Kalka Shimla Toy Train - The Himalayan Queen

The Kalka-Shimla Railway is a narrow guage railway in North-West India travelling mostly in the

mountain route from Kalka to Shimla. The view all through the journey is enthralling. The city of Shimla was a summer settlement for Britishers and it also became their summer capital. The Kalka-Shimla railway route winds from Sivalik foot hills of Kalka to Shimla on hill top. Enroute it crosses the stations of Dharampur, Solan, Kandaghat, Taradevi, Barog, Salogra, Totu and Summerhill.

Out of the 107 tunnels built on the track 102 remain still in use. The longest tunnel at Barog. The line crosses over 864 bridges too. The first locomotives used in the train was class B coaches from Darjeeling Himalayan Railway but was converted to suit the tracks of this railway. The first diesel locomotive was introduced in the year

1955. But the current line is operated with ZDM-3 diesel hydraulic locomotives which was built in 1970 to 1982 at Chittaranjan Locomotive works. The current engine was built to climb the 916 curves and to climb from an altitude of 656 mts to 2076 mts on the mountain slope. 

Valley of Flowers - Uttarakhand

Located in the West Himalayas, the Valley of Flowers a natural wonder is a National Park in the district of Chamoli in the state of Uttarakhand India. It is a part of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. The Valley is at a distance of 522 kms from Delhi, where one have to Trek for 17kms after travelling 505 kms by road. The Valley of Flowers cover about 87.50 kms which is very vast. The entire valley is situated in the Bhyundar Valley at 3,658 mts above the sea level. The entire valley is covered with vibrantly coloured more than 650 varieties of Alpine flowers.

For a long time the Valley of flowers Uttrakhand was well protected and was completely hidden from the world and only the people in the surroundings were visiting that area. Only in the year 1931 that place was discovered by Frank Smith. It was only he who bought this place to the world. He also wrote a book named "Valley of Flowers", which gave the name for the place and also popularised this place.

The Valley was declared a National Park in the year 1982 and very recently it is declared World Heritage Site too. UNESCO have declared this valley as one of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in the year 2004 and since then it had been so.

One can see vareity of flowers that include Brahmakamal, the Blue Poppy and the Cobra lilly. It is the most sought after place for flower lovers, botanists, trekkers and nature lovers. Every year when the Valley of Flowers National park opens from 1st June and 31st October. Though the best time to visit is during July, August and September. The snow starts melting in the valley in the month of May and in the month of June lots of pilgrims visit Hemkund Shahib and this month one can watch the beautiful glaciers

 and waterfalls all along the valley and there will be less or no rain.
In the months of July and August, one can find the new plants growing and the flowers blooming and after Mid
July one can see the whole valley filled with flowers. By the month of september the plants start dying up and by the end of September visit to this valley is stopped. There are lots of medicinal plants also seen in this valley. The park and the surrounding are is banned for cattle grazing. The valley is divided into two by the Pushpawati River.

There is no accomodation in the valley as the tourists are not allowed to stay in the Valley of flowers. Tourists can stay in the private lodges and hotels in Ghangaria which is the base camp and first halt for the trek. The trek begins at Govindghat.

Legend says that Hanuman got the Sanjeevani herb from this valley

Unesco Heritage Sites of India

Cultural

Agra Fort (1983)

Ajanta Caves (1983)

Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (1989)

Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park (2004)

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) (2004)

Churches and Convents of Goa (1986)

Elephanta Caves (1987)

Ellora Caves (1983)

Fatehpur Sikri (1986)

Great Living Chola Temples (1987)

Group of Monuments at Hampi (1986)

Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram (1984)

Group of Monuments at Pattadakal (1987)

Humayun's Tomb, Delhi (1993)

Khajuraho Group of Monuments (1986)

Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya (2002)

Mountain Railways of India (1999)

Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi (1993)

Red Fort Complex (2007)

Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (2003)

Sun Temple, Konârak (1984)

Taj Mahal (1983)The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur (2010)

Natural

Kaziranga National Park (1985)

Keoladeo National Park (1985)

Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (1985)

Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks (1988)

Sundarbans National Park (1987)

Toy Train from Neral to Matheran

Toy Train from Neral to Matheran is a toy train laid by Abdul Hussain, son of Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy of Mumbai. The narrow guage railway line to Matheran was constructed between 1904 and 1907.

Train timings of the toy train:

Neral -> Matheran:
depart 0730, arrive 0930
depart 0850, arrive 1110
depart 1015, arrive 1210
depart 1215, arrive 1405
depart 1705, arrive 1900

Matheran -> Neral:
depart 0700, arrive 0840
depart 0945, arrive 1125
depart 1340, arrive 1520
depart 1445, arrive 1625
depart 1625, arrive 1810

The train commences its journey from Neral and the travel timing is about 90 minutes. The train starts its ascent after crossing Hardar Hills and reach the Jamnapatti station where the rail and road run parallel to each other. Then the train runs through a tunnel and zig zags forward and backward. Before the train reaches the tunnel it crosses the Bhera Kund and the Horseshoe embarkment near Mount Barry. After the tunnel, the train crosses the Panorama Point and the Simpson Tank and reaches the Matheran Bazaar. The railway line is 12 1/2 miles long and the speed is limited to 12 miles per hour only.

