Take the Golden Chariot to Explore South India

If the rigours of a road journey are not for you but you are wary of taking a regular train (after Indian Railways starts operating its post-pandemic normal schedule), then may be the Golden Chariot luxury tourist train is a solution for you. Operated by the Indian Railways&rsquo subsidiary IRCTC and Karnataka, it is set to roll out in October this year and has started accepting bookings.

The schedule for 2020-2021 showed the train will make three separate journeys &ndash The Pride of Karnataka, Glimpses of Karnataka and Jewels of South. The trains will travel up to the nearest train stations from where guests will be taken by road to the attractions. All journeys start from and end in Bengaluru.

The almost week-long Pride of Karnataka includes visits to Bandipur National Park, the royal city of Mysore, Chikmagalur coffee country, the ruins of Halebidu, Hampi and Badami before proceeding for a day tour of Goa.

Glimpses of Karnatka, a three-night tour, will cover Bandipur, Mysore and Hampi.

&nbspAlso a week-long tour, the Jewels of South, covers the three neighbourhood states of Karnataka (Mysore and Hampi), Tamil Nadu (Mahabalipuram, Thanjavur and Chettinad) and Kerala (Kochi and Kumarakom).

The authorities have introduced some relaxation in the booking rules, including change of name and date of journey subject to rules and conditions.

Details of dates, tariff and relaxation rules are available on the website.