I had taken as much precaution in visiting this WHS as in arranging a visit to Da Vinci’s Last Supper. More than 3 months before I reserved a first-class ticket on the Nilgiri Express. And even at that moment I could not get my preferred date and decided to take the trip down from Ooty instead of upwards to it. The first-class seats are located in a small, open carriage that gives you good views and photo opportunities during the ride. And what a ride this is!

The Nilgiri Railway was finished in 1908, and a trip up to Ooty from then on took only a couple of hours instead of 10 days. This way the mountainous region was opened up totally and attracted a lot of settlers. The railway is 46km long and uses a rare rack railway system: in the center of the tracks lies another rail, with tooths where the train gets some extra grip. It was made with a Swiss technique and is considered to be the most authentic rack railway system still in use. Almost all of the 12 stations underway are original. The WHS also includes the rolling stock, as it was considered by ICOMOS to be “irremovable” – it can’t be used anywhere else.

The trip covers 3 distinct parts: the first part (when going down) from Ooty to Coonoor has the best scenery. After every curve or tunnel – and there are many on this ride – the gorgeous views on the surrounding mountains, the tea plantations, forests of eucalyptus trees and tiny villages made me think I was in Nepal. At Coonoor the second part starts: it is here that the steam loco is connected to the train and the rack railway is used. You can hear it rattle underneath the carriages. Here you will cross many of the 31 major bridges, where it seems that the train is flying over the depths beneath. The last part to Mettapulayam goes down very quickly into the plains.

I can’t testify for one of the other two Mountain Railways, but this Niligiri Express is certainly a must-do! And not only for railway buffs: I enjoyed the scenery even more than the features of the railway system. The ride down takes 3.5 hours, and I wasn’t bored for a second.