By Firstdespatch Desk Apr 09, 2025
Agartala, April 9 (FD) The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will launch the ‘North East Discovery’ tour aboard the Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train from April 22, a statement revealed.
This would be its third endevour after such two successful trips and the tour would start from Delhi’s Safdurjung station will cover all famous destinations of the region including the religious shrines. It would also show the wild life and other important features of the North-East.
“The much sought-after train tour 'North East Discovery' is ready to depart on April 22, 2025, from Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station on a 14-nights/15-days itinerary. The state-of-the-art Deluxe AC Tourist Train with AC I, AC II & AC III classes will accommodate a total of 156 tourists," the IRCTC, a public sector undertaking of the Ministry of Railways, said in the statement.
About the cost of the tour, the officials said, “At a price range starting from Rs 1,67,845 per person for AC 1 (coupe), Rs 1,49,815 per person for AC 1 (cabin), Rs 1,29,915 per person in AC 2 Tier, and Rs 1,16,905 in AC III, the IRCTC tourist train will be a 15-day all-inclusive tour package.”
A statement from IRCTC said, “Tourists can board/deboard at Delhi, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Tundla, Itawah, Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi Railway Stations on this tourist train. The carefully curated itinerary shall be covering five of the 'seven sisters', of the lesser travelled North Eastern region of India by Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC Tourist Train.”
Sharing details of the tour, the IRCTC said that the first stop of the train is Guwahati, where tourists will visit Kamakhya Temple, followed by Umananda Temple and a sunset cruise on the Brahmaputra.
“The train will then depart on an overnight journey to Naharlagun Railway Station, which is 30 km from the next destination, Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. The next city to follow is Sivasagar, the old capital of the Ahom Kingdom situated in the eastern part of Assam,” the IRCTC said.
According to the IRCTC officials, the trip has been organised in such a way that all types of tourists such as nature lovers, devotees, wildlife enthusiasts and all other categories of travellers can enjoy the unexplored destinations of the Northeastern states.
“The famous Shiva temple at Sivasagar, Sivadol, is a part of the itinerary, along with other heritage sites like Talatal and Rang Ghar. Further, the tourists would be visiting the tea gardens at Jorhat and an overnight stay at Kaziranga, followed by an early morning jungle safari at Kaziranga National Park, will be experienced by the tourists,” the press note said.
It added, “The train next departs from Furkating Railway Station for the state of Tripura. Post deboarding at Kumarghat Railway Station the tourists will be visiting the heritage site of Unakoti, the ‘Angkor Wat of North East’ and later shall be visiting Agartala. The sites covered are the famous Ujjayanta Palace, Neermahal Palace and Tripura Sundari Mandir at Udaipur.
Talking about the attractive destinations of Nagaland, the IRCTC stated that after Tripura, the train will depart for Dimapur to visit the state of Nagaland where the scenic train journey between Badarpur Station and Lumding Junction can be witnessed by the guests in the early hours of the morning from their seats.
“From Dimapur Station, tourists will be taken to Kohima by buses to visit local sites, including a tour of the Khonoma village to experience the Naga way of life. The next halt will be Guwahati, and tourists will be taken to Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya, by road with a pit stop at the majestic Umium Lake en route,” an IRCTC official said.
“The next day starts with an excursion to Cherrapunji, nestled in the East Khasi Hills. Shillong Peak, Elephant Falls, Nawkhalikai Falls, and Mawsmai Caves are a part of the day's sightseeing. From Cherrapunji, the tourists travel back to Guwahati Station to board the train for the return journey to Delhi,” he said. FD JK