The Deccan Odyssey is an Indian luxury train modeled on the Palace on Wheels luxury train and put into service to boost tourism on the Maharashtra route of the Indian Railways.
Its first trip departed on 16 January 2004 for a week-long maiden trip and was flagged off by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Due to lack of booking, later journeys in 2004 were suspended by the state government of Maharashtra. However, its operations restarted after the monsoon season.
The train was briefly renamed the Indian Maharaja-Deccan Odyssey under Thomson Cook. It was not in service for the majority of the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to start operations again in October 2022. The design is meant to emulate the luxuries enjoyed by 16th century Maharajas.
There are two restaurants in the train, Waavar and Utsav, which are managed by Taj Hotels.
Journeys
right|thumb|Part of the [[Ellora Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and stop on several journeys]]
The Deccan Odyssey offers six different seven day, eight night trips around Maharashtra, typically starting and ending in Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus with the exception of the Indian Odyssey journey, which starts in New Delhi and ends in Mumbai, and the Indian Sojourn journey, which starts in Mumbai and ends in Delhi.
As of 2022, the journeys include:
- Maharashtra Splendor: Mumbai, Nashik (Grover Zampa Vineyards), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Ellora Caves), Ajanta Caves, Kolhapur, Goa, Sindhudurg, Mumbai. UNESCO World Heritage Sites on this journey include the Ajanta and Ellora Caves. In 2017, the Susegado Goa special journey explored the Konkan Coast through Mumbai, Goa, Thivim, Karmali, and Verna. In 2022, an abbreviated Indian Odyssey journey—Delhi, Sawai Madhopur, Agra, Jaipur—was available.
Most passengers are international travellers and are charged US$7,320 per single occupancy deluxe cabin for a seven night, eight day trip, while Indian nationals pay ₹5,12,400.
The train was also named World's Leading Luxury Train in 2019. Previous nominations include World's Leading Travel Experience by Train (2009-2012), World's Leading Luxury Train (2010-2018, 2020), and Asia's Leading Luxury Train (2013, 2020–2021).