Small Ship Cruises in India

There's the Brahmaputra River in the northeastern state of Assam, where weeklong cruises focus on wildlife and village life, while sailing past, at times, breathtaking wide vistas of sand as far as the eye can see.

Across India in the long thin southwestern state of tropical Kerala, whose palm-tree-lined shoreline meets the Arabian Sea. Here, a coastal maze of canals, rivers and lakes, referred to as the Kerala Backwaters, invite small-ship cruising. Enjoy the birdlife and learning how the locals fish and farm the verdant land, from tea to rice and various spices..

Now, the Hooghly River, also known as the Lower Ganges, is a short, winding distributary of the Ganges River that flows past the city of Kolkata into the Bay of Bengal east of India. Hooghly cruises travel upstream or downstream between Kolkata and points north, typically around the town of Farakka. The focus on this itinerary is traditional village life and culture, British Raj history and pastoral/farming scenery.

If there's one Indian river people recognize, it's the Ganges. Considered a sacred, holy river, it begins high up in the Himalayan mountains, making its way down into India's plains, including past venerated cities like Varanasi, before finally meshing with the Hooghly River and reaching the Bay of Bengal. There aren't many cruises offered on the Upper Ganges, as much of it is only navigable for a short window at the end of the summer monsoon season.