train routes in India
Most people will automatically think of getting on a plane when it comes to a tour of India. One single flight ticket search, one simple booking of flights and you are on your way to your next adventure. However, there are some times, when deceleration and the discovery of the trip itself, turns travelling into magic. Train lines in India are not merely means of transport point A to point B but they are traveling rooms with a fantastic view of some of the most magnificent sceneries in India. Spanning snow-capped mountains to green forests and even shimmering coast lines, these train tours grant you some sights you would never forget.
Thus whilst cheap flights are ideal when tight on time, here are some train routes in which the ride is as good as the destination.
1. Kalka to Shimla: Along Pine-Forests and Mountain Air
A Kalka Shimla toy train, a UNESCO World Heritage narrow-gauge railway is a universal experience. The train winds through even more than 100 tunnels, more than 800 bridges and as many as the number of turns, but once the train enters the rocket Himalayan air, you will feel it crisp.
Sip hot chai on the train, past the deodar forests, thatched-roof hill villages and valleys that are so deep they will give your heart a skip. The slowness permits you to absorb all the sights and by the time you reach your destination Shimla, you would have felt that you have already had a mountain retreat.
2. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway: The Toy Train in the Himalayan Backdrops
It is another gem-like train journey listed by UNESCO, a journey that rolls out the film-like retro feel train ride between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling. The toy train rattles along tea gardens, around the Buddhist monasteries and among children waving at each passing coach.
Then one moment there seems to be nothing, and suddenly the awesome Kanchenjunga looms up, snow-covered and showing like a flame at the sun-rise. There is hardly any train ride in the whole world which can be compared to that moment. Whereas Flights may take you swiftly to Bagdogra, the train helps you with something bigger, much more impactful the memories dug into the mist of mountains.
3. Konkan Railway: India at its best
When it comes to blending speed, engineering feat and scenic beauty, there is no train which comes near the Konkan Railway. The amazing spectacle of the Indian west coast, this line stretches between Mumbai to Mangalore.
On one bank you will have the Arabian Sea in the lilt of the sun; and on the other, the carefree coconut trees, paddy field and the undulating western ghats. It looks like a painting when waterfalls rush down the cliffs during monsoon.
Of course there are cheap flights between Mumbai and Mangalore that can get you there in less then two hours. On this train though you will see a coastline that you will carry in your heart all over.
4. Nilgiri Mountain Railway: Up into the Blue Mountains
Ever thought: a train could go up steep mountains that it had to use a rack-and-pinion system? So much does the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. It runs between Mettupalayam and Ooty in Tamil Nadu and is the steepest in Asia.
In between, the train winds through tunnels, under rock bridges, along tea plantations among the rolling hills of mountains. This ride is quite unforgettable because of the possible views of eucalyptus forests covered in mist and streams flowing on the valley. When Ooty is your hill station dream then this train journey acts as the ideal prelude.
5. A Rail Journey to Baramulla in the heart of Kashmir
It is commonly referred to as among the most beautiful routes of the trains in India and it travels straight to the heart of Kashmir. In the back there are tall snow-covered mountains, there are rivers that flow and some saffron fields are the splash of gold.
You will travel through the longest rail tunnel in India called Banihal-Qazigund tunnel in addition to the engineering miracle. And when you leave the train in Baramulla you will think you just teleported into a postcard. Although it is convenient to make a flight reservation to Srinagar, this train travel allows inhaling the beauty of the valley mile after mile.
6. Matheran Hill Railway: Train Between Yesterday and Tomorrow
This Neral to Matheran narrow-track locomotive in India is one of the slowest trains in the country and that is precisely what makes the journey famous with tourists.
The train steadily chugs on red-soil cliffs, dense green forests and plunging hairpin turns giving glimpses of dramatic valley. Matheran is a car-free hill station making arrival by toy train an experience of time travel. Not only will you be missing the plains, you also will be missing the modern hustle that life is.
7. Jaisalmer to Jodhpur: Scenery of Desert Where it is Never Ending
Mountains and forests have a dramatic look but deserts possess their own magic. As you go by train between Jaisalmer and Jodhpur you experience the vast desert of the Thar Desert, with golden sands as far you can see only interrupted by the rare camel or a small hut.
The whole desert turns orange and gold at sunset and in the morning. These will not be the kind of views you can get on board a plane but sitting in a train window the desert seems to move, glint and rustle in silent legend of the royal past of Rajasthan.
8. Kangra Valley Railway: Travels Next to the Dhauladhars
The Kangra Valley Railway is an eye opener to the people who love the untouchable landscapes. This meter gauge line along the Dhauladhar Himachal brings you first-row seats to this range. It winds among sleepy villages, orchards and lush valleys that not many travelers get to look at.
It is unlike other routes that are tourist-based and cut raw and personal. Every turn introduces another more gorgeous view. In case you have already purchased a flight ticket either to Delhi or Chandigarh, then you should add another rail trip to your schedule because you will not regret it.
The case Why Trains Matter in a World of Flights
India is such a big country and Flights will easily eliminate the distances you may cover there to a destination. It takes just a few clicks to find a cheap flight, make a flight booking and be half way around the country in an hour. However, there is a time when traveling is not only about speed, but it is about connection.
On a train, you exchange smiles with other passengers, drink tea whilst landscapes go by and allow yourself to become part of a tale more about the telling than the destination.
Yes, then book that flight ticket when you are pressed for time. However, when you have to spare the hours, jump onto one of these trains. India is smiling and awaiting your arrival, in the mountains and forests and deserts and on the coasts; but in no hurry to see you; in no rush; in the grand all-time slow way of travelling.
