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]

Nat Geo Staff Ranks Top 8 BEST Walking Shoes for Men and Women | National Geographic

TIL: Hummingbirds Are the World's Hungriest Birds | Today I Learned

View All

15 Signs You are the New Poor

The World Economic Forum said, and this is a direct quote: “By 2030, you will own nothing and you’ll be happy.” There’s a new breed of poor people out there, some by societal design, some by choice. They don’t look poor on the surface, but they are cursed…

Why Do Venomous Animals Live In Warm Climates?

[WARNING! SPIDERS IN THE VIDEO] Why are the most venomous species found in the warmest places on Earth? I mean, take Australia for example. Depending on who you ask, it has all or nearly all of the ten most venomous snakes in the world. Plus, the funnel-w…

Solving proportions 2 exercise examples | Algebra Basics | Khan Academy

[Instructor] We have the proportion ( x - 9 ) over ( 12 ) is equal to ( \frac{2}{3} ), and we wanna solve for the ( x ) that satisfies this proportion. Now, there’s a bunch of ways that you could do it. A lot of people, as soon as they see a proportion li…

How To Survive Quicksand | Primal Survivor

[mud squishing] [groaning] I’ve been watching out so closely for predators that I run straight into something else life threatening: quicksand. Actually, this is a little bit more serious than I thought. [sputters] What makes this dangerous is, if you can…

My Investing Plan For 2023 (How To Prepare)

What’s up, Graham? It’s guys here. So 2023 is probably going to be one of the most confusing years for investing. After all, stocks are the cheapest they’ve been in two years, but there’s a chance they could drop even further. Real estate has only starte…

The Puzzle I Was Never Able To Solve

I’m about to show you a puzzle I’ve known about for most of my life, but was never able to solve until last week. When I gave up, I just looked up the answer. I’m not saying this is the hardest puzzle ever created, but it changed the way I look at life. …

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

More Articles