A month from South to North

Hi - leaving on Jan 1st, but this travel won't begin until Feb 5 There are two of us and we have a little less than a month. Want to take trains as much as possible - 3rd AC is okay - sleeper if in a jam - night trains are great.

Please advise on any train or bus info as well as if you think we should just skip something (leaning towards leaving out Jaisalmer or Pondicherry - Puri will be a good break from the train, I think).

Thiruvananthapuram to Pondicherry (via Villuparam Jn)(one or two nights in Pondy)

Pondicherry to Puri (not sure how to do this)(one night in Puri)

Puri to Darjeeling (via Kolkata and NJP, although have seen direct trains all the way from MAS to NJP and would love to do this if it avoids a transfer) (3 nights in Darjeeling)

Darjeeling to Hardiwar / Rishikesh (3 nights here)

Hardiwar to McLeod Ganj (two nights here)

McLeod Ganj to Agra (via Delhi) (one night)

Agra to Jaisalmer (via Delhi) (two nights)

Jaisalmer to Delhi

Delhi to Mumbai

Thanks!

Will you be in India from Jan 1st, or travelling elsewhere? If India, then you have plenty of time to plan & arrange your travel. The best thing is to pick up a 'Trains at a Glance' timetable from a train station bookstall; there you'll find loads of possible routes.

I'm not sure what you mean by '3 AC'. Three-tier bunks are only found in 2nd class sleeper (non AC), as far as I know. I think there are three classes of AC: seated & two grades of sleeper (not sure of this though).

As it is, you'll be taking a complete circuit of the country & won't have much time to rest along the way. I suggest cutting a region out of your itinerary. If you're starting in Thiruvananthapuram & heading north then you may as well stop at a few places along the way, instead of taking one mammoth train ride. If you only stop in only one place between Pondicherry & Kolkata/Darjeeling, make it Bhubaneswar, rather than Puri. Puri's main attraction is a temple which you aren't even allowed to enter, Bhubaneswar is far more interesting.

Finally, what does 'MAS' refer to?

Thanks Palexurdy. I will be in India for a month, but in a yoga teacher training course with not much time for anything else. I probably will end up using a travel agent to help book the tickets.

Bhubaneswar sounds great, but I want to go somewhere on the coast. Maybe it should be somwhere with a rail head, however - any thoughts on Chandipur?

Oh - I was using train language - MAS is Chennai.

Is it the Sivananda ashram you're going to? I was there a few years ago & had a nice time. At night, you can hear the lions roaring from the enclosure across the lake. Make sure you take the early morning walk to the sunrise point if they're still doing it. The food there is simple, but delicious.

Sorry, never been to Chandipur.

Make a trip from Bhubaneswar to Konark - lovely sun temple. I know, I lived in Bhubaneswar for 15 years and have ben to Konark many times - would love to go again

Cheers

Nattusbs