From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Nov 1: After announcing the prestigious Vande Bharat train to Meghalaya and Tripura last month, the Centre has now decided to operate the “North East Discovery” luxury fortnight-long tour to the Northeast covering important places in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.
The Ministry of Railways, in a collaborative initiative with IRCTC Ltd, will operate the “North East Discovery” tour to promote the less-travelled region. The specially-curated tour on Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC Tourist train will commence its journey from November 16 from New Delhi.
It will cover Guwahati, Sivasagar, Jorhat and Kaziranga in Assam; Unakoti, Agartala and Udaipur in Tripura; Dimapur and Kohima in Nagaland and Shillong and Sohra in Meghalaya.
The train has a host of modern features including two dining cars/restaurants, a contemporary kitchen (flameless), shower cubicles in AC I and AC II coaches, sensor-based washroom functions, foot massager and a mini library.
The fully air-conditioned train provides three types of accommodation – AC I, AC II and AC III. It has enhanced security features like CCTV cameras, electronic safes and dedicated security guards appointed for each coach.
The train’s first stop is Guwahati where tourists will visit Kamakhya temple, followed by a visit to Umananda temple and a sunset cruise on the Brahmaputra. It will further depart on overnight journey for Naharlagun which is 30 km from the next destination Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh.
The next place to be covered will be Sivasagar in upper Assam. The famous Shiva temple Sivadol is a part of the itinerary besides other heritage sites like Talatal Ghar and Rang Ghar.
The tourists will also visit tea gardens in Jorhat and stay overnight in Kaziranga along with a jungle safari at the Kaziranga National Park. Later, the train will depart for Tripura where the guests will set out for the famous heritage site Unakoti in the densely-covered Jampui Hills.
Subsequently, they will proceed to Agartala and visit the famous Ujjayanta Palace, Neermahal and Tripura Sundari Mandir at Udaipur. Post-Tripura, the train will leave for Dimapur in Nagaland.
From Dimapur railway station, the tourists will be taken to Kohima by buses for visiting local sites including a tour of the Khonoma village to experience the Naga way of life.
The next halt will be Guwahati from where the sightseers will be taken to Shillong by road with a pit stop at the majestic Umiam Lake. The next day starts with an excursion to Sohra.
Shillong Peak, Elephant Falls, Nohkalikai Falls and Mawsmai caves are a part of the day’s sightseeing. From Sohra, the tourists will travel back to Guwahati to board the train for the return journey to Delhi.
Around 5,800 km will be covered during the course of the entire tour. The Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train launch is in line with Government of India initiatives “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” and “Dekho Apna Desh” to encourage domestic tourism.
The IRCTC tourist train will be a 15-day all-inclusive tour package with train journey in respective class, night stay in AC hotels, all meals (vegetarian only), all transfer and sightseeing in buses, travel insurance, services of tour escort etc. All necessary health precautionary measures will be taken care of and IRCTC will make efforts to provide a safe and memorable experience to the guests.