Toy Trains of India

There are 4 toy trains running. All the trains still run on steam engine giving the travelers a great insight of how the trains would have been in the past.

The train in the north run from Kalka to Shimla. The train in the south runs from Mettupalayam to Ooty. The train in the east runs from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeling. The train in the west runs between Neral and Matheran. Visiting these hill stations of Shimla, Ooty, Darjelling and Matheran is always a entrhrilling experience. The trains chugg through fields, goes through tunels, runs over bridges and helps the traveller breathe the hilly air. 

 
The toy train to Shimla - The toy train that runs between Kalka and Shimla is a six hour journey. The entire stretch have 107 tunnels. There are 4 stations enroute - Dharmpore, Taksal, Gamma and Solan. 

The toy train to Ooty (Udhagamandalam) - One can reach Mettupalayam by Nilgiri Express and Chennai Daily. From there one can take up The Nilgiri Mountain Railway train. The entire journey is 46 km long and the train ascends slowly in twists and turns. The train runs in narrow gauge and it runs at a speed of 33kms per hour. The entire journey runs through plains, plantations and forest clad hills. There are 16 tunnels and tall bridges all along. 

 


The toy train to Darjeeling - The famous hill station Darjeeling have its own toy train. This guage is a 2ft wide one and is the narrowest hill train guage. The engine is quite tiny and is a century old and it is worth seeing and taking a snap in front of it. The entire stretch is 86 kms and the traveler can view the breath taking view of the Himalayas all through the 7 1/2 hour ride. The Himalayan mountain in this stretch is a delight to see. New Jalpaiguri have trains connecting it with Kolkatta(Calcutta). This is the most famous of the 4 toy trains of India.

Toy train to Matheran - This is a 77 year old line connecting Matheran with Neral (the main line of Central Railway). The scenic beauty of the hils and the plains below gives a wonderful traveling experience. The travel to Matheran and stay at Matheran is definitely a peaceful one. The travel time is 1 and a half hours. Neral is a station in the Mumbai-Pune line

Journey from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling by Toy Train

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway - is one of the four Toy Trains of India. It is a 2 ft narrow gauge railway that runs between Siliguri and Darjelling run by the Indian Railways. The 86 kms ride starts from the plains and move towards the hills. The journey starts with a warmer climate and moves to a chill and cold climate. So while travelling in the Darjeeling toy train one need to keep warm clothes handy.

Nearing Darjeeling town

The route stretch from Tindhara to Gayabari station is a scenic beauty of jagged rock faced mountains of Giddapahar through which the train passes through and reaches the Gayabari station at 3400 ft. The train stops at Pagla Jhora where it stops for water. Then the train reaches Mahanadi Bazar station which is at 4000ft and which is also close to the source of the Mahanadi river. From here the train reaches Kurseong station at 4864 ft travelling west. Kurseong a little hill station where one can see the culture and tradition of a hill town and hill people. From Kurseong the train crosses through the Kurseong bazar which gives a glimpse of the Tibetian prayer flags while crossing over Hussel and Khola. The train passes through the forests of maple, chestnut, pear, cherry and cardamom plants. The train then reaches Tung at 5656 ft.

Train going through cross roads

From Tung the train reaches Sonada at 6552 ft and passes through the Sonada bazar giving a glimpse of Tibetan Stupa. Before reaching Ghoom, the train passes through the Senchel Reserve forest. One can get to see bright blooms of rododendrons, cream magnolias and orchids during the spring. The Senchel Reserve forest region is a world wide bird watching centre and the top of the hill is the famous tourist spot Tiger hill which gives a different and unique view of Himalayas and one can watch sunrise from this point. The train then crosses the town of Jore bunglow where the roads are narrow and this is the place where the traffic in and out of Darjeeling crosses. The train stops here for a while till the traffic clears if one happens. After crossing this town the train reaches Ghoom at 7407 ft.

Inside DHR toy Train

From Ghoom the train moves towards Darjeeling pasing through Batasia Loop from where one can see a splendid view of the Darjeeling town and the Kanchenjunga peak. The train then reaches the Darjeeling Station. The total travel time all along the route is about 9 hours (which could extend an hour more too).

All along the route from Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling, there are lots of road crossings and almost all through the journey the train runs quite parallel to road and one can see cars and other vehicles running very close. The famous song of Meri Sapnon ki Rani from the movie Aradana is shot in this train and all along the route.

Darjeeling Railway Station

Charter Train from Pathankot to Palampur

One can avail of a one way charter train journey for family and friends. The journey can be availed from any station to any station between the Pathankot-Joginder Nagar toy train. The total cost of the exclusive train is Rs. 22206/= (source IRCTC website). The charter train feature is as follows:

There are 4 First Class coaches with a seating capacity of 18 each and also a SLR Guard Van. The train departs from Patankot at 8.30 am and reaches Palampur at 1.15 pm with just 3 stops in between. On the return journey the train departs from Palampur at 1.30pm and reaches Pathankot at 7.00pm.

For bookings and enquiries one can contact:
Deputy GM(Tourism)-IRCTC-New Delhi
Ph no. (011) 23235264
Fax no. (011) 23210321

email: tourismz@irctc.com