Offering an insight into rural Bengal and neighbouring Bihar, the cruises on the Ganges are six nights downstream or eight nights upstream from Patna or…
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The Hooghly river, a side stream of the Ganges, is dotted with historic sites, from Kolkata at its southernmost tip to Jangipur in the north. As you proceed up or downstream on these 7-night trips, you pass a string of former European capitals – abandoned cities of colonial empires with impressive buildings. Between tours of the monuments, take a cycle rickshaw ride into a local village and a leisurely stroll around Mughal gardens and tombs. Available around the year, these cruises afford an experience of off-track areas not accessible by any land-based itinerary of West Bengal.
The tour highlighted here is the 7-night Upstream journey from Kolkatta to Farakka. It is possible to do the reverse journey downstream.
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You will be met on arrival and transferred to your hotel, The Oberoi Grand, for the night. The remainder of your day will be at leisure.
After a leisurely breakfast, you will be collected from your hotel late in the morning and transferred to the jetty for embarking on The Rajmahal, your home from home for the next seven nights. You will set sail at midday and sail past the old Danish colony of Serampore to Barrackpore. Disembark and walk through the cantonment past the Semaphore Tower, Government House, the Temple of Fame, and Flagstaff House, its garden housing many British statues removed from central Calcutta.
Visit an 18th-century church and Dupleix Palace, once the residence of the erstwhile Governor-General of French India. Sail upstream past the old Dutch settlement of Chinsura before landing to visit the imposing Imambara at Hooghly. With verses from the Koran written on its walls, the Imambara is an opportunity to step back in time and relive a slice of Islamic history in Bengal. Sail into the night to a mooring near Kalna.
After breakfast, land at the country town of Kalna and take rickshaws to see a group of some of Bengal’s most attractive terracotta temples, including a unique Shiva temple with concentric rings made up of 108 shrinelets. You’ll also visit a muslin-weaving centre before continuing on through the countryside to Mayapur to visit 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. Sail on through the night to a mooring near Matiari.
This morning, you will visit the charming riverside village of Matiari, known for its brass work. Interact with the villagers and witness the traditional process of beating out brass water pots and other vessels. You then cruise on and visit 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, to change the course of Indian history. Moor close to Khushbagh for the night.
This morning, you’ll walk to Khushbagh, a peaceful Mughal-style garden that encloses the tombs of Siraj-ud-Daulah and his family. Continue a little way upstream to where the great Hazarduari Palace dominates the waterfront. Built by an English architect in 1837, the palace hosts an extensive collection of pictures, china, weapons and other objects. Carry on visiting the great Katra Mosque before driving out to the Katgola Palace. Built-in classical Georgian style by rich local merchants, Katgola Palace represents the other side of the coin of the 'White Mughal' period when English and Indian cultures came close to fusion. Moor overnight on the riverbank across from the town at Baranagar.
This morning, you will walk through the fields of the delightfully sleepy village of Baranagar to visit its three gorgeous miniature terracotta temples. This is rural India at its most idyllic. Continue up the lower Ganges (or the Hooghly), transforming into a picturesque waterway, twisting and turning between banks lined with mustard fields and mango orchards. Carry up a long canal section to a mooring close to the Farakka Barrage.
Today you enjoy a full-day excursion by road to Gaur, near the town of Malda or English Bazar. This quiet, deserted place was once one of India’s great cities, first under the Hindus in the 12th century, then as the Muslim capital of Eastern India from the 14th to the 16th century. There are plentiful remains of mosques, palaces and gateways and you’ll visit a number of the most interesting before rejoining the ship in the evening.
You disembark for a dawn transfer to Farakka station and a 4-hour train journey to Kolkata. On arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel for the night, and the remainder of your day will be at leisure.
Depending on the time of your onward flight, you will be appropriately transferred to the airport.
✓ International flights
✓ Arrival and departure transfers
✓ Nine nights of accommodation, including seven nights on the cruise and two nights in Kolkata
✓ All excursions on board with English-speaking guides
✓ Meal Plan: Full board on the cruise and Bed & Breakfast in Kolkata.
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