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]

Introduction to the Crusades

The 6 BEST Side Hustles That Pay $20-$200 Per Hour

View All

Forging a Life in the Wild | Home in the Wild

(TORI: Nice.) (JIM: Our bushwack has commenced! We want to make our camp more like home, so we’re going foraging for wood and supplies to build some furniture. But our camp here is situated on protected land, so we need to hike to a spot upstream where th…

The Future of the Channel, and You

Good morning, internet. I came out here to write and to research, and to think about the channel and its evolution. The Staten Island video, for example, started life as part of the background reading for the Statue of Liberty video. Originally planned to…

Just Because You Think It, Doesn’t Mean It’s True

When Seneca the Younger was accused of adultery with the emperor’s niece, he was banished to Corsica. Seneca’s exile caused his mother, Helvia, tremendous grief; she had difficulties coping with her son’s absence. So, he wrote her several letters in which…

Are Drones a Threat? | Breakthrough

Hey, hello, hi! Can you see me now? We have communication at last. Chris Anderson believes drones will be a force for good; military technology journalist David Hamling has his doubts. So you’ve now got your own drone company. Um, so what’s the big challe…

Gordon Eats Honey Ants | Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted

GORDON RAMSAY (VOICEOVER): I’m in the hills outside Wahaka, and my guides Omar and Pepe are introducing me to one of their favorite snacks. OK. GORDON RAMSAY (VOICEOVER): I can’t say I share their enthusiasm. It’s very pasty. It’s very mealy. It’s— Did i…

Article V of the Constitution | US government and civics | Khan Academy

Hey, this is Kim from Khan Academy, and today I’m learning about Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution, which describes the Constitution’s amendment process. To learn more about Article 5, I talked to two experts: Professor Michael Rappaport, who is the Darl…

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

More Articles