ALAKNANDA, the Himalayan river is the holy confluence of many rivers.
At Devprayag, in Tehri district (State of Uttarakhand), Alaknanda, Saraswati and Bhagirathi rivers come together and flow ahead as our pristine Ganga.
This divine amalgamation certainly seems to be the inspiration behind the gorgeous Alaknanda, the river cruise that has delighted over 25,000 guests on board so far.
In 2017, a Startup company, Nordic Cruiseline Pvt. Ltd. envisioned a world class cruise experience on holy Ganga.
The 60 seater double decker plan was fresh and was exclusively designed by an IIT, Mumbai Engineer and built at the Shibpur yard in Kolkata.
And this Alaknanda had a long, upstream journey to Kashi.
DID YOU KNOW ?
Alaknanda sailed through 1400 kms for 90 days from May to July, 2018 from Kolkata to Kashi to offer the Divine cruise experience on holy Ganga.
Post the commercial launch in September, 2018 in the august presence of Honourable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath, there was no looking back for Alaknanda.
I have been lucky to have taken this cruise with my family on a cloudy, winter morning.
On approaching Sant Ravidas Ghat, we saw the grand Alaknanda on the riverfront. We could not wait to get closer and walked down the steps.
We were welcomed by the officials at the embarkment point and while others were escorted inside, I paused and stood there dazed, admiring the stylish, international look of the Cruise boat.
ALAKNANDA waiting to sail from Sant Ravidas Ghat
ALAKNANDA OUTER VIEW
Inside view is as impressive with air conditioned lower deck and open upper deck with comfortable seating arrangement.
ALAKNANDA Lower deck
ALAKNANDA – Upper deck
The 90 minute cruise covers all 84 Ghats and depicts the tales of the Ghats through a special audio commentary.
Alaknanda takes you through the Ghats right upto the famous double decker Malviya Bridge built in 1887 during the British period which has the rail track on lower deck and road on the upper deck. The boat reverses from this point and returns to the same point of embarkment.
Double storeyed Malviya Bridge built in 1887
My favourite journey on Alaknanda has been with her special friends, the migratory Birds who fly down every year, from over 5000 kms from China-Russia border.
And the best moment has been on the Upper deck, accompanied by a beautiful flock of birds flying right through this flawless journey.
ALAKNANDA and her friends, Migratory Birds
Simply blissful, is what I had mentioned to Mr. Vikas Malaviya, Founding Member of Nordic Cruiseline on our return at Sant Ravidas Ghat.
Mr. Malaviya feels humbled with the overwhelming response to Alaknanda and says, “On board Alaknanda, we have ensured international safety standards and eco friendly features like silent engine, bio toilets.
We have been able to do away with the 3Ds which are integral to any cruise, Dining, Dancing or Drinking. We attribute our success to the people of India and tourists from world over for respecting the sanctity of Alaknanda and let it remain true to its origin.”
SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS ON ALAKNANDA:
Alaknanda and her friends –
Experience the spirit of freedom with migratory birds on any Morning cruise from December to February every year.
Dev Deepawali cruise –
2 hour cruise from 8 pm to 10 pm on Dev Deepawali night with local savouries like Puri, Kachori,subzi etc. served as Dinner.
Dev Deepawali is on 30th November, 2020.Ticket price and booking will open closer to date.
ALAKNANDA on Dev Deepawali night cruise
CRUISE HIGHLIGHTS: 2 cruises daily from Sant Ravidas Ghat
During Summer :
Morning – 7 am to 8.30 am
Evening – 6.30 pm to 8 pm
During Winter (Dec to Feb) :
Morning – 8 am to 9.30 am
Evening – 5.30 pm to 7 pm
The evening cruise offers a 15 minute view of Ganga Aarti on Dashashwamedh Ghat
Ticket : Rs. 900.00 per person
Online booking : https://nordiccruiseline.com/
Dev Deepawali celebration on the Ghats
This seems incredibly good. Can hardly wait to be a part of the fortunate list of tourists who have enjoyed a serene divine ride along the ghats of the holy Ganges in this state- of -the -art vessel which impresses and invites. Kudos to the entire team 👍
Thanks for your kind appreciation, looking forward to host you.
Excellent!
Have savoured the experience. It definitely remains with you for a long , long time.
A must-do when you visit Benares.
Our role is very limited here, in the lead role it is the divine power of our holy city Kashi. Thanks for appreciation.
Having taken this cruise myself, I cannot but agree with Anusuya. It is indeed a mesmerizing experience. The Ganga Aarti on one side, the Malaviya bridge and the river bank on the other, the cool breeze on my face made the evening most alluring. Great venture!! Kudos to team Alaknanda for their warmth and hospitality. A ‘must do’ when you visit Benaras!!
These nice words really encourage us to offer our best to our guests. Thank you
Feeling Live I am taking cruise n Ganga arti.
Team Alaknanda sincerely thank Ma’am Anusuya for this blog. Beautiful text and presentation. Hope it will encourage more tourists to do the cruise tour when they visit Varanasi. Thank you once again.
Reading this makes me want to take the cruise at the first opportunity! Hope the pandemic eases up soon for this. Sounds amazing.
Looking forward to a ride
The very name of Alakananda forced me to start with this blog as I have spent some great moments on her banks during My trip to Uttarakhand. In fact my all time favourite is watching the confluence of Alakananda and Mandakini at Rudraprayag from the balcony of GNVN.
I thank you for presenting the cruise so well. Looking forward to take the trip soon. Benaras is calling me.