to Dibrugarh, Assam, across 27 river systems and many states.
The cruise visits 50 tourist places, including World Heritage sites, national parks, river ghats, and key cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh, and Guwahati in Assam.
The 36-passenger luxury cruise ship has three decks and 18 suites. The PMO reported 32 Swiss tourists for the entire inaugural trip.
It will stop at Buddhist Sarnath, Varanasi’s Ganga Arti, and Majuli, Assam’s largest river island. Travelers will visit Vikramshila University and the Bihar School of Yoga. Kaziranga National Park and the Sunderbans delta will also be visited.
The cruise director, Raj Singh, says this five-star mobile hotel has 18 suites. It holds 40 crew members. The vacation has a gym, spa, and salon.
Singh said the trip has noise-reduction and pollution-free systems. The ship’s STP prevents sewage from entering the Ganges, and its filtering plant cleans Ganga water for swimming and other uses.
This luxury costs INR25,000–INR50,000 per day for tourists.
Each passenger’s 51-day trip will cost around INR20 lakh. The Ganga Vilas Luxury Cruise’s main website sells tickets.
The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal, confirmed that each cruise passenger pays INR24,692.25. On Monday, Sonowal told reporters in Guwahati that Indians and foreigners pay the same.
