Around India In 80 Trains

Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India and a sacred spot where three oceans meet, is a great point to start an adventure on the railways. If you're feeling super-brave you could take the Himsagar Express up to Jammu which would take you four days, and is the longest journey on the Indian Railways. However, if you're only there for the shorthaul the Island Express leaves at 10.30am and takes just over two hours to reach Trivandrum, offering up fantastic views of the deep green Keralan landscape.

The train seems to pass a number of cliff faces covered in hanging creepers until it suddenly pushes through dense greenery, tightly-packed palm trees and long grassy verges, typical of Kerala, and the carriages fill with a cool lemony-green hue – so grab a coffee from the vendors and sit in general class to guarantee a good view from the doors and open windows. Giant creepers hang down from the jungle-like expanse and if you look carefully in between, you’ll see little churches and houses painted like sugared-almonds, ladies banging washing and idle men playing cards. Indians have perfected doing nothing into an artform, so you'll often peer out of the window and see little groups squatting and chatting, or winding up their dhotis and watching the train go by.