Mysuru & Coorg Family Holiday — Four Nights, the Palace City and the Coffee Hills

South-west from Bengaluru on the expressway, about 145 km and under three hours, with Srirangapatna as the break — Tipu Sultan's island fort, the painted summer palace and the Gumbaz are a good first hour for children who have been in a car. Into Mysuru by early afternoon. The palace is open until 17:30 through the Varaha gate, and if today is a Sunday or a public holiday the illumination at seven, when a hundred thousand bulbs come on together, is the thing to build the evening around. · Bengaluru to Mysuru · overnight Mysuru · Private car

Mysuru Zoo at opening, 08:30, when the animals are active and before the heat: it is the oldest zoo in India, 700 m from the palace, and the only one in the country with gorillas, chimpanzees and white rhinos — allow the whole morning. The zoo is closed on Tuesdays, and if that is today the palace interiors and the railway museum take its place. Chamundi Hill after lunch for the Nandi and the view. Then Brindavan Gardens, 20 km out below the Krishnarajasagara dam, for the terraces and the evening fountain, back to Mysuru for dinner. · Mysuru · Private car

Ranganathittu at opening, where the Kaveri braids around a set of small islands and the boats go among the nesting painted storks, spoonbills and ibis — the colonies are active from about June to October, and the crocodiles on the banks are there all year. Then west, about 120 km and three hours, with Bylakuppe as the stop: Namdroling Monastery's golden hall and its three eighteen-metre figures are startling in the middle of Karnataka, and the monks' afternoon prayers can usually be heard from the courtyard. Into the estate near Madikeri by late afternoon. · Mysuru to Coorg · overnight Coorg · Boat and private car

Dubare on the Kaveri in the morning, when the forest department's elephant camp is at the water — the animals can be watched from the bank, and the coracles cross the river when it is low enough. Nisargadhama's bamboo island is five minutes on, with the hanging bridge, the deer park and the treetop huts that children rate above anything else in the district. Abbey Falls after lunch, down a plantation path, and then the estate walk: the arabica under its shade trees, the pulping house and the drying yard if the harvest is in. Raja's Seat at sunset if there is energy left. · Kodagu · overnight Coorg · Private car

A slow estate breakfast and then the road east, about 260 km and six hours with a lunch stop, for an evening flight or train from Bengaluru. Your Live Traveller journey ends at the airport or the station. If the departure is from Mysuru instead — the airport has a handful of flights, and the station is on the main line — the last day is three hours shorter and we route it that way on request. · Coorg to Bengaluru · Private car