BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER CRUISE

Arrive in Kolkata. After breakfast visit the famous Jain Temples of Kolkata and The Howard Bridge, a cantilevered bridge, also known as Rabindra Setu. This is similar in size to the Sydney Harbour Bridge but carries a flow of traffic which Sydney could never dream of. It is the busiest bridge in the world. Later drive to the Kali Ma temple located near the banks of the River Ganges at Kali Ghat. Also visit Victoria Memorial, which is a huge white-marble structure and the most enduring of remains of the British Raj in India. Built by Lord Curzon in memory of the popular monarch, Queen Victoria, it is a wonderful example of the Western style of architecture. It has been now converted in a museum that houses the most impressive collection of memorabilia from the days of Raj. The manuscripts, paintings and sculptures here are outstanding. Overnight in Kolkata.

Arrive in Kolkata. After breakfast visit the famous Jain Temples of Kolkata and The Howard Bridge, a cantilevered bridge, also known as Rabindra Setu. This is similar in size to the Sydney Harbour Bridge but carries a flow of traffic which Sydney could never dream of. It is the busiest bridge in the world. Later drive to the Kali Ma temple located near the banks of the River Ganges at Kali Ghat. Also visit Victoria Memorial, which is a huge white-marble structure and the most enduring of remains of the British Raj in India. Built by Lord Curzon in memory of the popular monarch, Queen Victoria, it is a wonderful example of the Western style of architecture. It has been now converted in a museum that houses the most impressive collection of memorabilia from the days of Raj. The manuscripts, paintings and sculptures here are outstanding. Overnight in Kolkata.

After breakfast transfer to the airport and fly to Guwahati, where you will be met by a representative and taken on a short sightseeing tour of the city. Drive up Nilachal Hill to see the holy Kamakhya temple. With its tantric rites and animal sacrifice, the more squeamish may prefer to content themselves with the exterior. Visit the poignant Commonwealth War Graves cemetery before embarking on your cruise vessel. We set sail and cruise for about an hour and a half upstream to Kurua on the north bank.

The day is spent mostly cruising upstream with jungle-covered hills rising on either side, often battling against strong currents. We have time though to pause and visit the north bank village of Khirakata, with its lush green fields of vegetables and corn.

Leaving the hills behind, we enjoy our first taste of the wilderness experience and sand banks like icebergs on either side. We visit Tullugaon, another bankside village with large sugarcane plantations. We shall see weavers at work in their homes, as well as the production of jaggery out of sugar cane juice. We moor for the night in a lunar landscape of sand islands, with hopefully the Himalayas in view, providing a contrasting backdrop in the distance.

We cruise on to reach Tezpur, where after lunch we visit the 6th century Da Parbatia temple ruins with a beautifully carved portal, then explore the town by cycle rickshaw, stopping at Cole Park with medieval stone carvings saved from sites all over the region, and passing the bungalow once lived in by Alexander Bruce, pioneer of the tea industry. Our ship will be waiting at the town’s waterfront for us to reboard.

After an early breakfast we drive for some two hours to the Nameri National Park at the foot of the blue hills of Arunachal Pradesh, the old North East Frontier. Here we take a boat trip of around two hours down the Jia Bhoreli River through the park, with excellent birdwatching opportunities (look out for the great hornbills) and perhaps the chance of sighting wild elephants. After lunch we take a village walk before returning to the cruise.

We continue upstream, passing below a seemingly endless new bridge across the vast width of the river bed, to moor at Steemer Ghat,  a lovely beach backed by jungle-covered hills. In the afternoon we drive to Kaziranga’s Western Range for a jeep safari and to scan the wilderness from an observation tower. Kaziranga is a World Heritage site and with a population of well over 1000 one horned rhinoceros. You can also spot a fair population of tigers, wild elephants, sambar, swamp deer, hog deer and wild pigs.

Disembark pre-dawn and drive to Kaziranga’s Central Range for an early morning elephant ride, the best way to get really close to the rhino and other animals. After breakfast at a lodge, we drive to a Mising tribal village, their distinctive houses raised on piles, then visit a nearby tea garden to see how tea is grown and processed (the factory though will be inoperative between December and mid-March). After lunch either take a jeep safari in the little visited Eastern Range before returning to the boat, or if preferred return directly to Steemer Ghat to visit a delightful Assamese village nearby and walk along a path alive with butterflies to a solitary temple on the river bank. Guwahati or Tezpur or Jorhat/ Kolkata/ Day 10 An early start for the 4 hour drives back to Guwahati airport, or alternatively we can arrange 40 minute transfer to Tezpur airport or 2 ½ hrs transfer to Jorhat airport. Fly to Kolkata.

An early start for the 4 hour drives back to Guwahati airport, or alternatively we can arrange 40 minute transfer to Tezpur airport or 2 ½ hrs transfer to Jorhat airport. Fly to Kolkata. Onward flight.

An early start for the 4 hour drives back to Guwahati airport, or alternatively we can arrange 40 minute transfer to Tezpur airport or 2 ½ hrs transfer to Jorhat airport. Fly to Kolkata. Onward flight.