India: Ganges River Cruise and Himalayas

Asian Openbill © Brian Gibbons

An enchanting mix of cultural and historical sightseeing with superb natural history experiences, featuring superlative photographic opportunities in villages, cities, and some of Asia’s wilder and most impressive landscapes.

There is something about India that makes every western visitor long to come back. Over the years, we at VENT have returned again and again, captivated by the vastness of this ancient country, its fascinating mixture of peoples and cultures, and the way that humans and nature have been so closely linked for so many millennia. Now, we apply the unequalled expertise we have accumulated on our travels across the subcontinent to a new cruise, taking us and 35 discerning travelers from sophisticated and bustling Kolkata, the cultural heart of India, to the mangrove forests of Sundarbans and on to Darjeeling, the cosmopolitan capital of Assam, in the country’s extreme northeast.

Our seven-night voyage on the spacious and luxurious Ganges Voyager is highlighted by visits to elaborate temples, colonial palaces, and venerable monasteries, while our time sailing India’s sacred Ganges River will give us equally luminous insights into the lives of the millions of people who rely on its waters every day. Natural wonders, too, abound, and we will search for birds and other wildlife in centuries-old gardens, vast wetlands, mangrove forests, and the rhododendron groves of the Himalaya foothills. Along the way, we may encounter the endangered Gangetic Dolphin, the Smooth-coated Otter, and even the Bengal Tiger, master of the Indian landscape for untold ages.

For the birder, India at this season is a dream of paradise. Asian migrants from the north seek out these warmer climes for the winter, where they join a host of resident specialties, ranging from splendidly colored bee-eaters, rollers, and kingfishers to some of the most imposing raptors in the world. The density of India’s human settlement has left vast reaches of relatively untouched forest, grassland, and wetland that teem with wild animals and exotically beautiful flora, and we will visit many of these sites in search of special birds that have become rare and endangered elsewhere but still survive here on the subcontinent.

After disembarking from the Voyager, our explorations continue on land, with hotel accommodations that rise to the same high standard of excellence as aboard ship. From fascinating Darjeeling, we will ride the Himalayan Railway to a monastery library preserving an irreplaceable horde of manuscripts central to the liturgy and theology of Tibetan Buddhism. Two hours away, high in the foothills of the Himalayas on the Nepal border, the oak and rhododendron forests of Singalila National Park echo with the songs of rare mountain birds. India’s densely interwoven tapestry of cultural wealth and flourishing wildlife truly offers rich new experiences to all of us, whether we are photographers, historians, anthropologists, travelers, or naturalists.

Those wanting to experience more of India are encouraged to join our optional pre- and post-tour extensions. Our Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve Pre-trip provides opportunity to see a remarkable number of birds and mammals, with especially good chances for Bengal Tiger. Our Kaziranga National Park Extension features one of the most spectacular wild places in Asia, a place vaunted for its mega-fauna—including Gaur, Bengal Tiger, and India Rhinoceros—and tremendous birdlife.

Seven nights on board the luxurious but intimate Ganges Voyager, with elegant modern staterooms and refined Indian and continental food, followed by stays in two excellent upscale resort hotels with fine restaurants; travel by ship, safari boat, touring coach, train, and commercial plane; warm, usually sunny days and cooler evenings; typically dry, with low chances of rain.

Ganges Voyager © Exotic Journeys