Itinerary
KOLKATA – JORHAT – KAZIRANGA NP – DHANSIRI MUKH – KAZIRANGA EASTERN RANGE – MAJULI ISLAND – TEA ESTATE – SIBSAGAR – DIBRUGARH – KOLKATA
DAY 01 – FLY TO KOLKATA
Fly to Kolkata with Emirates Airlines via Dubai, other flights are available, check with us for other options
DAY 02 – ARRIVE KOLKATA – The Astor Hotel
Arrive, meet & greet then transfer to your hotel. Rest of the day is at leisure to relax after your flight.
DAY 03 – KOLKATA (B)
Today you are taken on a full day tour visiting the major sights of the city like Victoria Memorial, National Library, Marble Palace, South Park Cemetery, Hooghly River, and Mother Teresa home.
DAY 04 – KOLKATA TO GUWAHATI (D) – Assam Bengal Navigation
Transfer to Kolkata airport in time to board the flight for Guwahati.
Arrive at Guwahati airport and driven 4 ½ hrs to Steemer Ghat, where you are welcomed onboard ABN Charaidew.
The rest of the day and night is at leisure to explore the boat, take a leisure dinner.
DAY 05 – KAZIRANGA NP & VISHNATH (FB)
Disembark pre-dawn and drive to Kaziranga National Park’s Central Range for an early morning elephant ride, the best way to get really close to the rhino and other animals. Return to breakfast on board cruising upstream with Kaziranga National Park on the right bank. Around midday we reach Vishnath, with an Ahom-period Shiva temple. There are other later temples too, and we walk through the town before reboarding and setting off again, with Kaziranga still on the far bank. Wild elephant may sometimes be spotted, and once, memorably, a tiger.
DAY 06 – CRUISING (FB)
The day is spent on the river, and we have a good chance of spotting Gangetic dolphin, as well as creating a sensation in bankside villages as we pass. We should arrive in the evening at lonely Dhansiri Mukh.
DAY 07 – KAZIRANGA EASTERN RANGE (FB)
This morning we land and take a jeep safari in Kaziranga’s little-visited Eastern Range, with grasslands much favored by the rhino, where you might spot the rare Bengal Florican. Returning to the boat, we continue our cruise upstream
DAY 08 – CRUISING & LOCAL VILLAGE (FB)
Another day spent cruising upstream. We shall take time to pause and walk through a bankside village, getting an insight into the life of rural India.
DAY 09 – MAJULI ISLAND (FB)
Around breakfast time, we should reach Majuli Island, supposedly the world’s largest river island, and possessing unique Hindu monasteries famed for their dance-drama performances – the whole island is now shortlisted for future UNESCO World Heritage status. We visit a monastery at Auniati with an eclectic museum, then attend a dance performance at Kamalbari monastery, before cruising across to Neamati Ghat on the opposite bank.
DAY 10 – TEA ESTATE & SIBSAGAR (FB)
We visit Horu Charai tea estate this morning and see all the processes of tea production (factory inoperative between December and mid-March) then drive for about an hour to Sibsagar, the one-time capital of the kings of Assam. Shan by origin (Assam and Siam share the same derivation) but converted to Hinduism they ruled Assam for some 700 years until the 1820s, and their culture and architecture is a strange and delightful amalgam of Indian and S.E. Asian. We shall see temples with stupa-like profiles, and palaces of distinctive form – note the crocodiles and rather sexy caryatids that adorn the roof of the Rang Mahal. For the record book, the temple tank here is believed to be the world’s largest hand-excavated reservoir. We return to the ship which will have cruised up to Dikhou Mukh close to Sibsagar, and spend our last night on board. (Dependent on river conditions the last night may be spent at Neamati, close to Jorhat).
DAY 11 – DISEMBARK JORHAT TO KOLKATA (B) – The Astor Hotel
AM drive 1½ Hrs to Jorhat airport in time to board the flight for Kolkata. Arrive Kolkata and transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is then at leisure.
DAY 12 – KOLKATA HOMEBOUND (B)
Today your transferred to the international terminal for your homebound flight.
Special Value
- A gift when you book your trip with us, a DVD film called ‘Mystic India.’
- International flights included
- Useful gift is given to you on arrival
- Private arrival and departure transfers
- Private car & driver for all road transfers
- Snack Hamper, with juice and water in your private car
- Mobile phone to use while in India to keep in contact with our local office and your driver
- Meals as per itinerary (BB = breakfast) (HB = breakfast, lunch or dinner) (FB = breakfast, lunch & dinner)
- Private guide for sightseeing in Kolkata
- Entrances to all monument and places of interest included
- Full Board on your cruise
- Places of interest as per the cruise itinerary
Our tour features the following locations
KOLKATA: Kolkata is often seen as a poor and chaotic place to be in, thought to be undeserving of its status as one of India’s top four metros, and that may have something to do with the fewer number of travellers visiting the city. It certainly looks that way, until you realise that its true charms lie in its deep-rooted culture, its unique way of life and its quintessential East meets West attitude. The city is surrounded by fascinating natural beauty, ranging from the iconic Sunderbans and their man-eating tigers to the serene hills of Darjeeling. Popularly called the intellectual and cultural capital of the country, Kolkata is also one of those few destinations where traditional gentlemen’s clubs, an ancient way of life, historic customs and that ‘friendly vibe’ still exists. Don’t miss out on the colonial architecture, never ignore that mouth-wateringly delicious Bengali food and just have a blast talking to the locals. The best time to visit Kolkata is during Durga Puja, a celebration that engulfs the entire city in festival lights, street carnivals, beautiful fairs and spectacular displays of its rich cultural and artistic heritage.
BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER: Anyone who has travelled by train or plane through India, or who has been driven on Indian roads, will be amazed to learn that there is actually a way to travel through the country in total serenity and comfort. It is, in fact, possible to cruise for some 1750 miles on the rivers and inland waterways of India, passing through great cities, alongside wildlife sanctuaries and historical monuments and into the heart of rural India. Wildlife and wilderness are the main features of a cruise in Assam on the vast Brahmaputra river – the river bed is often 20 or 30 km across, an empty world of sand spits and water with marvellous bird life and the occasional Gangetic Dolphin. The cruises here also give access to a number of India’s National Parks, including Kaziranga, perhaps the finest of all, and Manas, a Project Tiger reserve on the Bhutan border.
What our clients say
Book your tour with Mystic India, we highly recommended then. My wife and I have just returned from a tour of Darjeeling and Sikkim, and every step of the way went without one single hitch. Their local agents called us each day to on our mobile phone which was given to us to use during our tour which came in very handy when we went for walks on our own and needed to let the driver know we were ready to meet him. Thank you so much, we want to go back again and explore another area.
Riva & Glen – Ludlow
