Varanasi, Jan 11: Thirty-two Swiss tourists will be part of the inaugural sail of ‘MV Ganga Vilas’ that will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conferencing on January 13.
MV Ganga Vilas, the luxury triple-deck cruise, reached Varanasi from Kolkata on Monday.
Joint director tourism Priti Srivastava said, “The MV Ganga Vilas has reached Varanasi and docked at Ramnagar port. The group of 32 Swiss tourists will board the cruise on January 13. This will be a chartered cruise, booked by a Switzerland-based company for Swiss tourists and there will be no Indian tourist on it.”
Divisional commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma said with the launch of the world’s longest river voyage, Varanasi will herald a new age of river cruise tourism for India. The luxury cruise will cover a distance of more than 3,200 km across 27 river systems in five states in India and Bangladesh.
The cruise will reach Dibrugrah on March 1 where tourists on board will get an opportunity to stop at 50 tourist sites to experience the spiritual, educational, cultural as well as the richness of the biodiversity of India.
The itinerary of MV Ganga Vilas has been curated in a way to showcase the rich heritage of India with stopovers made at places of historical, cultural and religious importance, said the officials adding that the journey will start after witnessing ‘Ganga Arti’ and visit to Sarnath, a place of great reverence for Buddhism.
The cruise will also be covering Mayong, known for its Tantric craft, and Majuli, the largest river island and hub of Vaishnavite culture in Assam.
The travellers will also visit the Bihar School of Yoga and Vikramshila University, allowing them to soak in the rich Indian heritage in spirituality and knowledge. The cruise will also traverse through the biodiversity rich world heritage sites of Sunderbans in Bay of Bengal delta, famous for royal Bengal tigers, as well as Kaziranga National Park, famous for one-horn rhino.
The MV Ganga Vilas vessel, which is 62 meters in length, 12 meters in width and comfortably sails with a draft of 1.4 meters, has three decks, 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with all the amenities to provide a memorable and luxurious experience for the tourists.