A cruise on the mighty Brahmaputra river in India
Cruising along this beautiful Indian stretch of the river is a delight
From its source in Tibet, the Brahmaputra river flows through northeast India to Bangladesh, merging there with its equally mighty sister, the Ganges, and draining into the Bay of Bengal. A cruise along its Indian stretch on the “elegant” 18-cabin river boat Charaidew II is a delight, says Sophy Roberts in the FT. In seven days, you travel 110 miles through Assam, an “overlooked” region that is rich in rare flora and fauna and home to several distinct cultures. You’re unlikely to pass many other tourist vessels (I didn’t see one), and you’ll have plenty of time on deck to observe the vast, hypnotic river and its ever-changing shores.
Beginning in May, the monsoon transforms the area into “a landscape that’s more water than earth”, forming and reshaping sandbanks known as chars, “encouraging elephants to swim in search of new habitat” and, in bad years, forcing more than a million people to relocate to safer ground. The river’s width has nearly doubled in the past century, a process accelerated by climate change, and yet human settlement still thrives on this “edge-land”. Among the ethnic groups who inhabit it are the Ahom (with roots in Myanmar) and the Mising, who have a Tibetan-Burmese history. And though the Charaidew II is “styled after British-era steamers”, with cane furniture and tropical plants on its teak deck, its crew are all local people with long experience of navigating the river’s treacherous eddies.
Kingfishers flash past “like Mughal jewels”, and fishermen’s nets cast from the banks “fall with the grace of dragonflies landing on a pool of light”. There’s a chance to visit a tea estate, as well as several wonderful historic sites, including the palaces and temples of the Ahom kingdom. The trip includes a stay at a lodge next to Kaziranga National Park, which is one of the best places in India to see tigers, rhinos and other wildlife.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
AndBeyond Asia has a ten-night trip from $7,798pp (£6,295pp), excluding international flights; andbeyond.com
Sign up for the Travel newsletter for destination inspiration and the latest news and trends
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Argentina’s Milei buoyed by regional election winsSpeed Read Argentine President Javier Milei is an ally of President Trump, receiving billions of dollars in backing from his administration
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
Political cartoons for October 27Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include improving national monuments, the NBA gambling scandal, and the AI energy vampire
-
Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
-
6 well-crafted log homesFeature Featuring a floor-to-ceiling rock fireplace in Montana and a Tulikivi stove in New York
-
Film reviews: A House of Dynamite, After the Hunt, and It Was Just an AccidentFeature A nuclear missile bears down on a U.S. city, a sexual misconduct allegation rocks an elite university campus, and a victim of government terror pursues vengeance
-
Book reviews: ‘Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife’ and ‘Make Me Commissioner: I Know What’s Wrong With Baseball and How to Fix It’Feature Gertrude Stein’s untold story and Jane Leavy’s playbook on how to save baseball
-
Rachel Ruysch: Nature Into ArtFeature Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through Dec. 7
-
Music reviews: Olivia Dean, Madi Diaz, and Hannah FrancesFeature “The Art of Loving,” “Fatal Optimist,” and “Nested in Tangles”
-
Gilbert King’s 6 favorite books about the search for justiceFeature The journalist recommends works by Bryan Stevenson, David Grann, and more
-
Ready for the apocalypseFeature As anxiety rises about the state of the world, the ranks of preppers are growing—and changing.