See the Cities of India by Luxury Train – the Golden Chariot By Darshi Chohan At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Ever wanted to see Goa? Like the idea of seeing Mysore and Bangalore, too? As a passenger on one of the three foremost luxury train journeys in India you could see many of the prominent cites in the south of the country. Take a ride on the Golden Chariot train for eleven-day roving Indian train holidays with private guided sightseeing.

The Maharaja’s Train

The Golden Chariot is one of India’s famed luxury trains that were built for royal use and have since been adapted for tourists. Because it was built as transport for the maharajas, the interior of the Golden Chariot is more like a palace than a train. India has a proud tradition of railway travel and this is one of the jewels in the Raj crown available for you to enjoy.

You’ll spend the first night of your eleven day itinerary in the Taj West end hotel. Behind its palm-shaded, elegant white archways and pillars, lies an airy, stylish and understated décor. Above all, it’s comfortable here, so you can prepare yourself to explore the first of the cities on the tour: Bangalore.

In Bangalore you’ll be taken to the gardens of Lal Bagh, where you’ll find a glasshouse as pretty as the botany it shelters, especially when it is lit at night. A visit to St Mark’s Cathedral is on the schedule, and also the Vidhana Soudha, an impressively grandiose piece of architecture that is home for the regional legislative assembly.

After a full day in Bangalore, you will be ready for your first meal on the Golden Chariot and then to retire to your cabin. Each cabin is air conditioned, has an LCD television and a private washroom. The decor is plush and regal with an old world feel, but with modern comforts and facilities it is an ideal mobile hotel for a train holiday in India. The carriages include a lounge bar, a restaurant car, a fully equipped gym and even an internet area.

Visit Indian Palaces by Train

You’ll awake refreshed the next day in Mysore, the ‘city of palaces’. This is a city with a selection of extravagant architecture. In the Maharaja’s Palace, you might even try to spot the design and furnishings that inspired the interior of the Golden Chariot’s lounge bar. An excursion of just twenty kilometers brings you to the temple of Srirangapatna in the district of Madya, to see the site of pilgrimage and its tapering towers.

Overnight, the train journeys to India’s Nagarhole National Park where you can see elephants, the mighty horned oxen called guar, many varieties of deer and macaques. There is also a healthy population of tigers, leopards and wild dogs here, if you know where to look.

In day six, the train heads north to Belur, where you can see an eighteen metre tall standing statue of Gomateshwara, as well as several of the carved temples this green region is famous for. Next are the monuments of Hampi, one of about thirty World Heritage Sites in India. The luxury train takes its name after the stone chariot here among the ruins and pillars of this historical gem.

The Beaches of Goa

By this point, your train holiday in India will have taken you the length of the Karnataka state; after visits to Badami and Aihole, the train journeys to India’s Maharashtra province, heading due west towards the coast. You will awaken in Vasco station in Goa ready to see the golden Goan beaches and encounter the local Portuguese influences.

On the tenth day, you can enjoy the changes in scenery between the coast and the southern regions of mountains, fertile jungles and broad lagoons as the Golden Chariot completes its loop, returning to Bangalore.

If you like the idea of seeing the country this way, there is another luxury train, India’s Palace on Wheels, which makes a similar tour in the very North of India, embarking from Delhi.

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