Nilgiri Mountain Railway

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the great train journeys of India. The narrow-gauge rack-and-pinion line runs 46 km from Mettupalayam (near Coimbatore in the plains) to Ooty, climbing 2,000 metres through tea estates, shola forests, and Toda villages. The steam-hauled section from Mettupalayam to Coonoor is the most spectacular — the locomotive pushes from behind on the uphill journey, groaning and hissing through tight curves and tunnels.

The full journey takes about five hours. Tickets sell out quickly in the tourist season (April to June and October); book at least a week in advance through the Indian Railways website or at Mettupalayam station. The diesel section from Coonoor to Ooty is less dramatic but still scenic. If time is limited, take just the Mettupalayam–Coonoor section — the first 26 km are far more spectacular than the upper stretch.

things to do sight
A story
The rack-and-pinion mechanism that allows the train to climb steep gradients was invented specifically for mountain railways in the 1860s. The Nilgiri section was the first to use this system in Asia, when it opened in 1899. The Swiss-designed Abt rack system engages a toothed rail in the centre of the track — at the steepest sections the locomotive is climbing at a gradient of 1 in 12, the equivalent of a staircase.