Kalka-Shimla Railway

Opened in 1903 to connect the summer capital to the plains, the line runs ninety-six kilometres on two-foot-six gauge, climbing from 656 metres at Kalka to 2,076 at Shimla through 102 tunnels and over eight hundred bridges, many of them multi-tiered stone arcades built like Roman aqueducts because steel was hard to bring up. It was inscribed by UNESCO in 2008 as part of the Mountain Railways of India. Trains take five to six hours, winding through pine forest and around spurs with the valley dropping away, and the Barog tunnel, the longest, carries a story about the engineer who miscalculated its alignment.

What you actually see

• The arched viaducts - multi-tiered stone bridges built like aqueducts.
• The tunnels - 102 of them, including the long Barog tunnel.
• The climb - 1,400 metres gained across ninety-six kilometres.
• The forest sections - pine and deodar with valley views from the carriages.

When to go

March to June and September to November; the monsoon brings landslides that suspend services. Tickets, especially on the Shivalik Deluxe and Himalayan Queen, sell out weeks ahead in season.

Honest expectations

The journey is slow, five to six hours for less than a hundred kilometres. Carriages are small and can be cramped. Services are cancelled after monsoon landslides, sometimes for extended periods.

Nearby

Shimla is the upper terminus; Chandigarh lies below Kalka.