Jewels of the South: 6 Days on the Golden Chariot from Bengaluru to Mysore, Tamil Nadu and Kerala

Board in Bengaluru and visit Mysore Palace

Check in at Yeshwantpur station in Bengaluru and board the Golden Chariot. We recommend spending the night before in Bengaluru, so a delayed flight does not put the start of your journey at risk. The train departs mid-morning, with lunch on board as it crosses the Karnataka countryside to Mysore, through farmland of sugarcane, coconut palms and rice.

Head straight to Mysore Palace, the seat of the Wodeyar maharajas, completed in 1912 in a mix of Indo-Saracenic, Hindu and Gothic styles. It replaced an older wooden palace that burned down in 1897. Its stained-glass marriage hall and painted Durbar Hall are among the grandest interiors in India. In the marriage hall, look up at the stained-glass ceiling with its peacock patterns, and at the cast-iron pillars; in the Durbar Hall, the painted ceilings and the views out through its arches to the Chamundi Hills. Shoes are removed before entering.

Mysore is also known for its silk, sandalwood and incense, if you have a moment to shop. Return to the train for dinner as it departs overnight for Tamil Nadu.

• MorningBoard in Bengaluru
• AfternoonMysore Palace
• NightOvernight to Tamil Nadu

OvernightAboard the Golden Chariot.

Kanchipuram silk and the Mahabalipuram shore temples

Wake at Chengalpattu in Tamil Nadu. An optional morning excursion goes to Kanchipuram, one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism, famous for its temples and the heavy gold-bordered silk saris woven on its handlooms. A weaver can show you how the borders are woven separately and interlocked with the body of the sari, which is why a good Kanchipuram silk lasts for generations.

In the afternoon, visit the UNESCO-listed monuments of Mahabalipuram, built by the Pallava kings in the 7th and 8th centuries: the Shore Temple on the edge of the Bay of Bengal, the Pancha Rathas, five temples each carved from a single rock, and Arjuna's Penance, one of the largest open-air rock reliefs in the world. On the relief, look for the life-size elephants and the cat standing on one leg in mock imitation of the ascetic above it. Nearby, the giant boulder known as Krishna's Butter Ball balances on a slope.

It is hot and bright here for most of the year, so bring a hat and water. Dinner is at a beachfront hotel before you return to the train for the overnight journey to Thanjavur.

• Optional morningKanchipuram temples and silk weavers
• AfternoonShore Temple, Pancha Rathas and Arjuna's Penance
• EveningDinner by the sea

OvernightAboard the Golden Chariot.

The Brihadeeswarar Temple and the mansions of Chettinad

Visit the Brihadeeswarar Temple, completed in 1010 by the Chola king Rajaraja I and part of the UNESCO-listed Great Living Chola Temples. One of the largest temples in India, it has a 66-metre granite tower and a huge carved Nandi bull. More than a thousand years on, it is still a working temple: you will see priests, pilgrims and families at worship. Shoes are left at the entrance, and the stone courtyard heats up quickly, so the morning visit is well timed. Look for the Chola inscriptions running along the base of the walls.

Continue to Chettinad, home of the Nattukottai Chettiar merchant-bankers, who made fortunes across Southeast Asia in the 19th and early 20th centuries and built vast mansions with Burmese teak pillars, Italian marble and Belgian glass. Visit one of the mansions and the workshops where Athangudi floor tiles are still made by hand, with colour poured into patterned moulds on glass and left to set.

The region is also known across India for its peppery, richly spiced cooking. Return to the train for the overnight run to Kerala.

• MorningBrihadeeswarar Temple
• AfternoonChettinad mansions and Athangudi tiles
• NightOvernight to Kerala

OvernightAboard the Golden Chariot.

Cochin: palaces, dance and fishing nets

Arrive at Cochin, for centuries one of the great spice ports of the world, where Arab, Chinese, Jewish, Portuguese, Dutch and British traders all left their mark. Visit Mattancherry Palace, built by the Portuguese for the Raja of Cochin and later renovated by the Dutch, which is why it is also called the Dutch Palace. It has some of the finest Hindu murals in Kerala, with scenes from the Ramayana painted in rich reds, ochres and greens.

This is followed by a performance of Kerala's traditional dance. Kerala's classical dance forms tell stories from the epics through elaborate make-up and costume, a language of hand gestures and very expressive eyes.

Optional afternoon excursions take in the Chinese fishing nets on the seafront at Fort Kochi, St Francis Church, where Vasco da Gama was first buried, and the Paradesi Synagogue in Jew Town, with its hand-painted Chinese floor tiles. The lanes around Jew Town are lined with spice warehouses and antique shops. Dress modestly for the church and synagogue. The train then departs for Kumarakom.

• MorningMattancherry Palace and a dance performance
• Optional afternoonFort Kochi, the fishing nets and Jew Town
• EveningTrain to Kumarakom

OvernightAboard the Golden Chariot.

A day on the Kerala backwaters

The day's highlight: a cruise on a kettuvallam, a traditional rice barge converted into a houseboat, along the palm-fringed canals and across Vembanad Lake, past paddy fields, village churches and temples, and people fishing and paddling canoes. Vembanad is the largest lake in Kerala, and some of the paddy fields around it lie below the level of the water, held back by earth dykes.

Watch for kingfishers, egrets, cormorants and darters on the banks; the Kumarakom area is known for its waterbirds. Life on the water goes on around you: children rowing to school, women washing clothes on the steps, and boats loaded with coconuts or sand.

Lunch is served at a waterside venue; look out for Kerala dishes such as karimeen, the pearl-spot fish of the backwaters. It is a deliberately unhurried day after four days of sightseeing, and for many guests the most memorable of the journey. Bring sun cream and a hat for the open deck. Return to the train in the evening for the overnight run back to Bengaluru.

• DayHouseboat cruise on the backwaters
• MiddayLunch by the water
• EveningOvernight to Bengaluru

OvernightAboard the Golden Chariot.

Journey's end in Bengaluru

Breakfast on board as the train arrives back at Yeshwantpur station in Bengaluru. We meet you with a private transfer to your hotel or the airport, and can arrange extensions to Hampi, Coorg or Kerala.

If you have a few hours in Bengaluru before your flight, we can show you Lalbagh, the botanical garden laid out in the 18th century with its Victorian glasshouse, and Tipu Sultan's wooden summer palace. Allow plenty of time for the drive to the airport, which lies well north of the city.

• MorningArrive in Bengaluru; private transfer
• OptionalLalbagh and Tipu Sultan's summer palace