India Cruise – 5 or 8 Days Lower Ganges River Cruise
Overview 2023 & 2024 (Historic Hooghly)

India Cruise – Lower Ganges River Cruise – ABN Rajmahal Features

ABN Rajmahal, entered service on the Lower Ganges and the Ganges proper on schedule in mid-February 2014.
Built in Kolkata, her length is 51 metres and breadth is 10.40 metres. Powered by 3 engines, her extra-shallow draught and a lower profile than conventional designs allow her to cruise further  upstream than any of her competitors.

The boutique vessel, ABN Rajmahal, has 22 cabins with French balconies. The décor is stylish and fresh with touches of colonial elegance, brought to life by traditional Indian-inspired designs on hand-blocked cotton fabrics.

The excellent cuisine on board is a mixture of Assamese (milder than most Indian cuisine) and continental. Wines, beer and spirits are available.
A small spa onboard offers a wide range of relaxing treatments.

• 22 spacious cabins:
  14 Upper Deck spacious twin/double cabins (196 sq. ft/18.2 sq. m)
  4 Main Deck spacious twin/double cabins (196 sq. ft/18.2 sq. m)
  4 Main Deck spacious single cabins (160 sq. ft/14.9 sq. m)
• Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass window with French balconies
• En suite shower/WC with boutique toiletries
• Tea/coffee making facilities in cabins
• Refrigerators in cabins
• Individual climate control
• Generous cupboard space and under-bed storage
• Hair dryer in each cabin
• In-room electronic safe
• Intercommunication telephone in cabins
• High quality bathrobes and slippers
• High quality linens
• Turndown service in all cabins
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Vast sundeck both open & shaded, with sun loungers or steamer chairs
• Spacious air-conditioned saloon with library and recorded entertainment
• Air conditioned bar and dining room
• Spa with choice of treatments
• Naturalist on board the vessel
• Single seating for buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Acclaimed combination of Indian & Western cuisines
• Expertly trained culinary staff
• Wide choice of wines, spirits and beer (pay locally)
• Maximum 20 guests per guide on all excursions
• Cold towel service after excursions
• Welcome drink after excursions
• Shoe-cleaning after excursions

Holy Ganges Cruise – ABN Rajmahal Photo Gallery

Holy Ganges Cruise – ABN Rajmahal Deck Plan

click to enlargeb for ships

2023 & 2024 Historic Hoogly – 8 Days Lower Ganges River India Cruise

All Prices in USD (per person) and subject to 9% local service tax (subject to change)

From Farakka to Kolkata (8 Days)

From Kolkata to Farakka (8 Days)

All Prices subject to 9% local service tax (subject to change)
n.b. Children must be 15 years of age or more. Adult prices apply.

5 Days/4 nts Ganges Taster cruise from Farakka to Farakka programme details on request.
May be combined with prior or next cruise as an extension

Historic Lower Ganges River India 8 Days Cruise – Inclusions

• Transfer to rail station
• Train journey Kolkata to Farakka (for Downstream India Cruise BD5)
• Train journey Farakka to Kolkata (for Upstream India Cruise BD1)
• Full board (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner)
  from packed lunch Day 1 to Breakfast Day 8
• Complimentary tea, coffee & mineral water throughout
• Complimentary Wi-Fi onboard
• Naturalist on board the vessel.
• Single seating for buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Acclaimed combination of Indian & Western cuisines
• Wide choice of wines, spirits and beer (pay locally)
• Shore excursion programme including all admissions
• Maximum 20 guests per guide on all excursions
• Cold towel service after excursions
• Welcome drink after excursions
• Shoe-cleaning after excursions
• Welcome reception
• Farewell reception
• Local on-board dance & song performances
• Departure transfers to city hotel, rail station or airport (Kolkata)

Not included

• Drinks from the bar
• Laundry
• Tips + Gratuities for crew and guides
• Camera/video fees
• Insurance
• Telephone charges
• Items of a personal nature
• Local service tax

Notes

• Indian visa (please check with your Consulate if you require a visa)
• Kolkata Airport Information (CCU) Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport
• Tour codes:
  BD1 (from Kolkata)
  BD5 (from Farakka)

How to Book and Pay – Lower Ganges River India Cruise

• Please complete the booking form adding your credit card details via out secure system.
• We will respond by email with confirmation of your tour.
• Upon confirmation we will collect the non-refundable deposit of  25% of the tour price from the credit card provided.
• The balance payment will be collected 70 days prior to departure date.
• If you book within 70 days of departure date we will collect the full amount due from the credit card provided.
• If your selected date is not available we will offer you an alternative.
• Your card will not be charged until you accept the alternative offered.
• If you have any special requirements please add details in the notes section.
• We will ask you later to provide passport details of passengers booked
• After you have paid in full, you will receive a voucher and joining details for the tour.

