Indian Railways operates four UNESCO-listed mountain railways (Darjeeling, Nilgiri, Kalka-Shimla, Matheran is on the tentative list) plus the spectacular monsoon Konkan Railway between Mumbai and Mangalore. Together they cover four entirely different mountain ecosystems and three distinct narrow-gauge engineering traditions: rack-and-pinion (NMR), zigzag and loops (DHR), and tunnel-and-viaduct (Kalka-Shimla, Konkan). Each ride is a journey rather than a transit — book second-class (window seats, breeze) or first-class for the long-distance heritage runs.
No connecting circuit possible — four mountain railways are in four different states. Best paired with their hill-station destinations: NMR with Coonoor-Ooty (3-4 days); Kalka-Shimla with a Himachal week; DHR with a Sikkim-Darjeeling trip (5-7 days); Matheran as a Mumbai weekend; Konkan Railway as the connecting Mumbai-Goa monsoon route (1 day). Book heritage classes 60-90 days ahead via IRCTC.
ALSO ON NAKSHIQ
Eight more rooms in the magazine.
Guides
Visa, scams, food, packing.
Everything the guidebook won't tell you — written for India in 2026.
Blog
Field notes from the road.
Long-form reads on regions, festivals, and the offbeat circuit.
Road trips
Curated multi-day routes.
Driving itineraries with day-by-day stops, distance, and difficulty.
Collections
Themed reading lists.
Wettest places. Sacred lakes. Solo-female-safe. Curated cuts.
NakshIQ 100
The 100 best destination-months.
India's highest-scoring places, ranked across all 12 months.
The Window
Our weekly newsletter, archived.
One honest spread, every Sunday. The full back catalogue.
Skip list
What we'd skip — and what we'd do instead.
Overhyped places with honest alternatives.
First trip
Planning your first time in India.
Safety, scams, what to wear, food survival, solo female travel.