CHOOMTI TRAVELLERS The
Travel Division of Choomti Trekkers Private Limited Bringing over 28 years experience to Independent Travellers in
India
Providing that personal and individual service to each Client
ASSAM
BENGAL NAVIGATION, is an
Indo-British joint venture. In 2003 ABN pioneered long-distance river
cruising in India with our unique cruises on the River Brahmaputra in
Assam, and in 2007 we were also the first to run cruises on the River
Hugli between Kolkata and the Ganges. We were awarded the Indian
National Tourism Award for Innovation. Our expertise in the field of
river cruising, on both waterways, is unrivalled.
Our first luxury
river boat, the "Charaidew" with
12 air-conditioned en-suite cabins was joined in 2006 by her
near-identical sister ship "Sukapha".
The ships operate on the Brahmaputra from October to April, and on the
Hugli during the summer months.
All
public rooms on both ships are air-conditioned. Food
on board is a mixture of Assamese (milder than most Indian cuisine) and
continental. Wines, beer and spirits are available.
The spacious
saloons
have French windows opening onto a
front balcony deck and the dining room again has glass doors down each
side. We use specially-commissioned
furniture and locally-woven soft furnishings. The
large sundeck offers the opportunity to relax on comfortable cane rattan
chairs and sun-loungers.
All
cabins on both ships are air-conditioned.
Wildlife
and wilderness are the main features of a Brahmaputra cruise -
the river bed is often 20 or 30km across, an empty world of sand spits
and water with marvellous bird life and the occasional Gangetic Dolphin.
The cruises here also give access to a number of India's National Parks,
including Kaziranga, perhaps the finest of all, and Manas, a Project
Tiger Reserve on the Bhutan border.
The
Hugli is a more intimate waterway, bordered by villages and rural
landscape of jute fields and mango orchards. The emphasis here is on
monuments and culture, whether Hindu, Muslim or Colonial.
At Manas
National Park, ABN now has its own
jungle accommodation, "The Bansbari Lodge",
situated right at the entrance to the park. The 16 large twin-bedded
rooms all have attached bathrooms and the lodge is simply but
comfortably furnished.
At
Kaziranga National Park, the "Diphlu
River Lodge" opened in January 2008 and is run by ABN.
In prime position, its first phase of cottages provide premier quality
accommodation for a total of 16 guests. The cottages are built on stilts
with generous thatched verandahs and en-suite bathrooms and have
fantastic views directly overlooking the river and National Park.
The
Cruises:
The Brahmaputra cruises feature visits and
attractions such as wildlife viewing (both by jeep and on elephant
back), village walks, visits to tea gardens, exploring country towns in
cycle rickshaws, barbecues on deserted river islands, dance
performances, and visits to craft workshops.
Cruises on the Hugli include sightseeing of
temples, towns and villages, whether by bus, cycle rickshaw or on foot.
For our season covering October to April,
we are offering a combination of 7-night, 10-night and 4-night cruises,
named for the Assam Despatch service, the daily mail-cum-passenger
service that once plied from Calcutta up the Brahmaputra to Dibrugarh.
Cruises can be combined to give 14-night durations. The cruises are as
follows:
ASSAM DESPATCH 2
This 7-night cruise starts at Guwahati and terminates at Silghat near
Tezpur and Kaziranga. Highlights are Orang and Kaziranga National Parks,
and temples in Tezpur.
ASSAM DESPATCH 3
This cruise on the highest reaches of the Brahmaputra still navigable
highlights the unique culture of the area, fusing Indian and S.E. Asian
influences, with a visit to Sibsagar, the old capital of the Ahom kings,
as well as to Majuli Island with its unique Hindu monastic communities
famous for their dance drama. Wildlife is not forgotten though, and the
cruise visits Kaziranga, where sightings of rhino are virtually
guaranteed.
ASSAM EXPERIENCE
Assam Despatch 3 also features in our ASSAM EXPERIENCE itinerary, which
combines 4 nights in lodges and hotels with 7 nights of cruising.
Covering both Manas and Kaziranga National Parks, together with Majuli
Island and Sibsagar, Experience Assam includes all Assam's major
highlights.
