SINGAPORE, 8 November 2023: Pandaw welcomed its first guests of the Indian season this week in Kolkata as the river cruises’ local purser, Mr Sam, and crew greeted guests in traditional Indian style.
Sailing 12 nights along the mighty Ganges River to Varanasi, the small Pandaw river ship takes guests to the heart of life along this most famous of rivers to places inaccessible by road or train, all in the usual comfort and style that is Pandaw’s speciality.
Pandaw has released forward dates for sailings on this special expedition for 2024/25, reflecting a robust interest and positive sales for staterooms aboard this river cruise series in India.
More about the Ganges Expedition cruise
The cruise was first introduced in 2019 when Pandaw inaugurated an ‘all Ganges’ voyage of 1,000 miles from Kolkata to Varanasi. Today, faced with navigation challenges and numerous pontoon bridges hindering navigation, the cruise sails as far as Patna and then overland to Varanasi.
However, the revised route still covers sailing the scenic sections of the Ganges from the colonial splendours of Kolkota through the enchanting rural districts of West Bengal along the Hoogly and the great expanse of the Ganga itself with its pristine bird and wildlife and cultural treasures dotted along the banks.
Though in the days of the British Raj, paddle steamers plied this route regularly, with the advent of the railways in India, river navigation was abandoned, and the rivers were allowed to silt up. Thanks to a multi-million dollar investment from the Indian Government, channels have been dredged and buoyed, and hi-tech GPS-based aids installed, enabling seasonal navigation.
Varanasi, said to be the oldest inhabited city on the planet, is the most sacred city of Hinduism and a place of overwhelming beauty, at the same time poignantly moving with its cremation ghats. Varanasi is undoubtedly the goal of any ‘passage to India’, and at the other end of the holy river stands Kolkata, in all its Raj-like magnificence. Between lies several of the most important Buddhist sites in the country, fascinating cities great and small, as well as expanses of empty rivers teeming with bird life, not to mention the Gangeatic dolphin.
To book, visit pandaw.com, email [email protected] or speak to your local travel agent.
The Upper Ganges River
KOLKATA TO VARANASI
12 nights
FROM USD5,790.00
For more details on the Upper Ganges cruise
More on the cruise dates and prices https://www.pandaw.com/expeditions/the-upper-ganges-river-cruise/cruise-dates
