Golden Chariot

The luxury train Golden Chariot is known as the Palace On Wheels of South India. The train is one of the best luxury trains in the world. The facilities on board are unique and unforgettable. The Golden Chariot is run by KSTDC (Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation), a Government of Karnataka undertaking.

The train has two routes –

Pride of the South – A journey spanning 8 days and 7 nights through Bangalore - Kabini - Srirangapatnam - Mysore - Shravanabelagola - Belur - Halebid - Hampi - Badami - Pattadakal - Goa.

Southern Splendour - A splendid voyage spanning 7 nights and 8 days covering three states of South India starting from Bangalore and ending at Cochin. Bangalore - Chennai - Pondicherry - Tanjavur - Madurai - Thiruvananthpuram - Alleppey - Kochi.

Day 1 (Monday)	Bangalore	12:30PM	Check-in at the Leela Palace followed by lunch at jamawar or citrus
		03:00PM	Depart for Bangalore Sightseeing Tippu’s Palace, Bull Temple, Lalbagh and shopping
		08:00PM	Arrival at Yeshwantpur Railway Station, Platform No. 6. Traditional In­dian welcome at Railway Station and escorting to respective cabins. Dinner onboard The Golden Chariot
		09:00PM	Depart for Mysore
		11:30PM	Arrive at Mysore - Overnight in The Golden Chariot at Mysore Railway Station
Day 2 (Tuesday)	Kabini	10:00AM	Depart for Kabini/Bandipur after Breakfast
		01:00PM	Reach Kabini Jungle Lodge. Lunch at the Kabini Jungle Lodge.
		04:00AM	leave for jungle safari after tea/coffee break
		06:00PM	Return in the evening from jungle safari for Wildlife movie
		08:00PM	Dinner and stay overnight at jungle lounge

Day 3 (Wednesday)	Mysore	06:30AM	Depart for boat ride in the kabini river
		08:15AM	Breakfast at kabini jungle lodge and depart for mysore
		11:30AM	while returning for kabini visit to Mysore place
		01:00PM	Lunch on board The Golden Chariot
		03:00PM	Mysore sighting seeing, srirangap atnam
		07:00PM	Dinner at Lalita Mahal Place with a Culture Show
		10:00PM	Back onboard The Golden Chariot
Day 4 (Thursday)	Hassan	06:00AM	Depart from Mysore to Hassan
		08:15AM	Arrive to Hassan
		09:00AM	Depart for Sightseeing to Shravanabelagola
		01:00PM	Lunch on board The Golden Chariot
		02:30PM	Depart for Belur and Halebid for sightseeing
		07:15PM	Back onboard The Golden Chariot
		08:40PM	The train would depart for Hospet [Dinner onboard The Golden Chariot
Day 5 (Friday)	Hampi	06:00AM	Arrival at Hospet.
		08:30AM	After breakfast depart for Hampi sightseeing: Virupaksha Temple. Queens's Bath, Elephant Stables and Local crafts bazaar.
		01:00PM	Lunch on board The Golden Chariot
		03:00PM	Depart for sightseeing: Royal enclosure, Hazara Rarna Temple. Illuminated Vittala Temple.
		08:00PM	Dinner on board The Golden Chariot.

Day 6 (Saturday)	Badam	05:00AM	Depart from Hospet to Badami
		08:30AM	Arrival at Badarni
		09:00AM	Depart after breakfast for sightseeing: Badami Caves and Pattadakal
		01:30PM	Lunch on board The Golden Chariot
		02:00PM	Depart for Goa. Relax and enjoy the facilities onboard The Golden Chariot Spa, Gym Dinner onboard The Golden Chariot. Reach Goa post midnight.
Day 7(Sunday)	Goa	09:30AM	Breakfast on board The Golden Chariot
		10:00AM	Depart for sightseeing
		11:00AM	Visit the famous churches of old Goa
		12:15PM	\/isit an old Portuguese house: Sola Souto Maiorfortea/ coffee and cookies; shopping at the emporium
		02:00PM:	Reach Majorda Beach Resort for lunch
		03:00PM:	An Ayurvedic massage, a visit to the casino, a dip in the  pool / beach, etc. (Ayurvedic massage and casino  chargesextra as applicable)
		05:00PM	Depart from the Resort
		07:15PM:	Return to The Golden Chariot.
			Dinner onboard The Golden Chariot
		09:00PM:	Depart for Banqalore
Day 8(Monday)	Banqalore	11:30AM:	Reach Yeshwantpur Railway Station
			Tour ends

