India - On the Coonoor - Ooty Railway Toy Train

The day began well. Blue sky over the Blue Hills (Nilgiris, as they are known). It was hard driving up the 36 hairpin turns from Masinagudi to Ooty (Udaghamandlam to some). The railway station at Ooty was crowded with tourists wanting to ride on the fabled "toy" train between Ooty and Coonoor. The queue snaked outside the station. We decided to drive to Coonoor, and take the train from there at the end of the day.







It was a good decision, because when we arrived at Coonoor station at 4pm, the booking counters were open, and there was hardly anyone there.

 

The journey was pretty. Through green forests we went, to the refrain to "Chaiya, chaiya", the famous song where Shahrukh Khan and Malaika Arora dance with abandon on the train, a dance that is variously known to be a leading cause of global warming.

We did an 18 km journey in some 1 hour and 15 minutes through beautiful countryside replete with forests and tea gardens. In the process, the train moved uphill from 5600 ft (Coonoor) to 7220 ft (Ooty). This is what "slow" movement is all about! This is a great train journey to do when you are not in a hurry to go anywhere in particular. The Tao highly recommends it!