Arrive at Kolkata International airport, following customs, immigration formalities and baggage collection, our representative will meet you as you EXIT the ARRIVALS TERMINAL building after which you would be transferred to your hotel. 

Overnight at hotel.

After breakfast, then start city tour which includes Mantictolla Temple, Old British Buildings, University quarter, BBD sq., St. John Church, Eden Garden, Howrah Station and Bridge, New Bridge, drive around Fort William, National Library- Kalighat temple (from outside), Victoria Memorial (closed on Monday), St. Paul cathedral, Indian Museum (if open—Closed on Monday), Evening visit local food market.

Overnight at hotel.

​After breakfast, transfer airport to catch flight for Jorhat.  Arrive at Jorhat airport and drive 2 ½ hours  to Silghat, a lovely beach below jungle-covered hills and close to Kaziranga National Park. Board on ship.

After an early breakfast, drive to Kaziranga’s Central Range for a morning jeep safari.

Covering an area of approximately 430 sq kms, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park is home to the world’s largest population of the Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros as well as the Indian Wild Water Buffalo. It has also earned the distinction of having the highest density of Royal Bengal Tigers (one every five sq. km.) making this park an incredibly rich biodiversity hotspot. With its marshy swamps and thickets of elephant grass, this park supports large populations of Indian elephants, Indian bison, swamp deer, and Capped Langurs.

Besides wildlife, Kaziranga National Park is also a birding paradise. A few of the bird species found here are the Oriental Honey Buzzard, Black-shouldered Kite, White-tailed Eagle, Himalayan Griffon and so on.

Kaziranga National Park also frequently draws comparisons to the Serengeti in Africa due to the park’s abundance of wildlife and birds.

Returning to the ship, we cruise upstream with Kaziranga National Park on the right bank to anchor for the night at  Vishnath.

In  morning, visit Vishnath, known for an Ahom-period Shiva temple. Walk through the town before reboarding and setting off again, with Kaziranga still on the far bank. Wild elephants may sometimes be spotted and once, memorably, even a tiger.

Good chance of spotting the endangered Gangetic dolphin, as well as creating a sensation in bankside villages as we pass. Arrive in the evening at lonely Dhansiri Mukh.

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This morning, we land and take a jeep safari to Kaziranga’s little-visited Eastern Range, with grasslands much favoured by rhinos where you might also spot the rare Bengal Florican. Return to the boat and continue our cruise upstream.

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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.

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Around the time of breakfast, we should reach Majuli Island, one of the world’s largest river islands.

A microcosm of Assamese culture, Majuli represents rural idyll in Assam. A stronghold of the peaceful religion of neo-Vaishnavism, the elegant island satras — some for celibate monks, some for families — showcase a unique way of life where the faithful live simply, offering worship through gayan-bayan (songs and musical instruments) and readings.

We visit a monastery at Auniati with an eclectic museum, then attend a dance performance at Kamalabari monastery, before cruising across to Neamati Ghat on the opposite bank. In the afternoon, visit a nearby village.

We visit Horu Charai tea estate, in the outskirts of Jorhat, this morning and witness all the processes of tea production. (Note: the factory is inoperative between December and mid-March.) Later, drive for about an hour to Sibsagar, the one-time capital of the Ahom kings of Assam.

Shan by origin but converts to Hinduism, the Ahoms ruled Assam for some 700 years until the 1820s. Their culture and architecture is a strange and delightful amalgam of India and Southeast Asia. We shall see temples with stupa-like profiles and palaces of distinctive form. For the record book, the temple tank here is believed to be the world’s largest hand-excavated reservoir. Return to your ship, which will have cruised up to Neamati Ghat, close to Jorhat.

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After breakfast, drive for around 1 ½ hours to Jorhat airport and depart fom Jorhat. Arrive Kolkata and day fee for leisure. Evening, transfer to airport to catch flight for onward journey.

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