The caravan bus in Guwahati on Sunday. Telegraph picture

Guwahati, Feb. 9: We have seen them on television and in films. Now, caravans are here for real. Yes, caravan tourism has taken off in the Northeast with a travel operator facilitating the service here.

A first of its kind, the caravan bus from Germany will take tourists to places across Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur.

“The tour was a challenge for us as it took two years for us to convince our foreign counterpart, Berlin-based Rotel Tours, to undertake the tour in the region. We are operating two tours on this caravan bus. One will get under way from tomorrow with 18 guests on board, including a local guide, and will culminate on February 20. The next trip covering 12 days starts on March 10,” Purushottam Das of News Travel Services (India) told The Telegraph.

The objective of the tour is to promote the concept of caravan tourism in the region.

“We have undertaken the tour to prove that such a trip can be operated in the Northeast. This will be a new benchmark for new ideas in the tourism sector to promote the region as well,” Das said.

The left-hand drive bus from Germany can accommodate 20 people.

It has beds and four toilets besides an attached kitchen with an electronic device.

“The bus, being driven by a German driver, will leave for Shillong tomorrow and after halting overnight will travel to Sohra the day after. The other stopovers are Nameri, Bomdilla, Kaziranga, Jorhat, Majuli, Touphema, Kohima, Imphal and Moreh near the India-Myanmar border,” he said.

“We would also like to thank the state transport department for helping us make the trip possible,” Das said.

Asked about the disadvantages of a left-hand drive vehicle on Indian roads, he said, “Rotel has undertaken trips to other parts of the country on left-hand drive buses. So, it should not be a problem. The bus goes back to Germany after the trip.”

“More of such tours will be undertaken in the future. But we will first take feedback from our clients,” he said.

The Union ministry of tourism had in 2009, unveiled a policy for developing caravan tourism in India, however, only Madhya Pradesh has capitalised on the idea.

The Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) has plans to introduce caravan tourism soon.

The corporation had last year acquired two caravan cars, one for single family tours having all necessities, including sofa-cum-beds, AC rooms, a small kitchen, toilets, microwave oven and audio and video systems while another for shorter trips that will accommodate up to eight people having all amenities except beds.

“The caravan cars have been equipped with the requisite amenities and will be ready for operation in about 15 to 20 days. So, it is likely that they would hit the roads by March,” ATDC managing director Anurag Singh told The Telegraph.