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ABN CHARAIDEW<br />

One of Asia’s major rivers, the<br />

Brahmaputra river flows through three<br />

countries: born in Tibet, reaching<br />

maturity in India, and ending its journey<br />

to the sea in Bangladesh. It bears<br />

many names along its course: Tsangpo<br />

in Tibet, Lohit or Brahmaputra in India,<br />

and Jamuna in Bangladesh.<br />

Navigable for most of its length, the<br />

Brahmaputra is known for its floods,<br />

which are essential to the ecosystems<br />

of the wildlife sanctuaries along<br />

its banks. The river bed, miles wide,<br />

forms a natural corridor for birds<br />

and mammals, while industry and<br />

development are absent from the<br />

scene.<br />

Wilderness and wildlife are, in fact, the<br />

dominant aspects of the Brahmaputra<br />

cruise but the distinctive nature of<br />

Assamese culture is also equally<br />

fascinating. Assam was the only area<br />

of India that remained unconquered by<br />

the Mughals; instead, the influence of<br />

Buddhist traditions of Southeast Asia<br />

spread through the land.<br />

Rated by CNN as one of the world’s<br />

top 10 adventurous cruises (albeit of<br />

a gentler variety), the Brahmaputra<br />

cruises are a passage to a little-known<br />

corner of the subcontinent and the<br />

natural and cultural treasures it<br />

harbours.<br />

SIGHTS ALONG<br />

THE BRAHMAPUTRA<br />

On the Brahmaputra, our cruises take<br />

you to riverside villages where the<br />

locals will be as enchanted by us as we<br />

by them. Our guide will be able to fill in<br />

about their background and to point<br />

out the differences between the<br />

various tribal communities, whether<br />

they be Mishing, Dimasa, Kachari or<br />

Bodo.<br />

Where we cannot moor the riverboat<br />

alongside the bank, we take our<br />

country boat to explore temples such<br />

as Kamakhya, where tantric rites are<br />

practised, or the ruins of the Ahom<br />

dynasty, kings of Thai stock who ruled<br />

Assam for 600 years.<br />

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