The Big Read: Raja rail route

Anthony Lambert enjoys the comfort of the Maharajas' Express as it winds its way from the Pink City of Jaipur through Rajasthan to Lucknow

Climbing the ladder on to the elephant's back and wielding the long polo stick was the closest I came to exertion all week.

It was the first of eight days aboard the Maharajas' Express, and national rivalries had been invoked by the umpire-cum-master of ceremonies as he marshalled us into teams for a few chukkas of polo.

The ponderous movements of the elephant made it almost impossible to intercept the ball, so whichever side secured the first contact invariably scored. An alliance of Brazil, Australia and Britain suffered defeat at the hands of the Russians.

Consoling champagne was soon at hand as we watched the other chukkas on the polo field of the sprawling City Palace, created by the maharajas of Jaipur. Each time a goal was scored, a troupe of musicians released a noisy fanfare.

The 19-car train wants for nothing. The sleeping cars have a maximum of four cabins per carriage, making them unusually spacious, helped by the wide Indian track gauge. You can even have a whole carriage to yourself, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms (one with a bath) and a lounge. All have been thoughtfully designed with good lighting, en suite shower and lavatory and enough wardrobe and drawer space for a week.

There is a TV and DVD player, and a good Wi-Fi signal was available for about three-quarters of the 2300km we travelled on the India Panorama, one of five routes you can take in the Maharajas' Express and one that takes in the splendours of Jaipur, Agra, Varanasi and Delhi.

The Indian Panorama route begins in Jaipur, where the first of many garlands were looped over our heads and red bindis placed on our foreheads. A coach and local guide took us through the only city in India laid out on a geometric grid pattern. Passing between the city's famously pink buildings, we headed out into pale hills enlivened by the occasional explosion of bougainvillea.

Before the remarkable Jai Singh II created Jaipur from 1727 onwards, his capital was Amber Palace, a fusion of Mughal and Rajput architecture with hardly a surface unadorned by carving, mirrors, precious stones or painted decoration. After the polo match we visited Jai Singh's 18th-century collection of astronomical instruments, made from masonry, that forms the world heritage site of Jantar Mantar.

The next morning we left the train bleary-eyed at 6.30 to be cocooned in rugs against the early chill as our open-topped land cruisers whipped through the quiet streets and away from the city to Ranthambore National Park. It was once the hunting ground of the Maharaja of Jaipur, and its lightly forested hills and lakes form an area of great natural beauty. There are 55 tigers in the park, which is an upper limit because tigers need a huge territory. Though we left without a glimpse of one, the spotted deer, monkeys, peacocks and pigs were entertainment enough.

The balance over the week between eating on and off the train, daytime train travel and excursions is well judged, and the journey on to Fatehpur Sikri allowed time for watching scenes that so enthral foreign travellers on Indian trains. From lush green fields women emerge with bundles of grass perched on their heads, making for a cluster of rudimentary dwellings. Close by are discs of dung, arranged in herringbone fashion to form a beehive-shaped pile to dry in the sun. Herds of long-eared goats are looked after by children too young for school, and camels hauling carts wait at level crossings, their head and necks in a haughty posture as though expressing their disdain for such humble work.

Can there be a more grandiloquent white elephant than Fatehpur Sikri? This vast architectural marvel was commissioned by Akbar, the third Mughal ruler, and work began in 1571. It was completed in the mid-1580s, but within 15 years the place had to be abandoned when the water supply gave out and the capital was moved to Agra.

Another dawn start, but no one minded because the reason was to see in the soft early-morning light the world's greatest monument to love. I had only seen the Taj Mahal in the searing heat of summer, and the experience of a misty spring morning is magical. This sublime creation by the heartbroken Shah Jahan is incomparable, made the more poignant by his last years incarcerated by his ruthless third son, Aurangzeb. From his prison window Shah Jahan was able to see the huge white tomb built for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

A procession of Jains, the men naked and the women in white saris, wound its way through the streets of Gwalior as we approached this formidable fortress, rising from the top of sheer cliffs above the city. After roving the warren of passages and small courtyards in the 500-year-old sandstone palace, we descended to the vast Jai Vilas Palace, designed by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Michael Filose. The Maharaja of Gwalior's 400-room palace was ready to receive Edward, Prince of Wales in 1875-76 during his 17-week tour of India.

Even he must have been astonished by the Durbar Hall, lit by two three-ton chandeliers whose weight on the roof had caused such anxiety that it was tested by 10 elephants using a specially built ramp. But Edward would not have seen one of the palace's most famous objects, the silver train carrying decanters and cigars around the dining-table, which stops when a decanter or container is lifted. The train, installed in 1906, has an override for the maharaja to omit a stop if he felt someone had had enough.

After sunset, the huge square of gardens within the four white wings of the palace made an enchanting setting for dinner under the stars.

An unseasonal thunderstorm created a dramatic sky for our visit to the temples at Khajuraho. As my room valet, Bansi Lal, put it as he armed me with an umbrella, "rain is going on out there". The temples are famous for their erotic sculptures, but the improbably nubile couplings on the Hindu and Jain temples built by the Chandela kings between 950 and 1150 make up less than a tenth of the fantastically intricate and well-preserved carvings, most depicting elephants, horses and battle scenes.

Varanasi was one of Hindus seven holy cities and the place where the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha, preached his first sermon circa 528BC. It is the religious capital of India, but its chaotic public realm makes it a disturbing place. None the less, the evening boat journey along the Ganges to the cliffs of stone buildings along the ghats to witness the evening puja ceremony is unforgettable. Brahmin priests chant and make offerings to deities watched by thousands gathered on the steps overlooking the theatrical display of fire waving and bell ringing.

Saris and kurta pyjamas were given to everyone on the train to wear at the final dinner, hosted by the Raja of Jahangirabad and his wife at their city palace in Lucknow. Watercolours of English landscapes jostled on the walls with Victorian prints of scenes from Dickens's The Pickwick Papers, Indian miniature paintings and photographs of a visit by Jackie Kennedy.

Our entire party could be seated on settees and armchairs in one of the two side-by-side double-cube reception rooms for a performance of Indian classical dances before a buffet dinner. The raja talked of the need to make his palaces pay, and his country palace has become a largely educational institution.

As we returned to the capital, it was extraordinary to think that in the time of our circuit, 210million journeys had been made on Indian Railways, the world's largest employer with more than one million people on the payroll. My previous travels on Indian Railways had been in every class from first AC to second three-tier sleepers, and been relished at the time, but as I stepped on to the red carpet for the last time I felt I might find something missing next time I took a service train. - © The Sunday Telegraph

If you go

The Maharajas' Express (maharajas-express-india.com) operates five itineraries: three-night Treasures of India and Gems of India (both R42000); the seven-night Indian Panorama and Indian Splendour (both R65380) and Heritage of India (R75000).