A Portrait of India River Cruise & Land Adventure

Arrive in Kolkata and transfer to the jetty for embarkation.

En route view the festivities of the “Festival of Lights” Diwali or Deepawali, is the most significant and famous festival of India which is celebrated every year all over the country. Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, and Ganesh, the God of Goodwill and Prosperity are worshipped after sunset to get blessings of health, wealth, and prosperity. Firecrackers and sky lanterns light up the sky.

Dinner and overnight onboard Ganges Voyager

After breakfast, proceed to visit Mother Teresa’s Home and Tomb. Mother Teresa started the Missionary of Charity and worked here until she died in 1997. The permanent exhibition includes a visit to her room, where we learn her life story and see her charity that is still active.

Return to the ship for lunch while we begin our journey sailing past the iconic bridges and through areas where various European settlers had established East Indian Companies, leaving many remnants of their settlements from the 17th through 19th Centuries.

Evening welcome reception.

Dinner and overnight onboard Ganges Voyager

This morning, we enjoy a rickshaw ride through the city center of Kalna en route to the enchanting Rajbari complex, with the highest concentration of temples in the region. Bengal’s mixture of temple architecture includes the Nabakailas Temples. Built-in 1809 by the Bardhaman Maharaja, the complex contains 108 eight slope-roofed temples – 74 in the outer circle here and another 34 making an inner circle. Another complex features diverse architecture, including the Pratapeshwar Temple, built in 1849. Terra cotta plaques depict themes of Hindu epics, the mythical life of Sree Chaitanya, images of Durga, and various aspects of day-to-day life in the region. Other temples on the site include Lalji Temple, the oldest in the complex (1739), and Krishnachandra Temple (1751).

We will also visit a local Weaver’s home to see the traditional Weaving of Muslin Cloth. Muslin or “malmal” is a cotton fabric of plain weave made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. Early muslin was handwoven of uncommonly delicate handspun yarn.

Return to the ship walking through the local market and sail onward to arrive at the shore-side village of Matiari.

Dinner and overnight onboard Ganges Voyager

Enjoy an early morning walk to the shore-side village of Matiari, which is known for manufacturing beautiful handcrafted brass items, utilizing traditional methods passed down for generations. These master craftsmen utilize recycled copper to create exquisite pots, platters, and more from their workshops in the village. Also, visit a sweet shop to see traditional sweets being made.

We then continue our journey upstream, sailing past the battlefield of Plassey, where Robert Clive of British East India Company defeated the Mogul Nawabs in 1757. The rulers of Bengal and their French allies established the company rule in India, which spread through much of South Asia for the next 190 years.

Evening cultural music and dance program.

Dinner and overnight onboard Ganges Voyager

Morning explores Murshidabad, a hidden architectural gem with dramatic whitewashed colonial-era structures. Ride horse carts (local buggy) to the Katra Mosque. Built by the first Nawab of Murshidabad – Murshid Quli Khan in 1724-25, this mosque has distinctive minarets from which the muezzin calls the faithful to Friday prayers. Then visit the Hazarduari Palace, which dominates the waterfront, built during the reign of Nawab Nazim Humayun Jah (1824-1838 AD) by an English architect, McLeod Duncan, in the Greek “Doric” style. The palace has more than a thousand real and false doors in the vast corridors and is filled with colonial-era antiques, artwork, and manuscripts.

We sail towards Mayapur while enjoying lunch onboard.

Dinner and overnight onboard Ganges Voyager

Morning walk through the pilgrim’s bazaar and visit the ISKCON temple. Mayapur is the headquarters of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness. The new temple here is comparable in size to the Vatican and largely funded by Alfred B. Ford, the great-grandson of car maker Henry Ford. Meet and interact with Krishna followers.

Return to ship and sail to Chandernagore, established as a French colony in 1673. Evening Heritage Walk to explore the French colonial buildings along the promenade, including Dupleix Palace, the French governor’s residence, which now houses the Institut de Chandernagore Museum (closed on Thursdays and Saturdays). It has a collection of rare French antiques, personal belongings of French governor generals, and items that depict life during the 18th century and relics of the French colonial and local history of Chandernagore. Also, visit the Sacred Heart Church of Chandernagore.

Sail onward to arrive in Kolkata by night.

Dinner and overnight onboard Ganges Voyager.

Festival of Chhath Puja

Morning after breakfast proceed for sightseeing tour of Kolkata. Visit the Flower Market, a feast for the eyes. Located below and adjacent to the Howrah Bridge that spans the sacred river Ganges, the market is bustling from the wee hours of the morning. Countless vendors and buyers exchange money for flowers and countless locals carry bales of flowers that are at least twice their weight. Proceed to visit Kumartuli, a traditional potters’ quarter in northern Kolkata that specializes in clay idol making.

