The All Ganges & Brahmaputra River - a Grand Tour of India

Depart Varanasi in the morning and head to the train station for your journey to Patna where we meet your Pandaw vessel. Relax onboard and meet your crew and fellow passengers for the next 14 nights.

Morning city tour of Patna including a visit to The Golghar, a large stupa styled granary built in 1786. Sail downstream during lunch before arriving to Barh, a town famous for Hindu ritual cremation at Urmanath and the Alakhnath Temple.

Stop at Mokama, once home to Jim Corbett the naturalist and protector of the Indian tigers. Surrounded by farmlands, Mokama has the second hightest production of lentils in the country. Learn about the freedom fighters from Mokama such as Lalldin Saheb, whose during the freedom struggle was sentenced to jail during the British rule.

Munger is now a large and industrialised city but has an interesting history. In 1762, Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal, shifted his capital from Murshidabad to Munger, and established a firearms manufacturing centre here. Explore the Mughal fort, East India Company cemetery and step inside the Bihar School of Yoga founded in 1964 by Satyananda Saraswati. One of the leading yoga schools in the country. The institution has developed yogic techniques through a synthesis of traditional yogic, vedantic and tantric practices and contemporary health science.

Continue to Jahanigra Island, a place of pilgrimage with many rock carvings in high relief dating from the eighth century depicting aspects of Siva and Vishnu. In the evening moor off Sultanganj, with its pair of great granite rocks, one crowned with a mosque and the other a small temple dating from the 16th century. In the afternoon land at Bhaglapur, a centre of silk production, and visit the 18th century mansion of the Collector, Augustus Cleveland.

Passing the confluence of the Kosi river that flows down from Nepal, moor at the pretty town of Bateshwarsthan to uncover the 8th century Buddhist site of Vikramshila, one of the two most important centres of learning in India during the Pala Empire, along with Nalanda.

Continue sailing along the Ganges before stopping at Rajmahal, a quaint town on the banks of the Ganges for an afternoon walk.

Depart Rajmahal and sail down to cross the Farakka barrage, entering the Hooghly River. In the afternoon take a gentle walk through a local village.

After breakfast, take a 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. Visit the Jain temples at Azimganj before continuing our voyage downstream. In the afternoon we enjoy a city tour of Murshidabad, visiting the great Katra Mosque and Nashipara Palace 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.

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. Continue sailing downstream in the afternoon with onboard activities and wildlife watching on the sun deck.

In the morning we 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. After lunch we continue downstream to 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.

Explore the village of Mayapur, the headquarters of the ISKCON movement with a new temple comparable in size to the Vatican and largely funded by Alfred B. Ford, the great grandson of car maker Henry Ford. Meet Krishna followers and walk through the pilgrims’ bazaar.

After breakfast visit the country town of Kalna. Take 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 lesser shrines.

Continue sailing upstream to Chandernagore, a French possession until 1950. Visit the 18th century church and Dupleix’s House, erstwhile Governor-General of French India. In the afternoon we sail toward Barrackpore and take a walk through the cantonment - past the Semaphore Tower, Government House, the Temple of Fame and Flagstaff House. Enjoy a farewell dinner with your crew as we moor in Kolkata for the night.

Disembark the ship at 08:00 and transfer to the airport for your flight to Guwahati. On arrival transfer to ship and explore this pleasant Assami city visiting the Nilachai Hill temple and Commonwealth Graves. Late afternoon cast off upriver.

Sail all day making headway against strong currents through the lush Assami countryside. Get acquainted with your crew and guide with onboard activities such as lectures and food demonstrations.

Afternoon exploration of Tezpur by trishaw we visit the De Parbatia temple with its richly carved portals and Cole Park with its collection of medieval carvings collected from across the region.

After an early breakfast, 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 Agency. Here, we take a float trip of around two hours down the Jia-Bhoreli River through the park. Enjoy the breath-taking scenery and bring your binoculars for a chance to spot some birdlife. After lunch, take a village walk before returning to the ship. We are treated to a traditional Assamese folk dance before dinner and moor at Silghat for the night.

Jeep safari to Kaziranga, with an area of approximately 430 sq kms, this UNESCO World Heritage site is home to the world’s largest population of the Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros as well as the Indian Wild Water Buffalo. It also has the highest density of Royal Bengal Tigers with one every five sq. km however these remain extremely illusive and are unlikely to be spotted. The park is an incredibly rich biodiversity hotspot with its marshy swamps and thickets of elephant grass which 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 to mention a few. In the afternoon we set sail again downstream.

As we sail along the vast Brahmaputra River downstream, riding the strong currents, we stop for a walk through a typical Assamese village and learn more about their simple lives.

