Beginning in Siliguri at the foot of the mighty Himalayas, the little, blue and red Darjeeling Himalayan steam railway climbs over two thousand metres into the mountains, peaking at Ghum and finally reaching Darjeeling at 2,200 metres above sea level.
It was opened in 1881 by the Eastern Bengal Railway Company in the form of a treacherous, crazy trail of loops and steep gradients, and though it was gradually improved and is now owned by the Indian Railway Company, it is still just about the most thrilling, history-infused steam train ride you could ever hope to experience.
It was once used for goods as well as passengers, chugging on through years of searing heat and overwhelming monsoons, and it even transported military personnel during the Second World War, but it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 1999 and now only carries passengers.
You’ll see plunging gorges beneath ancient steel bridges, vast mountain panoramas, pine forests, towering rock faces, wild rhododendrons and, of course, the famous interlocking shelves of tea plantations along the way.