Flight: EK570 Dubai - Kolkata 02.00 - 07.40

Meet & greet, transfer to hotel: Welcome to India! You will be met on arrival in Kolkata by a local representative and introduced to your private driver. Together they will take you to your city hotel to check in.

Walking tour of Kolkata: This afternoon, as a ‘warm up’ to the city, you will be taken for a walking tour of Kolkata’s little known ‘confluence of cultures’. Kolkata, or Calcutta, has witnessed many more cultures in its past than most other cities have in this globalised, and multi-cultural, present day. The walking tour will trace the origins and remains of the varied communities that hung up their boots and called Kolkata home. You will visit such migrant communities as the Chinese who thrive in China town, the dwindling Parsis or the Zoroastrians, the Armenians who gave the city its oldest surviving Christian church, the Anglo-Indians, the Muslims, the Marwaris, the Biharis and many more that made this city a great melting pot of diverse cultures. Afterwards return to your hotel to relax for the rest of the evening.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Lalit Great Eastern (Deluxe Room)

Half day guided tour of Kolkata: This morning, you will be picked up from the hotel by your guide and you will set out to explore Kolkata, one of India's most famous cities. Start with a visit to the Victoria Memorial, which is the greatest landmark of the city and one of the most solid reminders of the Raj to be found in India. This huge piece of architecture is a strange combination of classical European architecture with Mughal influence, and a resemblance can be seen between the Taj Mahal at Agra and St. Paul's Cathedral at London. The portraits, statues, paintings and other artefacts here tell the story of British Empire in India at its peak. Afterwards head to the west bank of the Hooghly River where you will find the extensive Botanical Gardens. This 273 acre park was set up in 1787 by Colonel Robert Kyd of the East India Company. It has a variety of interesting botanical specimens, but the park's prime attraction is a 200 year old Banyan tree, said to have the second largest canopy in the world. After time to look around the gardens you will end the tour with a visit to the Missionary of Charity, a foundation set up by the city's most famous daughter - Mother Teresa. Afterwards, return to the hotel for some time at leisure.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Lalit Great Eastern (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Day one - embarkation: This morning, you will be met in the hotel lobby by representatives of the ABN Rajmahal, who will transfer you to nearby Howrah Station, from where you will take a 4-hour express train up to Farakka. From Farakka, you will join a shared transfer onto the ship, arriving in time for a late lunch. In the afternoon, you will take a shore excursion through the town of Malda, also known as 'English Bazaar', to Pandua, where you will visit the great 14th century Adina Mosque. Return to Farakka, where your ship will have passed through the lock at the barrage. Dinner is served on-board.

Accommodation: Stay tonight onboard the ABN Rajmahal (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day two: This morning, you will cruise along a section of straight canal down to Jangipur. On arrival, you will take a shore excursion to Gaur. This quiet, deserted place was once one of India's great cities: first under the Hindus in the 12th century, then as the Muslim capital of Eastern India between the 14th and 16th centuries. The city is littered with remains of mosques, former palaces and ostentatious gateways. Head back to the ship in the evening, re-joining near Jangipur.

Accommodation: Stay tonight onboard the ABN Rajmahal (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day three: This morning, set sail down the Lower Ganges, a charming waterway twisting and turning between banks lined with mustard fields and mango orchards. Moor at the delightfully sleepy village of Baranagar which boasts three gorgeous miniature terracotta temples. Walk through the temples and out in the fields, where you encounter rural India at its most idyllic. Continue on down past Azimganj, boasting some fine riverside mansions, to Murshidabad where the Nawab's great Hazarduari Palace dominates the waterfront. Built by an English architect in 1837, the palace hosts an extensive collection of pictures, fine china, weapons and other objects. Continue to visit the great Katra Mosque and Nashipara Palace, before driving out to see Katgola Palace. The palace was built by wealthy local merchants in classical Georgian style, and represents the other side the 'White Mughal' period when English and Indian cultures came close to fusion. Moor overnight on the riverbank across from town.

Accommodation: Stay tonight onboard the ABN Rajmahal (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day four: This morning, sail a short distance further downstream, then come ashore to walk into the Khushbagh, a peaceful Mughul-style garden which encloses the tombs of Siraj-ud-Daulah (the last independent Nawab of Bengal) and his family. Return to the ship and continue downstream, passing the old British cantonment of Berhampur, arriving at a rural mooring close to the battlefield of Plassey. The battle of Plassey in 1757 saw Robert Clive, then Commander-in-Chief of British India, defeat Siraj-ud-Daulah, and thus change the course of Indian history. Take some time to walk through the fields, pausing for thought at the commemorative obelisk. Return to the ship and cruise on to a mooring near Katwa, a market town with narrow bustling bazaars.

