One luxury river cruise is making history on an all-new Indian voyage.
On Friday, Antara Cruises launched its MV Ganga Vilas ship, a vessel set to travel 1, 988 miles of waterways in India and Bangladesh. The journey spans 51 days, making it the world’s longest river cruise, according to organizers. While on the particular course, passengers will journey along the Ganges, India’s holiest river, as well because other waterways through five states within western India. The deliver will also venture into the neighboring South Asian country of Bangladesh, visiting the national parks, UNESCO World Heritage sites and big cities.
The particular MV Ganga Vilas will be designed to carry 36 passengers in 18 luxe suites, since well as 48 crew. Because the long-haul cruise was solely marketed in Europe, its initial round associated with passengers are from Switzerland, France plus other countries. The ship’s interiors are usually inspired by 20th-century works by German painter Josef Albers, known for his vibrant color square paintings. The cruise has been originally planned to set sail in 2020 but was delayed by the pandemic.
According to CNN , India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees the particular cruise because one of the centerpieces of his government’s infrastructure initiatives. He even made a speech in December that recognized the luxury cruise as a trend that could bring more visitors to Indian, home of the Himalayas, the Golden Temple and the particular Holi Festival. “This will be an unprecedented cruise trip of its kind within the whole world, ” Modi said in a statement. “It will also be the reflection associated with the growing cruise tourism (industry) in India. ”
Water cruises have been popular within Europe and North America for some time, with multiple companies regularly trailing the Danube, Rhine plus Seine. But the concept is still fairly new in India seeing as the country’s rivers—most notably the particular Ganges—continue in order to struggle with severe pollution. Yet there are plans underway to increase opportunities for water tourism in India. One of its incentives includes building 10 passenger ship terminals along National Waterway-2, an 891-kilometer section of the Brahmaputra River. The particular country also has eight lake cruise ships that are capable of traveling between Varanasi and Kolkata.
Kashif Siddiqui, Antara’s director associated with sales and marketing, told CNN in an interview that the plan is to run the nearly 2, 000-mile sail on the particular Ganges twice a year between October plus March when the weather is nice and the river water is usually high. Tickets to board the MV Ganga Vilas costs among 4. two million in order to 4. 5 million rupees, or $51, 114 to $54, 765 per guest. Siddiqui claims tickets for two scheduled 2024 voyages have already sold out.
Antara furthermore offers several upscale vacation cruise itineraries aboard the MV Ganga Vilas that are shorter within duration. 1 route from Kolkata in order to Murshidabad in West Bengal runs with regard to eight times and costs 292, 875 rupees, or $3, 500, while a trip through Kolkata to Varanasi lasts 12 days and expenses 437, 250 rupees ($5, 300). For more details, visit the Antara website .