Deccan Odyssey Tour

The Deccan Odyssey's sheer luxury is a sight to behold. Everything in the train reflects the ways of Indian Royalty. The plush interiors, an awesome delicious cuisine and grate sites to see makes the journey memorable. This luxurious train transports its guests on a remarkable sojourn of a land shining in legions grandeur - serene beaches, magnificent forts - palaces and experiencing divine tales etched in colossal rocks. A weeklong royal journey is through some of the best places in Maharashtra namely Mumbai, Sindhudurg, Tarkarli, Goa, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Ellora, Ajanta and Nasik. The objective of running "The Deccan Odyssey" train is primarily to showcase the best of tourism assets of Maharashtra like pristine beauty of Konkan coast, the art, the culture, the heritage (including world heritage sites of Ajanta - Ellora) of Maharashtra as well as Maharashtra's local arts, crafts and cuisine.

The train has 21 coaches, out of which 12 are passenger cars accommodating 8 people per coach (10 passenger Cars, 4 coupes per coach - 2 Presidential Suite Cars, 2 coupes per coach), 1 Conference Car, 2 Dinning Cars, 2 Generator Cars with Luggage Store, 2 Staff, spare Car, 1 Spa Car, 1 Bar Car. The train has on-board facilities like T.V., Cable connection with central audio disc player, cell phones, Channel Music, Foreign exchange facilities, etc. The capacity of the train is 80 pax.

The route has been fixed as Mumbai - Sindhudurg - Goa - Vasco - Kolhapur – Aurangabad (Ellora) – Jalgaon (Ajanta) - Nashik and Mumbai. It will be a seven days round trip starting on Wednesday from Mumbai. The seasonal tours will operate every year between October to April month. The itinerary of the tour is broadly as follows:

1st Day- Mumbai

2nd Day- Sindhudurg Nagri-Sindhudurg Fort-Tarkarl Beach-Dhamapur Village

3rd Day- Goa - Visit to St. Augustine Church, Basilica of Bom Jesus Church, Se Cathedral Church, St.Francis of Assissi a Museum of Goan antiques and visit to Fontanhas the Latin Quarters at Panjim.

4th Day- Goa (Vasco) - Visit to Mangeshi a Hindu Temple, the Safa Masjid a prominent Islamic Shrine, Sahakari Spice Farm, Menezes Braganza House at Chandor village.

5th Day- Kolhapur- New Palace, Museum, Bhavani Mandap Mahalaxmi Temple - Shalini Palace.

6th Day- Aurangabad-Daulatabad-Ellora Caves-Bibi-ka-Maqbara

7th Day- Ajanta Caves / Nasik

8th Day- Mumbai

Detailed Itinerary of the "Deccan Odyssey"

Day 01: Departure in the evening from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Mumbai

Day 02: Morning – Alight at the Kudal Railway station.

A luxury AC bus transfers you to Malvan Jetty from the station. Settle in a comfortable boat, arranged just for you, and enjoy the mesmerizing view of flora, birds and caressing waves on the ride to mighty Sea Fort-Sindhudurg a one time naval base built by the great Maratha King Shivaji in 1664-67 AD. This is one of the best preserved Maratha forts. Within its premises are temples dedicated to Bhavani, Mahadeo, Jarimari, Mahapurush and Shivaji. Walk on the two-mile long rampart walls and watch the breathtaking view of the vast open sea as it fires a volley of spray 30 ft. below. And at times even 30 feet high, an amazing experience indeed. It also houses some twenty Hindu-Muslim hereditary families.

Return to jetty and proceed to Tarkarli beach resort.

Tarkarli a virgin beach at the confluence of river Karli and Arabian Sea. The major attraction here is the long and narrow stretch of beach, with its pristine water.

The wide river, the beautiful sailboats, the tiny islands, the hamlets at the riverbank, all contributes to the picture-postcard beauty of Tarkarli.

Enjoy a relaxed lunch at the well-appointed MTDC beach resort, complete with twenty 'Konkani' style cottages. Indeed a perfect place to enjoy the mouth-watering 'Malvani' cuisine and then unwind.

Late afternoon enjoy backwater cruising in river Karli. Then engaged with the local enterprise through a visit to the Cashew factory.

Depart for Kudal Railway Station.

Dinner onboard.

Day 03: Morning arrival at Karmali – Goa. The most frequented tourist spots in India.

Board the bus to reach Old Goa to see remains of St. Augustine Church once largest cathedral in Goa. Basilica of Bom Jesus, this is 16th Century Church, the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier is enshrined here. Se Cathedral and the Church of St. Francis of Assissi that began as a mosque but now is an archaeological museum for Goan antiques. Walk through Fontanhas, the Latin quarters at Panjim and see centuries old Portuguese Style Houses.

Departure to Verna Railway Station for typical Goan lunch on board the train.

Free time onboard.

Evening depart by bus to beach hotel and enjoy Goan culture and traditional meals.

Board the train from Madgaon railway station. Train halts at Vasco-Goa.

Day 04: Morning – After breakfast proceed for sightseeing.

