Patna: The Ganga Vilas, the luxury river cruise inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2023 and promoted as the world’s longest of its kind, has arrived in Patna, where it is currently anchored at Mitan Ghat on the Ganges.
The vessel sailed into the Bihar capital from Kolkata without passengers, but is expected to take on 14 international tourists in Patna, according to Arvind Kumar, director of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) in the city. Its arrival sparked curiosity and excitement along the riverbank, with residents gathering to watch and photograph the imposing cruise ship.
The Ganga Vilas is scheduled to depart Patna on December 31, continuing its journey along National Waterway-1 on the Ganges. The onward voyage will include stops at sites of cultural, historical and ecological significance along the river.
Designed to offer a five-star experience on water, the cruise has a passenger capacity of 36 and features amenities comparable to a luxury hotel. Over the course of its full journey, the vessel covers roughly 3,200 kilometres, travelling through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam, before continuing through Bangladesh and ending at Dibrugarh via international waterways.
Touted by the government as a flagship project to promote river-based tourism and inland waterways, the Ganga Vilas has been positioned as a showcase of India’s cultural landscape viewed from its longest and most storied river.
