Train journeys are the most exciting and most enjoyable journey whether its solo or with friends/family. What I enjoy the most is playing inside the trains with beautiful sceneries outside, feels like you are in a picnic.
Everyone likes to travel and wants to enjoy this beautiful nature. Even I like to travel too and I discovered some of these heavenly views of nature while travelling through trains. These routes get more exciting when the train passes through lush green valleys, meandering rivers, mountains, coastal areas, and many more.
There are so many beautiful train routes in India that would mesmerized someone’s eyes. If you are a train traveler then, this article will help you to make your journey more exciting. I have enlisted some of the beautiful train routes in India and they are:
1. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (Jalpaiguri – Darjeeling)
It’s a toy train run from Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling. Darjeeling is one of the most romantic place that I would recommend for any couple and the scenes from the toy train would make anyone more romantic. It is a round trip 2 hour journey. It is listed by UNESCO World Heritage Sites list and it crosses through appealing mountains and astounding views of Mt. Kanchenjunga. As a toy train, it travels from 100 m above sea level from Jalpaiguri to about 2200 m at Darjeeling.
- Jalpaiguri – Darjeeling
- Fare :INR 1600 for Steam Engine
- INR 1000 for Diesel Engine Train
- Time : Run from 7:40 am to 4:30 pm.
- Best time to travel : Spring or Early Summer.
2. Konkan Railway (Goa – Mumbai)
This railway covers many rivers, streams, tunnels and bridges. It will give the vibe of forest train safari, while passing through forests. The chirping of birds are so much soothing to ears that makes mind very calm. This train even passes through Asia’s largest tunnel ( Karbude Tunnel ) which is 6.5 km long.
- Madgoan Jn, Goa – Mumbai CST, Maharashtra
- Fare :SL : INR 390
- 3A : INR 1065
- 2A : INR 1535
- 1A : INR 2595
- Time : Runs from 06:00 pm to 05:50 am
- Best time to travel : During Monsoon.
3. Desert Queen Railway (Jaisalmer – Jodhpur)
‘ Desert Queen ‘ a new special tourist train introduced for Desert Safari that passes through the deserts of Rajasthan. This journey is of 6 hours and the sceneries are full of camels gazing towards you, different types of desert plants and the houses made from mud.
It is a luxury train who can afford it for a sake of travel will be great experience for them. The train itself is so beautiful that will make Desert Safari more interesting.
- Jaisalmer – Jodhpur
- Fare :Single Occupancy : INR 36,600 per person
- Double Occupancy : INR 33,500 per person
- Triple Occupancy : INR 33,000 per person
- For a child with bed : INR 23,500
- For a child without bed : INR 19,000
- Time : Its a package system, it’s for 5 days, 4 nights
- Best time to travel : From October to March
4. Sethu Express (Chennai Egmore – Mandapam-Rameswaram)
Most enthralling part of this journey is when the train passes through Pamban bridge. It is built over sea that is 2.06 km long. It is the Indian first sea bridge and when the train passes through it , you can enjoy the alluring view of sea. Its started from Chennai and reaches Mandapam. The sound of sea is so soothing that no one can control themselves from getting out of it.
- Chennai Egmore – Mandapam-Rameswaram
- Fare :SL : INR 345
- 3A : INR 900
- 2A : INR 1270
- 1A : INR 2130
- Time : Runs from 05:45 pm to 04:20 am.
- Best time to travel : During Autumn season
5. Vasco da Gama to Londa (Goa – Karnataka)
The most beautiful train route I would recommend. You will see a lot of mountains, waterfalls, and a lot of greenery lands which will charm you to get sink in these enchanting views. The best time to travel in this train is during monsoon. There will be some tunnels while train passes through it the water falls directly upon rain, that makes the journey more exciting. It’s a 3 hour 25 min journey.
- Vasco da Gama, Goa – Londa, Karnataka
- Fare :SL : INR 145
- 3A : INR 505
- 2A : INR 710
- Time : Any time during day.
- Best time to travel : After Monsoon season.
6. Chilka Route (Bhubaneswar – Berhampur)
One of the beautiful train route as you can see the dense forest in one side and on other side the famous Chilka Lake of Odisha where the lake is full of migratory birds. It’s a 3 hour long journey but the scenic nature of Chilka having lush freen forest, mountains and the peaceful lake even though its full of different species of birds. Photographer should keep their camera i hand to capture this beauty.
- Bhubaneswar – Berhampur
- Fare :SL : INR 175
- 3A : INR 555
- 2A : INR 760
- 1A : INR 1175
- Time : Any time during day.
- Best time to travel : From November to February.
7. Matheran Hill Railway (Matheran – Neral)
This train route is a narrow gauge and all other vehicles like bicycles are not allowed. This train passes through many western ghats having hilly rocks. The zigzag route of this train makes the train to move slowly but the journey of 20km make the only heritage railway of Maharastra is included in the list of beautiful train routes in India. It’s a one-way trip.
- Matheran – Neral
- Fare :1A : INR 300 for adults & INR 180 for childs
- 2A : INR 75 for adults & INR 45 for childs
- Shuttle : INR 45 for adults & INR 30 for childs
- Time : Runs from 01:15 pm to 03:55 pm.
- Best time to travel : From October to November.
8. Nilgiri Mountain Railway (Mettupalayam-Ooty)
Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a toy train runs on steam engine. As the train rises the Nilgiri mountain, it passes through thick pine, oak and eucalyptus forests, bends, curves and tunnels. The route gives exceptional scenic beauty with majestic mountains, deep valleys, tea gardens and abundant fauna. It is one of the steepest track in Asia. It’s the best way to reach Ooty, Coonoor. It’s a 26 km slope upwards.
- Mettupalayam – Ooty
- Fare :1A : INR 545
- 2A : INR 270
- Time : Runs from 09:20 pm to 06:20 am (2 days journey)
- Best time to travel : From April to May.
With this, I want to say that, if you are a traveler and travel to capture the beauties of nature then, you must try these beautiful trains routes in India.
If you are a luxurious train traveler, then you will love to try Rajasthan tourist trains. They will give an aristocracy feeling with beautiful views of Rajasthan enjoying the Desert Safari covering beautiful cities like Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Jaipur. If you are traveling in Desert safari then during your halt you would like to visit some of their locations are are famous, you can get some information from here : 7 Unknown but Interesting Places of Rajasthan
If you are a greenery lover train traveler then, there are many routes for you that will not wish to miss it. Travelling in Darjeeling Himalayan Railway if you visit Darjeeling then this page might help you : Top 10 places to visit in Darjeeling
In Chilka route, reaching there you can find this page useful for sight-seeing :
