World's longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas to reach its final destination in Assam on Feb 28

HIGHLIGHTS

• MV Ganga Vilas started off from Varanasi on January 13
• The cruise will cover 3,200 km to reach Dibrugarh in Assam
• MV Ganga Vilas has the capacity of carrying 36 passengers

The MV Ganga Vilas billed as the world's longest river cruise, will arrive in Dibrugarh, Assam, on January 28. It started off from Varanasi on January 13 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, news agency PTI reported.

"MV Ganga Vilas will culminate its journey on February 28 in Dibrugarh. A welcome ceremony will be organised by the Inland Waterways Authority of India, under the aegis of Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways...in Dibrugarh on the same day," IWAI said in a statement.

In Assam, the event will be attended by Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, along with other union and state ministers.

Flagged off from Varanasi, the cruise would have covered a distance of 3,200 kilometres in 50 days to reach Dibrugarh. Meanwhile, before reaching the destination, it stopped at Patna Sahib, Bodh Gaya, Vikramshila, Dhaka, the Sundarbans, and Kaziranga National Park. The ship has three decks and 18 suites, with a capacity of 36 passengers. It is already reserved for round-trip travel for the next two years.

"MV Ganga Vilas has put India and Bangladesh on the river cruise map of the world, thus opening a new horizon and vertical for tourism and freight carriage in the Indian sub-continent. Tourists seeking spirituality have the opportunity to visit destinations like Kashi, Bodh Gaya, Vikramshila, Patna Sahib and those keen on witnessing the natural diversity will cover destinations like Sundarbans and Kaziranga.

"This route heralds a new chapter for freight carriage through inland waterways both for India and Bangladesh," Sonowal said.

World's longest river cruise, MV Ganga Vilas, which offers a 51-day trip from Varanasi to Dibrugarh via Bangladesh has the capacity of carrying 36 passengers. The ticket price for the longest river cruise is around Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000. The entire trip costs each passenger over Rs 20 lakh.

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

Also Read: MV Ganga Vilas cruise: Check ticket price, steps to book, full route and more