ASSAM DESPATCH 4
This 10-night cruise starts at Neamati, reached from either Dibrugarh or
Jorhat airport, and terminates at Guwahati. Highlights are the old
capital of the Ahom kings at Sibsagar, Majuli Island with its Hindu
monasteries, Kaziranga National Park, temples at Tezpur and Madan Kamdev,
and the silk weaving village of Sualkuchi.
ASSAM DESPATCH 5
This 4-night cruise starts at Guwahati and terminates at Dhubri, around
4 hrs drive from the Bhutan frontier or 5 ½ hrs drive from Bagdogra/Siliguri,
and is ideal for combining a short cruise with Bhutan, Sikkim or
Darjeeling. Highlights are Manas National Parkland the archaeological
site of Sri Surya Prahar.
ASSAM DESPATCH 6
This 4-night cruise starting and finishing in Guwahati is ideal for
those who want a taste of river-cruising. Alternatively, taken together
with Cruises 2 or 4, you can enjoy an 11 or 14 night cruise over
virtually the full length of the Brahmaputra's course in Assam.
Highlight is Manas National Park but there are also good opportunities
to see Assam's rural way of life.
ASSAM DESPATCH 7
This 4-night cruise provides a fascinating taster of Assam, with visits
to villages and to the rarely-visited Orang National Park, where you
will ride on elephants through the jungle in search of the Great Indian
One Horned Rhinoceros. It is also available as a 3-night one-way cruise
up to Orang with road transfer onwards to Kaziranga.
HUGLI CRUISES
These 7-night cruises operate in the summer months from Kolkata to the
Ganges or back, with one way by ship, one way by rail. Highlights are
the ruins of the medieval city of Gaur, Murshidabad, capital of the
Nawabs of Bengal, delightful Bengali terracotta temples, and the
colonial trading stations of the British and other European nations to
the north of Calcutta.
What there is to see:
DIBRUGARH : The upper limit of navigation
on the Brahmaputra, Dibrugarh is an army town that was the end of the
Stilwell Road built to link India to China in World War II. From
airfields in this area also operated the great supply operation over The
Hump to China.
SIVASAGAR : The old capital of the Kingdom
of Assam, The Kings, of Thai stock, were converts to Hinduism, and their
substantial remaining places and temples are an amalgam of Indian and
S.E. Asian styles. The tank besides which the main temple stands is said
to be the world's largest man-excavared reservoir.
MAJULI ISLAND : A vast river island in the
Brahmaputra, on which are a number of unique Vaishnavite Hindu
monasteries, famous for performances of religious dance-drama.
JORHAT : One of the two centres of the
Assam tea industry, surrounded by tea estates. Close to here, the Tea
Research Institute makes a fascinating visit.
KAZIRANGA : A World Heritage site and right
on the river, Kaziranga National park holds most of India's One-Horned
Rhinoceros as well as elephant, tiger, wild buffalo, sambar, swamp deer,
hog deer and many other species. Viewing is both by jeep and on elephant
back.
TEZPUR : Another tea centre, and the access
point to Nameri National Park in the foothills. Orang National Park is
on the river banks downstream from here.
GUWAHATI : The state capital. Offshore lies
Peacock Island with its temple, while on a hill above the town, Tantric
rites are practised at the Kamakhya Temple. There's a good museum and a
poignant War cemetery. Guwahati is the starting point for extensions to
Shillong, the "Scotland of the East", which can be arrange
before or after cruises, or to bridge the changeover day gap when two
successive cruises are booked.
SUALKUCHI : A delightful riverside village,
where silk is produced and hand-woven.
HAJO : A pilgrimage centre sacred to
Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists, with a sacred tank full of turtle and
carp.
GOALPARA : Here the Garo Hills rise close
by on the south bank - tribesmen here were head-hunters until the late
19th century, and traditional ways of life are still preserved in this
area.
MANAS : Manas National Park, a world
Heritage site, in the foothills on the Bhutan frontier, is one of
India's most beautiful, and the tiger population is now beginning to
recover from years of civil unrest in the area.
DHUBRI : The river port, now a border post,
used to boast a riverside statue of Queen Victoria that acted as a
landmark for the steamers. Not far from Dhubri, on the road to Bagdogra,
is Cooch Behar, with the sizeable palace of one of India's richest and
most distinguished Maharajahs.
