Take Off

Find Me a River

Before roads, railways and air travel, India moved on water. Her great waterways carried trade, pilgrims, armies, and stories across the vast subcontinent. Today, rivers are home to leisurely cruises, and trips that are as much about culture as they are about experiences.

Photos & Text: Joydeep MondalJune 2026 · Issue 200

A wooden boat moored among water lilies and lotus leaves — Spice Route, June 2026

GUWAHATI

Sandbank Sojourn

If living on a temporary sandbank was possible, Guwahati, on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra, would be that place. The river, notorious for its monsoon floods, is actually calm and navigable in other seasons. Entering Assam from Arunachal Pradesh, already a force of nature, and having crossed the Tibetan plateau and punched through the deep gorges of the eastern Himalayas, the Brahmaputra is scattered and tamed by the time it rolls into the capital. Still, cruises leaving from Guwahati’s ghats — Uzanbazar and Fancy Bazar are departure points for boats crossing over to Umananda island (and for leisure rides) — give a sense of the river’s scale. And between October and March, when the water recedes, you can camp on the sandbanks; it makes for a unique experience, knowing that the sandbar will soon disappear under the Brahmaputra.

A rhino wading in a wide blue river, with forested hills behind — The mighty Brahmaputra defines the Kaziranga National Park. It is here that the famous one-horned rhinos can be spotted.The Brahmaputa in Guwahati is often the backdrop to many events and festivals

Brightly coloured sail-like panels set up on a sandbank beside a white tent — The mighty Brahmaputra defines the Kaziranga National Park. It is here that the famous one-horned rhinos can be spotted.The Brahmaputa in Guwahati is often the backdrop to many events and festivals

ALLEPPEY

Backwater Bliss

Kerala’s backwaters are part of an intricate and ancient riverine network, spanning 900kms of canals, lakes, and lagoons across the southern lowlands. The houseboat, or Kettuvallam, was originally a rice barge, but is now retrofitted with bedrooms, open decks, and outdoor kitchens. This is the dominant grammar of travel here, and, guided by a push-pole, a wonderfully laid-back way of acquainting yourself with this unique rural landscape. From the mighty Periyar river cutting through the lush Nilgiris to the delta country of Kuttanad, Kerala is not only about journeys on water; it’s slow travel at its best.

GOA

The Susegad Way

Off the Arabian Sea lies an elaborate web of rivers, creeks, and rain-fed lakes. This is Goa, where the Mandovi meets the ocean at Panaji, running wide and brackish over laterite soil and past mangroves. Its tidal terrain, changeable, and particularly beautiful in the mornings, before the charter boats and floating casino vessels start revving up their engines. Opt for a traditional fishing boat adapted for a day charter, and explore the working life of the river — the ferry crossings, crab traps, and cormorants drying their wings on the channel markers. Head upstream where the mangroves thicken, motorboat traffic disappears, and the Mandovi conceals itself from the crowds. And make your way to the Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, on the western edge of Chorao island (a short ferry ride from Ribandar); it is here that the river’s ecology, and its diversity of avian species, is most visible.

Travellers in a wooden canoe poled along a green backwater, with children standing in the water — A river cruise in Alleppey is every traveller’s dream, and it is a perfect way to get a slice of local life.Mandovi river besides being popular for cruise is also the lifeline of local fishermen.

A fisherman on a small boat on the river, seen through bare branches — A river cruise in Alleppey is every traveller’s dream, and it is a perfect way to get a slice of local life.Mandovi river besides being popular for cruise is also the lifeline of local fishermen.

A thatched houseboat on a backwater lined with coconut palms

SUNDARBANS

Delta Delights

In the world’s largest mangrove forest, water is everywhere. The Bengal tiger moves around the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Meghna, a place of tidal creeks and mangrove islands where the tides determine the boundary. From your boat, you look for life, scanning the muddy banks; most of the time you see the forest looking back, inscrutable. That mystery is the crux of the Sundarbans encounter. Boat safaris here typically last two-three days, on a craft — usually equipped with bunk beds and toilets — gliding through the creeks of Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary, and going deeper into Dobanki and Sudhanyakhali. With a wildlife guide for company, you’ll spot estuarine crocodiles and monitor lizards sliding off the banks, while spotted deer wade at the margins. Sundarbans, a World Heritage Site, is also known for its rich variety of bird species.

HAMPI

Stones With Stories

The wide and rocky Tungabhadra travels through Hampi gently, its course broken by enormous granite boulders, the very same that define the landscape, the ruins of the erstwhile kingdom of Vijayanagara. The coracle, a round wicker-and-tar boat, is the pride of Tungabhadra, and for centuries was the primary means of crossing the river; it still is. As it floats, the coracle spins slowly, reaching the other side in around five minutes. But those few minutes on the water present a view of the ruins that no land approach can match. Hire a boat for longer to drift past farms and quiet villages, existing as though the ancient empire along its banks was just a passing curiosity, and not the main character.

A boat on a still river at sunset, with mangrove forest along the bank — The rivers in Sundarbans are home to dolphins, crocodile and many reptiles. This is a perfect destination for a slow holiday.The majestic view of the Tungabhadra from Hampi.

An aerial view of a river winding between boulders and ruins, with a temple tower in the distance — The rivers in Sundarbans are home to dolphins, crocodile and many reptiles. This is a perfect destination for a slow holiday.The majestic view of the Tungabhadra from Hampi.

KASHMIR

Untouched, Unchanging

Himalayan rivers are temperamental. The Kishanganga, or Neelum, running cold and strong through the Gurez Valley near the Line of Control, has earned its isolation on the back of decades of restricted access shaping life along its banks; from the Dard-Shina villages with their timber-and-stone architecture to the pristine alpine reservoir, it flows into the Dawar village. Its shallow rapids navigate gorges and valleys, freezing in the winter like an icy dream. The Lidder River, by contrast, traverses stretches that most travellers carry in their imagination. Pine-framed and white-hued, it moves fast through Pahalgam, and the eponymous valley, then descends, before rising near the Kolahoi glacier, where its colour is an opaque grey-green. Trout gather in deep pools beneath the willows, and along the banks, daily life continues undisturbed: ponies crossing the shallow fords and woodsmoke drifting down from the hillside villages

Horses grazing beside a fast-flowing river in a green valley — The Gurez Valley in Kashmir is known for its breathtaking views.The Lidder flowing through Pahalgam adds to the idyllic beauty of the valley.

A turquoise lake below forested mountains, with a village of timber houses on the slope — The Gurez Valley in Kashmir is known for its breathtaking views.The Lidder flowing through Pahalgam adds to the idyllic beauty of the valley.

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