The Splendor of South

Day 1 (Monday)	Bangaluru	12:00PM	Check-in at the Leela Palace followed by lunch.
		03:00PM	Depart for Bangalore Sightseeing Tippu’s Palace, Bull Temple, Lalbagh and shopping
		08:00PM	Arrival at Yeshwantpur Railway Station, Platform No. 6. Traditional In­dian welcome at Railway Station and escorting to respective cabins. Dinner onboard The Golden Chariot
		10:00PM	Depart for Chennai
Day 2 (Tuesday)	Chennai	06:00AM	Arrive Chennai early morning
		07:30AM	Breakfast onboard The Golden Chariot
		09:00AM	Proceed for a sightseeing tour of Chennai. The tour begins from the ‘St. Mary’s Church’, built in 1678 – 80, was the first English Church in Chennai.   Other attractions include the National Art Gallery and Mu­seum, which house some beautiful temple friezes, the bronze gallery, archeological section.  Drive past the High Court Building, Fort St. George and the famous film studios.
		11:30AM	Drive to Mamallapuram
		01:00PM	Lunch at Temple Bay Mamallapuram.
		02:30PM	Excursion to Mamallapuram, an ancient coastal port, south of Chennai, world famous for its shore temple, Mamallapuram was the second capi­tal and sea port of the Pallava Kings of Kanchipuram, the first Tamil dynasty after the fall of the Gupta Empire.  The whole of Mamallapuram is a fabulous open-air museum of sculptures in living rock, Monolithic shrines scooped out caverns magnificently sculpted within and the world’s biggest Bas relief in rock, are truly wondrous examples of the sculptor’s art. The famous temples of the Rathas , the Penance of Bhagirath, the Shore Temple and the eight Mandapams. (Shallow, rock cut halls) are also located at the beach.
		05:30PM	Depart for Chennai
		07:00PM	Dinner onboard The Golden Chariot
			Departure for Pondicherry after the dinner. Overnight in The Train
Day 3 (Wednesday)	Pondi­cherry	07:00AM	Breakfast onboard The Golden Chariot
		08:00AM	The Train arrives at Pondicherry (Vellupuram Railway Station) and drive to Pondicherry
		09:30AM	Sightseeing tour of Pondicherry, visiting Auroville. Conceived as a trib­ute to Sri Aurobindo, Auroville is an entirely new concept in education and urban living.
		01:00PM	Lunch at Indo French Cuisine Restaurant  of  Neemrana Hotel
		02:30PM	The Aurobindo Ashram is known to the world over as the "Centre of Integral Yoga".  Sri Aurobindo, India’s philosopher around 1920 founded it.
		06:30PM	Drive to Pondicherry (Vellupuram Railway Station)

Day 4 (Thursday)	Tiruchira­palli & Thanjavur		Arrival in Tiruchirapalli early in the morning
		07:00AM	Breakfast onboard The Golden Chariot
		08:30AM	Trichy (Tiruchirapalli)  - Situated on the banks of the River Kaveri, just 320 kms from Chennai, Trichy was a Chola Citadel during the Sangam Age when the Pandyas and Pallavas held sway over this region for short periods.  The Nayaks of Madurai built the town and the historic Rock Fort, which played a vital role in the Carnatic wars in the 18th century.  The most famous landmark is ‘The Rock Fort Temple’, a spec­tacular monument perched on a rock outcrop which rises abruptly from the plain to tower over the old city. At  the first level are the remnants of a huge hall blasted into ruins in 1772.  The next storey is the Mathrub­huteshwar Shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva.  Finally at the top of the hill, is the Ucchi Pillayar Koil – A Lord Ganesh Temple, offering a com­manding view of the city

		12:00PM	Drive to Tanjore
		01:00PM	Lunch at Sangam at Tanjore
		02:30PM	Proceed for a sightseeing tour of Tanjore where you will visit temples built during the 10th and 14th centuries.  These later became a part of the Vijaynagar Kingdom, which subsequently passed into the hands of the  Marathas and went to the British. The most famous landmark is the Brihadeshwara temple , which ,is now a world heritage site
		06:00PM	Drive to Trichy
		08:00PM	Dinner onboard The Golden Cheriot.
		10:00PM	After dinner onboard and leave for Madurai
Day 5 (Friday)	Madurai	07:00AM	Breakfast onboard The Golden Chariot
		08:00AM	Arrival in Madurai
		09:00AM	Proceed for a sightseeing tour of Madurai – The primary interest is the Meenakshi Temple, where Dravidian temple architecture may be con­sidered to be at its best. Its Hall of a thousand Pillars is fabulous and is filled with worshippers at all hours of the day. The tour also includes a visit to the  – Thirumalai Nayak Palace & Thiruparangundram temple
		01:30PM	Lunch at Taj Garden Retreat
		03:00PM	Local Market Tour and evening ceremony at Meenakshi Temple
		08:00PM	Dinner onboard, overnight at The Golden Chariot
		10:00PM	The Train will leave for Thiruvananthapuram
Day 6 (Saturday)	Thiru­vananthapuram and Poovar	07:00AM	Breakfast onboard The Golden Chariot
		09:00AM	The tour begins from “The Padamanabhaswami Temple”, which, was constructed in the Dravidian style, by the Maharaja of Travancore in 1733.  Only Hindus are allowed inside this temple. It has a 7 storey high tower with a curious pagoda – Shaped Peak.  Later also visit the Napier Museum, housed in a bizarrely attractive, decaying Indo-Saracenic building dating back to 1880. The museum has a good collection of his­torical and contemporary bronze ornaments, temple carts, ivory carv­ings and life size figures of kathakali dancers in full regalia. The tour also includes a visit to the Sri Chitra Art Gallery, which houses paintings of the Rajput, Mughal and Tanjore schools. It is renowned for its collec­tion of art from Tibet, China and Japan as well as from North and South India.
		12:00PM	Depart for Poovar
		01:30PM	Lunch at Estuary Poovar and time to explore the beaches
		08:00PM	Evening Gala dinner with music and dance.at Estuary Poovar

