Saga to Offer The new “A Passage through Assam” cruise and tour featuring sailing on the Brahmaputra River
The new A Passage through Assam cruise and tour features sailing on the mighty Brahmaputra River, a vast and remote region that is rich in wildlife and cultural history.
The small group tour, for up to 18 Saga guests, includes a visit to Mother Theresa’s House, watching for wildlife in Kaziranga National Park, tasting tea in an Assam plantation and seeing the Mishing tribe’s stilted houses.
Guests fly to Kolkata for a two-night stay in the Lalit Great Eastern Hotel (4Q) in the heart of Old Calcutta to view the Victoria Memorial and Indo-Gothic St Paul’s Cathedral before the call to Mother Teresa’s House to learn about her humanitarian work.
A domestic flight and a transfer to Kamakhya takes guests to MV Mahabaahu (4 Anchor) for a seven-night sailing on the river where endangered long-nosed Gangetic dolphins can often be seen.
An excursion to Peacock Island to look for the Golden Langur, an endangered monkey with a luxuriant gold coat and a masked black face, is another highlight while the next day is spent cruising through the unspoilt region and learning about village life on the Brahmaputra’s islands.
MV Mahabaahu is a comfortable, air-conditioned ship which cruises by day and berths each night in peaceful, picturesque settings. The ship has five decks, a restaurant, bar, small pool and a spa. There are yoga sessions each morning, and talks on history, culture and wildlife. Each of the 23 en-suite cabins has a picture window or guests can upgrade to a cabin with a balcony.
A jeep safari through Kaziranga National Park, one of the world’s finest wildlife reserves and home to two-thirds of the world’s population of one-horned rhino, is on the itinerary and guests can also look for elephants, buffalo, tigers, panthers and deer before a boat safari to a deserted island to watch the night sky.
The cruise continues to a Mishing Village to see the chang ghars, riverbank houses built on raised platforms. Here women weave cotton and silk – and guests can arrange to get clothes made as there is a tailor on board ship!
MV Mahabaahu sails on to Majuli Island, a watery paradise carpeted with rice fields. It is also the seat of Neo-Vaishnavite culture, an offshoot of Hinduism. In Sivasagar, the ancient city of the Ahom kings, guests see 18th-century lakeside temples and the remains of one of the great palaces.
After disembarking MV Mahabaaju the tour continues through rural Assam for lunch at a tea plantation before returning to Kolkata for an overnight stay in the Lalit Great Eastern Hotel.
Those who wish to extend the holiday can opt for a further three nights in Darjeeling or six nights on a Golden Triangle tour of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.
12 nights from £2,399 departing from Birmingham, Manchester or London Gatwick on January 26, February 23, March 23, April 13, October 12 and 26, November 9 and 16, 2017 (Please note January 26, February 23, March 23, November 16 follow a reverse itinerary). Price includes VIP door-to-door chauffeur service, return flights and transfers, airport taxes, three nights in hotels, seven aboard ship, and two in flight, 27 meals: 10 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 10 dinners, porterage, Saga tour manager, tourist visa for UK citizens, optional travel insurance and additional cancellation rights or a reduction if not required.
• Kaziranga National Park is closed in October so departures on October 12 and 26 feature a boat safari plus a sailing to the village of Bishwanath ghat.
