Day 1. Midday 6 hr train journey from Calcutta to Farakka, and short road transfer to the ship. Customers joining independently at Farakka can board from midday onwards.

Day 2. This morning we leave Farakka and sail out into the River Ganges proper, almost sea-like here just above the great Farakka Barrage. We sail upstream much of the morning, before anchoring at Rajmahal, beneath the Rajmahal Hills. Rajmahal is one of those places, so common in India, which feature in no guidebook and yet offer both interest and atmosphere; once known as Akbarnagar, the town was founded by the Mughal Emperor Akbar as his eastern capital. Shah Jehan, builder of the Taj Mahal, spent much of his youth here. There are remains of palaces, forts and mosques submerged in vegetation which we shall explore.

Day 3. Today is a day spent cruising upriver, passing in the afternoon the confluence with the Kosi, coming down from Nepal. Close to here we shall visit the village of Antichak and ruins of the 8th century Buddhist monastery of Vikramshila.

Day 4. This morning we stop to visit the island shrine at Colganj, with both Buddhist and Hindu cave temples, and once a centre of the murderous Thug sect, then sail on along a stretch of the river where Gangetic Dolphin may be seen, to Bhagalpur, a centre of silk production. We shall hope to visit the 18th century monument to Augustus Cleveland, as well as his elegant bungalow..

Day 5. We sail on to Sultanganj and Jahangira Island, a place of pilgrimage with early Hindu carvings in the rock. On shore, another picturesque rock is topped with a mosque. We continue on to stop for the night before Monghyr.

Day 6. Monghyr possesses a fine Mughal fort, as well as a big British cemetery dating back to the days when it was a retirement settlement for the East India Company. We shall also visit the Pirpahar Hill, crowned by a fine old mansion, before continuing our cruise upstream.

Day 7. This morning we pass under the great bridge at Mokameh, where the naturalist Jim Corbett spent his working life in charge of the ferry which operated here earlier. At some stage we shall stop to visit a bankside village and stretch our legs. We arrive by evening at the bridge of boats at Fatwa.

Day 8. Today there is a choice of excursions, either to the Jain and Buddhist monuments at Rajgir Hill and the Buddhist monasteries at Nalanda, or on further to Boddh Gaya itself, the site of Buddha’s enlightenment and of the bodhi tree under which he sat. Surrounding the great Mahabodhi temple are the temples and monasteries of many Buddhist cultures, Japan, Bhutan, Tibet, Thailand, and others.
We return in the evening to our ship which will have arrived in the state capital of Patna at a berth close to the old East India Company opium warehouses.