Day 7 (Sunday)	Backwaters & Kochi	09:00AM	Arrival in Allepey and Backwater Cruise
		01:00PM	Lunch at kumarakom Lake Resort and afterwards drive to Kochi.
		02:30PM	Drive to Kochi
		04:00PM	Arrive at Kochi The tour of Kochi begins from “The Dutch Palace also known as Mattancherry Palace, built by Portugues in 1555, which is famous for its murals depicting scenes from the Ramayana and the pu­ranic legends. Adjacent to the palace is the Jewish Synagogue (closed on Fridays & Saturdays) built in 1568. Also visit the St. Francis Church (closed on Sundays), established by the Portuguese Franciscan friars in 1503. Vasco Da Gama was buried in the courtyard of this European church built in India. Other attractions include the traditional fishing hamlets and the fisher folk in their colorful costumes.
		08:00PM	Kathakali dance and dinner at Taj Malabar Hotel
		10:00PM	Departure for Bangalore
Day 8 (Monday)	Bangaluru	11:00AM	Arrive at Yeshwantpur Railway Station after Breakfast
			Tour Ends

The Golden Chariot Departure Calendar
S.No	Month	Ist Week	2nd Week	3rd Week	4th Week	5th Week
		Date	Date	Date	Date	Date
8	Sep,2010	>6	13	20	27	-
9	Oct,2010	4	11	18	25
10	Nov,2010	1	8	15	22	29
11	Dec,2010	6	13	20	27	-
12	Jan,2011	3	10	17	24	31
13	Feb,2011	7	14	21	28	-
14	Mar,2011	7	14	21	28	-
15	April,2011	4	11	18	25	-
Southern Splendor Pride of The South

Tariff For Foreign National
Valid September’2010 to March’2011

Occupancy Type	(Per person per night) (USD)	Total for 7 nights (per person) (USD)
Single occupancy	590	4130
Double occupancy	425	2975
Triple occupancy	345	2415

Tariff  FOR Indian Nationals
Valid Sept 2010 to 31st March 2011

Occupancy Type	(Per person per night) (INR)	Total for 7 nights (per person) (INR)
Single occupancy	17100	1,19,700
Double occupancy	12350	86,450
Triple occupancy	10050	70,350

(Half fare for children between 5 and 12 years)
• 10% Surcharge shall be levied on departures during Christmas / New Year.
• Service Tax @ 2.575% shall be levied on the prevalent tariff of The Golden Chariot as per Govt. of India norms Above Tariff is Subject to change without notice.

The Tariff includes
• Tariff is inclusive of accommodation on board The Golden Chariot/ travel/all meals / Conducted Sight-seeing Tours/ Entrance fees at Monuments / Parks / Palaces and Cultural Programmes.
• The Tariff does not include
• Room service, drinks, tips, laundry, telephone calls, video camera fees, SPA Car, Business Car Facilities, liquor and other items of personal nature.

Reservation policy
• In case of FITs
• 20% of ticket value at the time of confirming the booking.
• Remaining 80% of ticket value 30 days prior to departure.

In case of Group
• 50% of ticket value at the time of confirming the booking.
• Remaining 50% of ticket value 45 days prior to departure.

Cancellation Policy
• In case of FITs
• 5% of the ticket value if cancellation is made until 60 days prior to departure.
• 20% of the ticket value if cancellation is made between 30-59 days prior to departure.
• 50% of the ticket value if cancellation is made between 15-29 days prior to departure.
• 100% of the ticket value if the cancellation is made 14 days prior to departure.

In case of Group
• 10% of the ticket value if cancellation is made until 60 days prior to departure.
• 25% of the ticket value if cancellation is made between 30-59 days prior to departure.
• 75% of the ticket value if cancellation is made between 15-29 days prior to departure.
• 100% of the ticket value if the cancellation is made 14 days prior to departure.

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