Toy train from NJP into the hills

The UNESCO-listed Darjeeling Himalayan Railway runs from New Jalpaiguri at about 100 m to Darjeeling at roughly 2,200 m. The scheduled through train leaves NJP in the morning, crosses Siliguri, and starts climbing after Sukna, where the forest of the Mahananda sanctuary closes in. Above Rangtong come the loops and zig-zag reversals that let the train gain height on a mountainside too steep for an ordinary railway.

Most of the line runs alongside or across Hill Cart Road, so you see the shops, school children and tea stalls of Tindharia, Mahanadi and Kurseong at walking pace. Kurseong is a natural break. Above it the train passes Sonada and Ghum, the highest station on the line at about 2,258 m, before dropping round the Batasia Loop into Darjeeling. Timings change with the season and with landslide repairs, and diesel engines haul most through trains.

Book through IRCTC as soon as your dates are fixed; seats on this train are limited and sell out in October and May. If seven hours is too long, take a jeep up and ride the short joy train from Darjeeling to Ghum instead, or take the steam service from Darjeeling towards Kurseong where it runs. Check current timetables before you travel.