Nilgiris, Kodagu & Mysuru — the Southern Loop

Up from Coimbatore by Mettupalayam and the thirty-six hairpins, which takes under three hours and climbs about two thousand metres. Ooty at the top is a different climate entirely. The afternoon is left open on purpose — the lake, the town and the rise above it are all on foot, and the first day of a five-night trip is better spent adjusting than being driven to a viewpoint.

Doddabetta at 2,637 m before the morning haze, then the 1848 botanical gardens on the shoulder of Elk Hill. Down to Coonoor on the toy train where seats allow, which is slower than the road and entirely the point. The afternoon is an estate and factory — withering lofts, rolling tables and the grading table where the whole thing finally makes sense — with Sim's Park or Lamb's Rock after it. Back up to Ooty for the night.

Pykara's lake and falls first, on the quiet side of the plateau. Then the long westward transfer through Gudalur, across Mudumalai and up the Nagarhole boundary into Kodagu — around six hours, mostly under forest canopy, with elephant and gaur on the verges in the right light. Nothing is scheduled at the Madikeri end; the day is the drive, and the drive is the best road on the circuit.

The estate walk early, while it is cool — arabica under shade, pepper spiralling the trunks, cardamom in the damp — and the drying yard if the season has fruit. Abbey Falls next, down a plantation path. The afternoon runs up the valley to Bhagamandala and Talacauvery, where the Kaveri rises and the steps above the tank look toward the coast when it is clear. Raja's Seat for the sunset, which is a local institution rather than a viewpoint.

Dubare on the Kaveri in the morning, where the forest camp sits on the bank, then Namdroling Monastery at Bylakuppe — the golden hall and the several thousand monks and nuns who live around it. East from there and the hills stop abruptly: under three hours to Mysuru across open plateau. Into the city with the afternoon intact, which is enough for Devaraja Market while the flower sellers are still trading and the silk looms if you want them.

Chamundi Hill at opening for the temple and the view down over the city, with the five-metre Nandi cut from one boulder on the way back down. The palace fills the rest of the morning — Durbar Hall, the marriage pavilion under its stained glass, the armoury and the portrait gallery. Srirangapatna is on the road out, so Tipu Sultan's summer palace and the Gumbaz cost nothing but the stop. Bangalore is around three hours further on.