Itinerary – Farakka to Kolkata, Downstream (8 Days)

“…This was a wonderful experience. The boat, food and excursions were of a very high standard and the staff really lovely. We would chose them again at any time and thoroughly recommend this to others…”

Arrival in Kolkata (for departure to Farakka)

We recommend that you arrive in Kolkata a day or two before your India cruise commences.
Transportation from your preferred Kolkata Hotel to the rail station and train journey to Farakka is included in the price.
We can arrange accommodation in a range of hotels, please do ask us.

Day 1

This morning, around midday, included in your tour is a transfer from your hotel to the rail station for the approx. 4 hr train journey from Kolkata to Farakka.  You will receive pre-booked seats in air-conditioned carriages.  A packed lunch is provided.  On arrival in Farakka, a short transfer by road (10–15 minutes) will take you from the train to a warm welcome onboard the ship, in time for dinner – first there will be a short briefing to introduce you to the crew and safety procedures.
Customers joining independently at Farakka may board from midday onwards.

Day 2

This morning’s cruise is along a straight canal section to Jangipur, Enjoy a full day excursion by road to Gaur, near the town of Malda, or English Bazar. This quiet, deserted place was once one of India’s great cities, first under the Hindus in 12th century, then as the Muslim capital of Eastern India from the 14th to the 16th century. There are plentiful remains of mosques, palaces and gateways and you visit a number of the most interesting historical sites before rejoining the ship in the evening near Jangipur.

Set sail down the Lower Ganges, a charming waterway twisting and turning between banks lined with mustard fields and mango orchards. Moor at Baranagar for the night.

Day 3

This morning, visit the delightfully sleepy village of Baranagar with three gorgeous miniature terracotta temples to which you walk through the fields. This is rural India at its most idyllic.

Continue on down past Azimganj, boasting some fine riverside mansions, to Murshidabad where the Nawab’s great Hazarduari Palace dominates the waterfront. Built by an English architect in 1837, the palace hosts an extensive collection of pictures, china, weapons and other objects. Carry on to visit the great Katra Mosque before driving out to see the Katgola Palace. Built in classical Georgian style by rich local merchants, Katgola Palace represents the other side of the coin of the ‘White Mughal’ period when English and Indian cultures came close to fusion. Moor overnight on the riverbank across from town.

Day 4

Sail downstream a short distance, then walk to the Khushbagh, a peaceful Mughul-style garden enclosing the tombs of Siraj-ud-Daulah – the last independent Nawab of Bengal – and his family. Return to the ship and continue downstream past the old British cantonment of Berhampur to a rural mooring close to the battlefield of Plassey where, in 1757, Robert Clive, the Commander-in-Chief of British India, defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah, to change the course of Indian history. You can walk through the fields to the commemorative obelisk. Cruise on to a mooring near Katwa, a market town with narrow bustling bazaars.

Day 5

Visit the brassworking village of Matiari where you can see the whole primitive process of beating out brass water pots and other vessels. Continue on through the countryside to Mayapur to visit the vast new ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) temple which dominates the skyline. As the headquarters of ISKCON or the Hare Krishna movement, the temple receives over a million singing and dancing devotees a year from around the world.

Day 6

Continue on down to the country town of Kalna. Take cycle rickshaws to see a group of some of Bengal’s most attractive terracotta temples, as well as the unique Shiva temple with concentric rings made up of 108 shrinelets. Sail on, leaving fields behind and arrive at the outskirts of Kolkata. Land at Hooghly to visit the imposing Imambara. With verses from the Koran written on its walls, the Imambara is an opportunity to step back in time and relive a slice of Islamic history in Bengal. Sail downstream past fine waterfront buildings and the old Dutch settlement at Chinsura to moor at Chandernagore.