Return to ship for lunch. Thereafter proceed for a Panoramic Tour of the well-preserved British colonial buildings in Kolkata: Writer’s Building, General Post Office, High Court, Raj Bhawan (Governor’s House), Town Hall, Council House, Treasury Building, Reserve Bank of India, and Dalhousie Square. The day continues with a visit to St. John’s Church, the oldest Anglican Church in Kolkata, built in 1756. It features the oldest functioning pipe organ in India and several tombs of British Generals who died during the Siege of Kolkata by Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula. Also visit to the Victoria Memorial Museum.

Prayers during the festival of Chhath Puja are dedicated to the solar deity, Surya (the Sun God) to show gratitude and thankfulness for bestowing the bounties of life on earth and to request that certain wishes be granted. Chhathi Maiya, the Sun God’s sister is worshipped as the Goddess of the festival, which is celebrated six days after Diwali. The rituals are observed over four days and these include holy bathing in the river, fasting and abstaining from drinking water, standing in water, and offering prasad (specially cooked food) to the setting and rising sun. The festival can be observed during sailing on the Ganges. You would see many devotees thronging the riverbank for ritual activities and hear the echoes of Hindu chanting.

Evening cultural program and farewell dinner.

Dinner and overnight onboard Ganges Voyager.

Early morning transfer to the airport with packed breakfast for your flight to Raipur.

On arrival in Raipur drive to Kanha (4-5 hours) and check in your resort.

Kanha National Park – Kanha is amongst the most famous wildlife sanctuaries of India. This park is situated in the Mandla district of Central India in Madhya Pradesh. The main wildlife attractions in the park are tiger, leopard, bison, gaur, sambhar, chital, Barasingha, barking deer, black deer, blackbuck, Chousingha, nilgai, mouse deer, sloth bear, jackal fox, porcupine, hyena, jungle cat, python, peafowl, hare, monkey, and mongoose. Kanha National Park is the place that has been portrayed by Rudyard Kipling in his great novel “The Jungle Book”.

Afternoon game drive in the park by jeep.

Lunch, Dinner, and overnight at The Bagh Resort, Kanha

.Morning and afternoon game drive in the park by jeep.

Lunch, Dinner, and overnight at The Bagh Resort, Kanha

Morning game drive in the park by jeep.

 Evening you would like to go on…

 A walk through a tribal village: An unsoiled authentic India, you find yourself drifting through small villages that have fields of paddy, sugarcane, and other seasonal crops around their periphery. The first thing you notice is the bright smiling faces of little children content with their makeshift toys. Women went about their daily chores: drawing water either from the hand pump or the village well, and men returning from the fields or attending to odd jobs around the house. The houses of the village are mostly built with handmade mud bricks, plastered with mud, and cow dung with a layer of limestone used as paint.

OR

Leisure & Nature Walk: Although Safari remains the prime attraction of the jungle, Nature Trails are for those who wish to explore nature closely on foot and for those who find joy in every little the wonder of the jungle. Accompanied by a trained naturalist this is an amazing way to know about flora, butterflies, insects, birds, and small mammals that come across your walk.

Evening, you’ll witness and experience a traditional tribal dance.

Lunch, Dinner, and overnight at The Bagh Resort, Kanha

Morning drive to Raipur (4-5 hours) and fly to Delhi. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to the hotel.

Dinner and overnight at the Hotel

Breakfast. Morning a day return to Agra (approx. 4-hrs drive via the Expressway)

On arrival in Agra visit the Taj Mahal (WHS), built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Begum who died giving birth to their fourteenth child in 1631. Heartbroken by her death, legend has it that Shah Jahan’s hair turned grey overnight and he turned his back on running the empire, concentrating instead on the construction of this monument to love. Construction took 22 years and was completed by 1653.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Also visit Agra Fort (WHS), built by Emperor Akbar, which is perhaps the best-preserved fort in India. Construction of this crescent-shaped fort 2.5km in circumference commenced in 1565. Contained within the huge double outer walls up to 20m high and broken by a series of huge gates, the fort is almost a city within a city. Initially, the fort was a military structure but under the rule of Shah Jahan, Akbar’s grandson, many additions were made. Today these palatial buildings are silent witnesses to the rise and fall of the Imperial Mughal Empire and are exemplars of Islamic architecture and decoration.

Later drive back to Delhi.

Dinner and overnight at the Hotel.

Breakfast. Morning check-out from the hotel and proceed on a Delhi tour.

Visit of Old Delhi. We pass by Red Fort, the palace for the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan. Enjoy a rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk (the old shopping street) and view Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India. Visit Raj Ghat, a memorial to the great Mahatma Gandhi.

Afternoon visit Humayun’s Tomb, known as the first example of Mughal Imperial architecture. Drive past the President’s house along the majestic Rajpath and visit the Temple of the Sikhs. Also visit the 800-year-old Qutab Minar, a 234 ft. high sandstone tower.

Later transfer to the airport for your homebound flight.

Tour ends