MV Ganga Vilas to cost Rs 12.59 lakh for 51-day trip; PM Modi flags off world’s longest river cruise 

It would cost you over Rs 12.59 lakh for a 51-day trip to take the world’s longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas from Varanasi to Dibrugarh. The ticket price per person per day is Rs 24,962.25 or $300, according to Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Tickets for the Ganga Vilas cruise can be booked via the Antara Cruises website, the company that operates the Ganga Vilas cruise. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off the world’s longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas today via video conferencing. He also inaugurated the Varanasi Tent City. The 51-day-long cruise will cover 50 tourist spots including world heritage sites, national parks, river ghats, and major cities. According to a PMO release, this cruise will “herald a new age of river cruise tourism for India” and is in line with the Prime Minister’s endeavour to boost river cruise tourism. 

Details about Ganga Vilas capacity, itinerary, travel duration, and more 

1. The MV Ganga Vilas cruise has three decks and 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists. 

2. During its 51-day trip, the cruise will begin its journey from Varanasi and travel around 3,200 km to reach Dibrugarh via Bangladesh. 

3. This trip encompasses a total of 27 river systems of UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Assam and also 3 major rivers– Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Meghna. 

4. In Bengal, the Ganga Vilas cruise will enter five river systems– Bhagirathi, Hooghly, Malata, Bidyavati, and Sundarbans. 

5. The world’s largest river cruise will pass through Meghna, Padma and Jamuna in Bangladesh and then enter the Brahmaputra in Assam. 

6. The Ganga Vilas route also includes major cities like Patna (Bihar), Sahibganj (Jharkhand), Kolkata (West Bengal), Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Guwahati (Assam). 

7. Travellers will also get to visit the Bihar School of Yoga and Vikramshila University. 

8. The opulent 62.5 m long, 12.8 m wide, and 1.35 m deep cruise offers travellers all the required amenities. 

9. These amenities include life vests, smoke alarms, sprinklers, a bathroom with a shower, convertible beds, an LED TV, a safe, and a French balcony.

10, Eight river cruise vessels are operational between Kolkata and Varanasi and cruise movement is also operational on National Waterways 2 (Brahmaputra). 

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