Visit Mangeshi, a Hindu Temples of God Shiva revealing typical architecture of old temples.

Depart from Mangeshi Temple to Safa Masjid, a prominent Islamic shrine in Ponda, commonly regarded the citadel of Hindu pilgrimages in Goa. Built in 1560 by Ibrahim Adil Shah, the Sultan of Bijapur.

From here proceed to one of the biggest and finest Spice Farm in the Country a “Sahakari Spice Farm” at Ponda village. Situated among the lush green surroundings of Ponda a place is extremely popular among international tourist. Visitors are traditionally welcomed at the entrance. After brief halt in the restaurant for welcome drink and snacks, a guided tour of the farm starts. This organic spice farm has variety of herbal and medicinal trees. The guide explains different spices and their medical values during tour which is about 45 minutes.

Typical Goan lunch is served here.

In free time one can also take Elephant ride at own cost.

From farm house proceed to one of the finest heritage house of 16th century know as “Menezes Braganza House”. It is one of the last remaining structures that date back to the pre-Portuguese era in Goa. The architecture and the interiors of the house make you feel as if you are going back in history. The structure has a very inviting feel to it. It is one of the oldest heritage houses of Goa. This has been the traditional family home of the Braganzas for more than four centuries.

From Braganza House proceed to Madgaon Railway Station to board the train, Next destination – Kolhapur.

Dinner onboard.

Day 05: Morning – Arrival at Kolhapur City, a city with multifaceted persona and a mythical past. This city is a unique blend of culture, history, nature & industry. A journey through the past reveals that Kolhapur has lived through the regimes of various rulers from the mythical past to the modern age. A City situated on the banks of river Panchaganga.

Board the bus to visit.

New Palace, a royal palace partly converted into museum, The museum houses rare paintings and artifacts used by the royal family. Royal weapons and a tableau depicting court life of the last century create an aristocratic ambience. Mahalaxmi Temple, an exquisitely carved temple of goddess Ambabai visited by millions of pilgrims. At Bhawani Mandap Witness traditional Martial Art locally known as “Mardani Khel”. Next visit Town Hall museum- Antiques found during the excavations at Brahmagiri, old sculptures, filigree work in sandal wood and ivory, old coins and paintings of master artists of the region are all displayed here. At Hotel Pavilion cultural programme.

Kolhapur is well known for its textiles and cottons, in particular Kolhapuri saris. But it is of course most famous for its jewellery and leather sandals and Kolhapuri chappals. The selected and famous items would be displayed in the stalls at the Shalini Palace so one can leisurely do shopping.
At noon board the train at Kolhapur station.

Lunch and Leisure time onboard.

Dinner onboard.

Day 06: Morning Arrival at Daulatabad station.

Proceed by road to visit.

Majestic fort Daulatabad. Rising dramatically over 600 ft above the Deccan plain is the arresting sight of Daulatabad. Once known as Devgiri, this fort served as the head quarters of the powerful Yadava rulers. In the 13th century, Mohammed bin Tughlak, the Sultan of Delhi, made it his capital and renamed it Daulatabad, or City of Fortune.

Aurangabad founded by the Aurangzeb, has scores of monuments, tombs and Buddhist Caves.

Next stop is Ellora caves, a World Heritage site, having 34 cave temples dedicated to three different religion- Hinduism, Buddhism & Jainism. The cave temples and monasteries at Ellora, excavated out of the vertical face of an escarpment, are 26 km north of Aurangabad. Extending in a linear arrangement, the 34 caves contain Buddhist Chaityas or halls of worship, and Viharas, or monasteries, Hindu and Jain temples.

Spanning a period of about 600 years between the 5th and 11th century AD, the earliest excavation here is of the Dhumar Lena (Cave 29).The most imposing excavation is, without doubt, that of the magnificent Kailasa Temple (Cave 16) which is the largest monolithic structure in the world.
Lunch & free time.

After lunch move on to see; Bibi-ka-Maqbara, a replica of Taj Mahal is a grand piece of Moghul architecture.

Free time for shopping Paithani, Himroo, Bidriwork from showrooms for a perfect memorabilia.

Evening board the train from Aurangabad railway station.

Dinner onboard.

Day 07: Morning – Arrival at Jalgaon railway station. Board the bus to reach Ajanta Caves.

Renowned Buddhist caves of Ajanta are World Heritage Site. Witness some of the finest paintings and sculptures of the second century AD. ‘Bodhisattva Padmapani’, ‘Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara’, The Birth of the Buddha’ & ‘Thousand Buddha’s are a few amongst the many fine murals & sculptures.
At noon board train at Jalgaon railway station.

Proceed to Nashik. Lunch on-board.

Leisure Time onboard till evening.

Alight at Nashik Road railway station to board the bus for departure to Panchawati Ghat a holy place known for Kumbh Mela. Next, visit to Kala Ram Temple built in 1794.

Evening board the train at Deolali railway station.

Farewell dinner on-board.

Day 08: Morning – Arrival at CST – Mumbai.

Journey Ends.

(Itinerary is subject to change without notice)