Early morning visit to Noonmati Tea Garden on the outskirts of Guwahati to witness the tea producing process. After lunch sail down past Guwhati to moor at Sualkuchi, a major centre for weaving in Assam. We learn about the entire silk making production from the cocoon, to spinning and weaving to make the typical saree worn by Assami women.

Disembark in the morning and transfer to airport.

Itineraries are subject to change.

Vessel Type: River Boat

Length: 40 metres

Passenger Capacity: 32 passengers (28 passengers from Sept 2019)

Built / refurbished: 2011

ACCOMMODATION

6 upper deck, 10 main deck (4 upper deck, 10 main deck from Sept 2019) - 170 square feet, finished in teak and brass - AC with individual control - Premium mattresses 

WINING & DINING

Local master chef heading an experienced international culinary team - Semi-buffet breakfast, semi-buffet lunch, and seated theme dinners - Daily lean & light menu options - Complimentary coffee, water, tea, soft drinks, local beer, local spirits, juices - Extensive wine list with premium wines - Series of cultural performances, educational talks, cooking classes, and ship tour - Welcome drink on arrival - Welcome cocktail - Farewell reception - Theme dinners - Open air lounge and bar - 24hrs hospitality bar - Onboard bakery with daily freshly baked breads and rolls

ON EXCURSIONS

Admissions - Shoe cleaning after excursions - Bottled drinking water - We give away aluminium water bottles - Cold towel service after excursions - Refreshing drink following excursions - 1st aid trained assistant guide to follow all tours and excursions

SAFETY & SECURITY

All onboard crew is trained and certified as per international marine standards - Fire alarm system in all cabins, public areas and back areas - Fire fighting system in all ship areas - Expert marine superintendant - 24 hrs watch on duty

ONBOARD STAFF

Captain - River Pilot - First Officer - Chief Engineer - 1st Engineer - Electrician - Bosun & nautical crew - Ship manager - Housekeeping - Dining - Bar keeper - Chefs - Local tour guides

PUBLIC SPACES

Guest relation desk - Shop, supporting fair trade - Library with contemporary and classic literature.

Vessel Type: River Boat

Length: 57 metres

Passenger Capacity: 36

Built / refurbished: 2014

The original Kindat was built in 1886 by Yarrows in London and sank in 1920. She was named after a small Upper Chindwin town. Following experiments with the Katha and Angkor Pandaws, in this build we perfected this concept of a two deck shallow draft vessel and repeated the formula again with her sister the Kalaw.

What we managed to produce in 2014 was a very shallow draft vessel that could go just about anywhere anytime that was big enough to carry 30-40 passengers with lots of outdoor deck space. We did this by reducing weight and stripping both hull and superstructure down to the bare essentials.

We had found with the experimental Katha that about half our passengers want to eat outside and the other half inside so we created a flexible bistro space offering passenger indoor or outdoor dining depending on inclination, often prompted by the season. This makes for a very happy ship!

The ship has quality mountain bikes for your independent exploration.

ACCOMMODATION

8 upper deck staterooms and 10 main deck staterooms - 170 square feet, finished in teak and brass - Panoramic French window - Kimonos and slippers - Spa-branded amenities - Unlimited mineral water - Electric mini safe - AC with individual control - Imported quality linens with duvet and two kind of pillows - Premium mattresses - Welcome flower arrangement and welcome gift - Mirror - Multi-configuration plugs - Generous closet space and under-bed storage - Hair dryer - Nightly turndown service - 24h laundry service - Complimentary evening canapés - Yoga mats in all cabins

WINING & DINING

Bistro style dining room with outside seating and air-conditioning inside - Local master chef heading an experienced international culinary team - Semi-buffet breakfast, semi-buffet lunch, and seated theme dinners - Daily lean & light menu options - Complimentary local mineral water, jugged coffee, teas & tisanes - Extensive wine list with premium wines - Welcome drink on arrival - Welcome cocktail - Farewell reception - Theme dinners - 24hrs hospitality bar - Onboard bakery with daily freshly baked breads and rolls

ON EXCURSIONS

Admissions - Shoe cleaning after excursions - Bottled drinking water - We give away aluminium water bottles - Cold towel service after excursions - Refreshing drink following excursions - 1st aid trained assistant guide to follow all tours and excursions - Quality mountain bikes available for independent exploration

SAFETY & SECURITY

All onboard crew is trained and certified as per international marine standards - Fire alarm system in all cabins, public areas and back areas - Fire fighting system in all ship areas - Expert marine superintendant - 24 hrs watch on duty

ONBOARD STAFF

Captain - River Pilot - First Officer - Chief Engineer - 1st Engineer - Electrician - Bosun & nautical crew - Ship manager - Housekeeping - Dining - Bar keeper - Chefs - Local tour guides