Day 7

At Chandernagore, a French possession until 1950, visit the 18th century church and Dupleix’s House, the erstwhile Governor-General of French India, before continuing down to Barrackpore. Land and take a walk through the cantonment – past the Semaphore Tower, Government House, the Temple of Fame and Flagstaff House – to get a better understanding of India’s journey to independence. Subject to river tide, cruise under the Howrah Bridge to reach central Kolkata.​

Day 8

After breakfast, disembarkation.
Transfer to central Kolkata or airport.

Itinerary – Kolkata to Farakka, Upstream (8 Days)

“…I enjoyed every moment of the cruise on the Rajmahal from every point of view. The tours were fascinating and the staff were welcoming and caring, it was a true home from home! Thank you!…”

Arrival in Kolkata

We recommend that you arrive in Kolkata a day or two before your India cruise commences.
Transportation from your Kolkata Hotel to the ship on Day 1 and return to Kolkata by train from Farakka on Day 8 is included in the price.
We can arrange accommodation in a range of hotels, please do ask us.

Day 1

You are collected from your Kolkata hotel (or airport) late morning. Embark by midday and sail up past the old Danish colony of Serampore to Barrackpore, where we land and take a walk through the cantonment to get a better understanding of India’s journey to independence – past the Semaphore Tower, Government House, the Temple of Fame and Flagstaff House, its garden now housing many of the British statues removed from central Calcutta.  Sail up to Chandernagore, a French possession until 1950.

Day 2

Visit the 18th century church and Dupleix’s House, the erstwhile Governor-General of French India. Sail upstream past the old Dutch settlement of Chinsura before landing to visit the imposing Imambara at Hooghly. With verses from the Koran written on its walls, the Imambara is an opportunity to step back in time and relive a slice of Islamic history in Bengal.
Sail into the night to a mooring near Kalna.

Day 3

After breakfast, we land at the country town of Kalna and take rickshaws to see a group of some of Bengal’s most attractive terracotta temples, the unique Shiva temple with concentric rings made up of 108 shrinelets, and a muslin-weaving centre. Continue on through the countryside to Mayapur to visit the vast new ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) temple which dominates the skyline. As the headquarters of ISKCON or the Hare Krishna movement, the temple receives over a million singing and dancing devotees a year from around the world.
Sail on through the night to a mooring near Matiari.

Day 4

This morning visit the brass-working village of Matiari, a charming riverside village. Interact with the locals of Matiari and witness the whole primitive process of beating out brass water pots and other vessels. Later, cruise on and visit the battlefield of Plassey where, in 1757, Robert Clive, the Commander-in-Chief of British India, defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal, to change the course of Indian history.
Moor close to Khushbagh for the night.

Day 5

This morning, walk to the Khushbagh, a peaceful Mughal-style garden that encloses the tombs of Siraj-ud-Daulah – the last independent Nawab of Bengal – and his family. Continue a little way upstream to where the great Hazarduari Palace dominates the waterfront. Built by an English architect in 1837, the palace hosts an extensive collection of pictures, china, weapons and other objects. Carry on to visit the great Katra Mosque before driving out to see the Katgola Palace. Built in classical Georgian style by rich local merchants, Katgola Palace represents the other side of the coin of the ‘White Mughal’ period when English and Indian cultures came close to fusion.
Moor overnight on the riverbank across from town at Baranagar.

Day 6

This morning, walk through the fields of the delightfully sleepy village of Baranagar to visit its three gorgeous miniature terracotta temples. This is rural India at its most idyllic. Continue up the lower Ganges (or Hooghly), which transforms into a charming waterway twisting and turning between banks lined with mustard fields and mango orchards. Carry on up a long canal section to a mooring close to the Farakka Barrage.

Day 7

Disembark and go on a full-day excursion by road to Gaur, near the town of Malda, or English Bazar. This quiet, deserted place was once one of India’s great cities, first under the Hindus in 12th century, then as the Muslim capital of Eastern India from the 14th to the 16th century. There are plentiful remains of mosques, palaces and gateways and you visit a number of the most interesting before rejoining the ship in the evening.

Day 8

Dawn transfer to Farakka station for morning 4-5 hr train journey to Kolkata. You will be met on arrival and transferred to a central Kolkata hotel to make your own onward arrangements.

If you are continuing with us on the Holy Ganges Cruise to Patna; an excursion by road takes you to Pandua where you will visit the great 14th century Adina Mosque before returning to Farakka where your ship will have passed through the lock at the barrage.