The Sonepur Cattle Fair takes place for about a month each year at the confluence of the Rivers Ganges and Gandak about 25km from Patna. It is held for about a month around Kartik Poornima, the full moon day, which in 2010 will fall on or close to 21 November, with the busiest days being either side of Full Moon.

The fair is centred on the Hariharnath temple at the confluence, and many of the million or so visitors will take the opportunity to bathe in the holy river waters. Every sort of animal and bird can be bought here, from dogs, cats, monkeys and songbirds to water buffalo, horses, camels and elephants – many of the latter are beautifully decorated for the event.  There are also numerous sideshows and stalls, selling fabric and clothes, ornaments, toys, weapons and agricultural implements, while entertainers and jugglers perform to the crowds.

We shall anchor midstream off the confluence, and use our country boat each day to take us to and from the fair, thus combining seclusion from the crowds and ready accessibility to the action.

We shall also organise a halfday excursion during the extension to Vaishali. This site, sacred to both Buddhists and Jains, lies a few km north of Sonepur. Here Buddha preached his last sermon, and we shall see a pillar erected by the Emperor Ashoka around 230 BC, as well as visiting the archaeological museum and the nearby Jain shrine.

Day 1. Sail upstream from Patna.

Days 2-3. At Sonepur, visiting the fair and nearby Vaishali.

Day 4. Sail downstream to Patna.