Accommodation: Stay tonight onboard the ABN Rajmahal (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day five: This morning, come ashore to visit the brassworking village of Matiari, where you can see a completely hand-made process of beating out brass water pots and other vessels. Continue on through the countryside to Mayapur, where you will find the vast new ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) temple dominates the skyline. As the headquarters of ISKCON, better known as the Hare Krishna movement, the temple receives over a million singing and dancing devotees a year from around the world.

Accommodation: Stay tonight onboard the ABN Rajmahal (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day six: Continue sailing down to the country town of Kalna. On the shore, you will take a fleet of cycle rickshaws to see some of Bengal's most attractive terracotta temples, including a unique Shiva temple with concentric rings made up of 108 smaller shrines. Return to the ship and sail on, and you will notice rural life stripping away as you begin to arrive at the outskirts of Kolkata. A second landing will be made near Bandel to visit the imposing Imambara. With verses from the Koran written on its walls, the Imambara is an opportunity to step back in time and learn more about the long-standing influence of Islam in Bengal.

Accommodation: Stay tonight onboard the ABN Rajmahal (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day seven: Sail downstream past fine waterfront buildings and the old Dutch settlement at Chinsura to land at Chandernagore, which was a French concession up until 1950. Visit the 18th century church and the former home of Joseph François Dupleix, the erstwhile Governor-General of French India. Return to the ship and continue down to Barrackpore. Come ashore and take a walk through the cantonment, passing the Semaphore Tower, Government House, the Temple of Fame and Flagstaff House, all of which tell a story of India's journey to independence.

Accommodation: Stay tonight onboard the ABN Rajmahal (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day eight - disembarkation: Early this morning, you draw into Kolkata, passing under the magnificent Howrah Bridge, and disembarking in downtown Kolkata.

Private transfer: Upon your arrival back in Kolkata, you will be met at the jetty by a private guide and driver who will transfer you to the airport for your onward flight.

Flight: AI422 Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose - Varanasi 14.30 - 15.30

Private transfer: Upon arrival in Varanasi, you will be met by your local guide and taken to the Brijrama Palace for a 2-night stay.

Evening Aarti Ceremony: As dusk falls, you will be taken into the heart of Varanasi to visit the Ghats, which line the banks of the sacred Ganges. Your guide will walk you in and around the ghats and the hectic streets which lead back from the waterfront. The walking tour will culminate at Dashashwamedh Ghat – the busiest, and most vibrant of all – in time for the mesmerising Aarti ceremony. Held every evening in this spot, the Aarti is a devotional ritual which uses fire an offering to the Maa Ganga, goddess of the most holy river in India. Watch as lamps are lit and circled by pandits (Hindu priests), accompanied by lively dance and songs of devotion. The priests believe that through their devotion the lamps will acquire the power of the goddess, and the ritual ends as they cup their hands over the flames, raise their palms to their foreheads, and absorb the purification and blessing of the goddess.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Brijrama Palace (Nadidhara Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Sunrise boat & walking tour: Leave the hotel early this morning and be taken back down to the ghats to enjoy a magical boat ride as the sun rises over India’s holiest city. The riverfront, as seen from the water at daybreak, is a truly uplifting sight: observe as daily life breaks out along the ghats – washing, bathing, sadhus smoking, children at play, the odd wandering cow – set against the backdrop of glittering temples and the rising bells and chants of the pandits.

After your boat ride, you will be taken for a brief walking tour of Varanasi’s historical centre. The alleys and by-lanes of Varanasi are as fascinating as anything one can imagine. Shops sell rich brocade silks, brassware and also all the articles essential for worship at numerous little shrines. You will return to your hotel for breakfast, and then spend the morning at leisure.

Afternoon trip to Sarnath: Later in the afternoon, you will be driven a short distance outside of the city to Sarnath, one of the four most important pilgrimage centres for Buddhists. Following birth in Lumbini (just across the border in Nepal), gaining enlightenment at Bodhgaya (in in Bihar State), and prior to his death in Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh), the Buddha visited Sarnath and here delivered his first teaching on the Middle Path to Nirvana. Later, in the 3rd Century BC, the great Buddhist Emperor Ashoka marked this spot by constructing a network of magnificent stupas and monasteries. Over the centuries Sarnath fell into insignificance, and later ruin, before British archaeologists began excavation in 1836. The site remains in a state of semi-ruin, but is well-presented and very atmospheric, making a more placid contrast to the freneticism of Varanasi. After time to explore the site you will return to the Varanasi and spend the evening at leisure.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Brijrama Palace (Nadidhara Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Morning at leisure: This morning, you have a bit of time at leisure to take in the atmosphere of Varanasi, either relaxing at the hotel or wandering the backstreets independently.

Private transfer: In the early afternoon, you will be collected from the Brijrama Palace and transferred to Babatpur Airport for your flight to Delhi.

Flight: 9W2424 Babatpur - Delhi 15.25 - 16.55

Private transfer: You will be met on arrival in Delhi and taken to the nearby Aerocity complex to spend a final night at leisure.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Pullman New Delhi Aerocity (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast