Take a Ride on One of India's Legendary Mountain Railways | National Geographic

less than 1m read

·Nov 11, 2024

[Music] The rugged mountainous terrain of India contains unmatched adventure. Their three historic railways are grouped into a single World Heritage site known as the Mountain Railways of India. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and the Kalka Shimla Railway are a Holy Trinity for train aficionados. But they're more than just relics of British colonization; all three are still fully operational today, and a ride on any of them reveals the incredible engineering that connected these rugged locales.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, often called the toy train because of its diminutive size, opened in 1881. The serpentine track gained serious altitude by employing an endless series of switchbacks, hairpin turns, and bridges. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway spans 29 miles of mountainous terrain in Tamil Nadu state. This steam-driven line climbs through southern jungles, rising towards its terminus at Ooty, Mandalam.

The Kalka-Shimla Railway line climbs close to a mile high, taking passengers through 102 tunnels and across 864 bridges. If the journey is as important as the destination, then the Mountain Railways of India are an essential travel experience. There are intriguing stops along each of these lines, leaving it up to the traveler to decide how long to linger along this iconic route. [Music]

Calculations using Avogadro's number (part 1) | Chemistry | Khan Academy

IF YOU Want To Make A MILLION DOLLARS - WATCH THIS!|Kevin O'Leary

View All

How to Surface a Submarine in the Arctic Ocean - Smarter Every Day 260

[Man] Seven zero, six up, point four up. Standby for impact! - Welcome back to Smarter Every Day. I’ve made a really long journey to an ice floe in the Arctic Ocean to board the USS Toledo, a U.S. Navy fast attack nuclear submarine, which has punched its …

Why You've Never Had an Original Thought

Picture this: you’re in a work meeting attempting to troubleshoot a problem that your team has been struggling to figure out. You suggest something—a solution equal parts ingenious and elegant. Your co-workers are impressed and shower you with praise, all…

15 Things That Scream “I’m pretending to be Upper Class”

Put your guest bag and your Gucci belt away and pay attention. All right? If you care if someone thinks you’re rich, you’re not that rich, so let’s be honest about this. Here are 15 things that scream, “I’m pretending to be upper class.” This is the third…

Unadopted amendments to the Bill of Rights | US government and civics | Khan Academy

Hi, this is Kim from Khan Academy. Did you know that what we call the First Amendment today was actually the Third Amendment in the original draft of the Bill of Rights? In fact, there were more than 200 proposed amendments, which were whittled down to ju…

Darwinism vs. Social Darwinism part 1 | US History | Khan Academy

Hey, this is Kim from KH Academy. I am the history fellow here, and I am here with Emily. Hi, I’m the biology fellow. So, Emily and I are here talking about Darwinism, and I’m interested in Darwinism because in the late 19th century, we usually call the …

Banking Explained – Money and Credit

The international banking system is an enigma. There are more than 30,000 different banks worldwide, and they hold unbelievable amounts of assets. The top 10 banks alone account for roughly 25 trillion US dollars. Today, banking can seem very complex, but…

Take a Ride on One of India's Legendary Mountain Railways | National Geographic

More Articles