Day 2 - Himachals in Winter - The Kalka Shimla Toy Train Experience

Previous - Day 1

Next day morning, our train was scheduled for a departure at 5.30 am. So in that bone-chilling cold, we had to get up early and get ready – no wonder I was cursing myself for coming up with this plan.

Handing over the room keys to the reception and clearing the bill, when we placed ourselves on the narrow gauge platform, the coach was awaiting. The compartment was neat and clean and from the reservation chart we came to know that the coach was full! And we thought Jan-Feb used to be the ‘Off Season’!

The Shivalik Deluxe actually waits for the Howrah – Kalka Mail to arrive at Kalka. On that day it was delayed till 6.30 and so we had more than enough time to make ourselves comfortable. I infact dozed off a little if I go by with my wife’s version of the story, which I certainly can not remember doing.

Once the Kalka Mail arrived, within 15 mins the coach was full and we were all set to go. When we started around 6.55 am, the dawn was yet to break.

Immediately after leaving the small town, the train started ascending. The SunGod was still yawing on His bed. The hillocks started to turn into golden peaks under the tender sunlight. We were supplied with a copy of a newspaper but who cares about the damn world when you have such heavenly scenes dashing past you? We opened our windows and started clicking as many snaps as possible without caring for the cold a bit.

The train jogged along the mountains upward – through the thick woods, through the shadows and through the lights. Some cute little villages and stations were passed by. The Shivalik Deluxe only has one scheduled stop at Barog. Long before the station comes you have to place your order for the breakfast to the pantry, the cost of which is included in the ticket fare already.

The scenery and the experience both were out of this world. The tallest of the trees provided shadow for the villagers whereas the train ran along the circuitous tracks zigzagging its way through the hills whistling and cooing to make everyone aware of its existence.

The train came to a halt at Barog and we also descended. While the food crates were being boarded we enjoyed a heavenly beverage – a literally red hot tomato soup.

The Barog station in my opinion was the cutest of the series. Nestled in the lap of the mountains and far from the din and bustle of the urban civilization, the place offers tremendous views of the hills but still the place is much underrated.

After 15 mins or so the engine started to move so we entrained quickly. Bidding a sweet farewell to Barog, we headed towards its much bigger and more popular sibling, Shimla. We were served with the breakfast and tea/coffee to stuff ourselves which we devoured in no time.

While writing about the Kalka-Shimla, if I don’t mention the tunnels, it will be an injustice. As far as I can remember we counted around 130 tunnels of various lengths – from the smallest one to one really really large one. When the train passed through the tunnel, it seemed the time stood still and each second as an eternity.

We encountered our first snow when we were very close to Shimla. All the passengers were really excited, so were we.

We reached Shimla station around 11.30 am. It was shivering cold with a freezing wind blowing with its all its ferocity. We proceeded towards the Taxi Stand to head towards our destination - Narkanda - with a joyous heart as the narrow gauge train really lived upto its 'world heritage' status.

Pictures -

A view from the toy train

The Dawn - just breaking

Entering a tunnel

Another view from the train of the valley

Kumarhatti - A cute little station on the way

The train - at Barog Station

Crossings - At Barog Station

The Roadesians

Another quick snap

Salogra - Another cutie on the way



First snow on the way



Approaching the Shimla Station - the rail Motor Car is resting

Shimla Railway Station

Next - Day 2 Continued

Day 1 - Himachals in Winter - Reaching Kalka - The Gateway to Himachals

We did a lot of research about a destination for our honeymoon. We both love the hills so the unanimous and undisputed choice was to go somewhere in the lap of mountains. But that was only the easy part. The difficult bit was to hit the nail about the destination. India has so many spectacular hill stations that - I don't know if anyone else has ever faced this dilemma - it really is too difficult to finalize one particular place.

We started our R&D. Initially some of the options were straightaway rejected - Ladakh, Kinnaur, North Sikkim, Kashmir. Not because these places were not good enough - even my enemies can not say that I am ever indulged in such a blasphemy - but simply because these places were not accessible in late January - February.

We wanted to touch and feel the snow and also didn't want to face roadblocks or other hassles due to excessive snow. Where to go? Finally one of my friends suggested Narkanda as an option - it did fit with our expectation because apart from touring to the crowded places we also wanted to visit a place where the raw beauty of the nature could be enjoyed. So Narkanda seemed to be a perfect option, even the HPTDC guys assured me that we'll get loads of snow and very less crowd as it was considered as 'Peak Off Season'.

Feeling excited we drafted a plan to visit Narkanda, Shimla and Manali without making the trip too much hectic. Finally booked the tickets and sorted out the accommodation and we were all set to go. And we got a great discount on all the hotels. We decided to visit the hills in winter, when and where possible.

This series of chronicles will bring forward our experiences of this fabulous trip.

We caught a flight from Kolkata to Delhi and then Delhi to Chandigarh. We reached Chandigarh around 4.30 pm in the afternoon. It was a cold, very cold, late January afternoon. We hired a cab and started towards Kalka rail station. The plan was to stay at Kalka and catch the Shivalik Deluxe Express next day morning.

We reached Kalka Railway station around 5.30 pm, it already started becoming dark. I was advised by some of my relatives to check for the railway retiring rooms. But I was really doubtful of getting an accommodation there since there are only a couple of rooms. But I thought there shouldn't be any harm enquiring. To my utter surprise and joy, one of the rooms was empty and we booked it immediately. Since we had a ticket for the Shivalik Deluxe next day, it was as smooth as butter to get a room. It was a perfect start to the trip. We knew that luck was on our side.

It was a huge room of the British Architecture with an attached toilet - even bigger. There was room for imporvement as far as the cleanliness is concerned but we didn't bother as we were staying for a single night.

After getting freshened up we went outside to roam around the station. It was so cold that we decided to quit after an hour, though we bought some snacks to be consumed the next morning in the train.

The station was cute. It had normal broad gauge tracks at one side of the platform and the narrow gauge toy train tracks at the other side. This was the place from where our train was supposed to leave as well. In the first snap, to my left was the narrow gauge tracks for the toy train.

We had an early supper at the railway refreshment room at the station itself and went to a deep sleep early since we needed to get up early next morning.