Varanasi, Jan 11: With the Ganga Vilas Cruise, the world's longest river cruise to be inaugurated on January 13, a group of 33 Swiss tourists were welcomed with a Dhobia folk dance at the Babatpur airport as they arrived today in Varanasi.
The tourists from Switzerland will travel by Ganga Vilas Cruise to the Dibrugarh region of Assam on January 13. Tourists were welcomed to the tune of Shehnai and Dhobia dance as they arrived in Varanasi. After arriving in Babatpur, the Swiss guests were taken to the port at Ramnagar. After boarding the cruise at Ramnagar, tourists will visit Ramnagar Fort in the evening.
After visiting Ramnagar Fort, they will witness Ganga Aarti and rest through the night on Ganga Vilas Cruise. On January 11, the tourists will travel to Chunar Fort and Ghantaghar. Cultural programs have been organized for the tourists at Ravidas Ghat. The tourist group includes 32 tourists and a German guide.
Meanwhile, the Ganga Vilas luxury cruise, which left Kolkata on December 22, reached Ramnagar Port in Varanasi on Tuesday. The cruise will move from the Ramnagar port to Sant Ravidas Ghat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually flag off the MV Ganga Vilas Cruise Yatra on January 13. The luxury triple-deck cruise will travel on the world's longest waterway from Varanasi to Dibrugarh in Assam. The cruise has a capacity of 80 passengers with 18 suits and will go on an adventurous journey for 51 days and pass through Bangladesh for 15 days.
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The cruise will head to Dibrugarh through the Brahmaputra river in Assam. It will cover a distance of more than 3,200 kms and pass through 5 states in India and Bangladesh. This cruise will pass through a total of 27 river systems of UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Assam.
The cruise will pass through three major rivers Ganga, Meghna, and Brahmaputra. The cruise will enter the Bhagirathi, Hooghly, Bidyavati, Malata, and Sundarbans river systems in Bengal. In Bangladesh, it will pass through Meghna, Padma, and Jamuna in Bangladesh and then enter the Brahmaputra in Assam.
According to an official statement, the 51 days cruise is planned with visits to 50 tourist spots including World Heritage Sights, National Parks, river Ghats, and major cities like Patna, Kolkata Guwahati in India, and Dhaka in Bangladesh.