Hill Stations in India by Train: Best Summer Vacation Destinations

Summer in India does not hold back. Anyone in the country can feel the heat as the temperature reaches beyond 40, sometimes even 45. While we cannot do much about the Sun’s excessive kindness, we can, however, enjoy this summer vacation with a train to the top hill stations in India.

The train is the best medium to travel if you have a family or a group travelling with you. It is economical, comfy and gives a homely vibe. While the flight may beat in time, the train gives you a feeling of togetherness that can hardly be compared.

Since the summer vacations are in full swing, getting a train ticket can be difficult to book. Before booking anything, run a quick check on the train schedule on RailMitra. Some of these railhead routes have surprisingly few departures per day.

Northern Hill Stations in India by Train

Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

Start with Kalka. Here, Delhi’s trains arrive. So do those from Chandigarh and Ambala. Past Kalka, the rails shrink in width. Then comes the Kalka to Shimla route which was built back in 1903, stretching 96 kilometers. On its way, it dives into 103 tunnels. The trip to Shimla? Around five hours. Often longer. Never shorter. People with a fixed arrival time take the road. On this train nobody has a fixed arrival time.

Summer in Shimla sits between 15 and 28°C, enough of a gap from the plains that people book a week just to sleep without a ceiling fan. Mall Road first for most visitors, Kufri 13 km out for horse riding and a small zoo that is more interesting than it sounds. Jakhu Temple is uphill from the bazaar, ropeway available if the climb does not appeal. UNESCO listed this railway as a World Heritage route in 2008, which sounds like a formal thing until you are on it, watching stone viaducts from 1903 pass at walking speed outside the window.

Kalka tickets in May go 30 to 45 days before departure, sometimes faster. Still deciding on travel dates? RailMitra lets you peek at seat availability early. Try it before locking plans.

Mussoorie, Uttarakhand

For this hill station, reach Dehradun first. Shatabdi from Delhi takes about 5.5 hours. Seats are easier to get here than on the Kalka route, which is a relief. From Dehradun station Mussoorie is 35 km uphill, cabs queue outside and you can reach there easily.

2,005 metres, comfortable in summer but not dramatically cold, do not expect Shimla temperatures. Kempty Falls is the most visited spot and gets the crowds that come with that. Camel’s Back Road is a 3 km loop, no cable car, no waterfall, just walking. That is also why it stays pleasant when everywhere else is packed.

Friday evening arrivals from Delhi mean the road from Dehradun to Mussoorie jams up near the Rajpur toll. If dates are flexible, Saturday morning from Delhi is a noticeably better experience.

Nainital, Uttarakhand

Last stop before the mountains rise? Kathgodam holds that spot. Delhi trains take 6 to 7 hours depending on which one you are on, the Ranikhet Express overnight being what most end up booking. From Kathgodam, Nainital is 35 km uphill by shared taxi, roughly an hour.

The town is the lake, essentially. Naini Lake, 2,084 metres, Naina Devi Temple sitting right at the water on the north side. Snow View Point has a ropeway from Mallital and gives decent Himalayan views on clear days. On hazy days it gives you a cloud. The ropeway ride is short either way.

Go in June if you have to go in summer. When July arrives, rain follows. Landslides tend to block the roads leading up from Kathgodam.

Manali, Himachal Pradesh

No direct train to Manali, worth knowing before anything else gets planned. Out on the map, Chandigarh sits about 310 km away by road, the go-to train stop for many. Closer lies Joginder Nagar, just 150 km nearer, yet trains barely link it directly from much of India. So travelers wind up rerouting through Chandigarh regardless, even when their search begins elsewhere.

Most nights, Volvo coaches leave Chandigarh headed for Manali. The ride normally takes between seven and eight hours, though during high summer, delays creep in through Kullu valley. There is little help once traffic slows on that stretch. Solang Valley in May and June is cold enough to surprise people who packed light after the plains. Rohtang Pass needs an inner line permit applied online before you leave home. Old Manali near Manu Temple is worth finding separately from the main market, quieter, the food is noticeably better.

For trains from your city to Chandigarh, trains between two stations on RailMitra will show what is available.

Southern Hill Stations in India by Train

Ooty, Tamil Nadu

Passengers can reach Ooty from Mettupalayam. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway departs from Mettupalayam at 7:10 AM, 46 km, about 5 hours, the Coonoor section responsible for most of that time. Down that way, a rack and pinion setup guides the train, its rails fitted with teeth that catch a gear beneath the car, hauling it upward where slopes get sharp. This method is used here only with no use case found anywhere else across the country. Forty kilometers away sits Mettupalayam, just off Coimbatore, which connects by rail to Chennai, Bangalore, plus spots beyond in the northern direction.

High up at 2,240 metres, Ooty stays chilly when much of southern India heats up. Not far off, just 9 kilometres, Doddabetta Peak rises above all others in the Nilgiris, reaching 2,637 metres; worth several hours away from town. Since 1848, the Government Botanical Garden has stood rooted here; it shows itself best when you wander at a very leisurely pace, not in a rush. Avalanche Lake is 28 km out and consistently less crowded than the sites near the town centre.

Ghat weather delays the mountain railway sometimes. Check live train running status on RailMitra on travel day before heading to Mettupalayam station.

Munnar, Kerala

There are no stations in Munnar. Heading toward Aluva? It sits roughly 110 km away by train from Munnar. Ernakulam Junction lies farther out at about 140 km, but shows up more on routes from Mumbai or the western shoreline. Trains rolling in from those directions usually call it a stop right there, which makes reaching Ernakulam smoother despite the extra distance. KSRTC buses run from both. Past Adimali the road climbs and the air changes, and somewhere before town the AC stops making sense.

Eravikulam National Park is what most people come for. Nilgiri Tahr on the grassland slopes, best spotted in the morning. Tea estate factory tours are scattered around the hillsides and a few of them are genuinely interesting rather than just being photo stops. The town itself is not the attraction, the landscape around it is.

May is significantly better than June for Munnar. Southwest monsoon arrives early in Kerala, road conditions near the estate areas get unpredictable after it does.

Coorg, Karnataka

Bangalore to Mysuru by express is under 2 hours, one of those train routes that is fast enough to feel almost wasteful. From Mysuru, Coorg is 120 km by cab. Hassan is 80 km from Coorg but the train connections from major cities are thinner, so most people go through Mysuru regardless.

Coorg is a coffee country. Every tourism website says this and it still does not prepare you for what it actually looks like driving through the estates with that smell coming through the windows. Abbey Falls is 9 km from Madikeri. Dubare Elephant Camp on the Kaveri is where families tend to spend more time than planned. Mandalpatti needs a 4WD jeep hire from the Abbey Falls road and an hour each way, the view at the top is the reason people do not mind.

Eastern and Northeastern Hill Stations in India by Train

Darjeeling, West Bengal

Passengers can get off the train at New Jalpaiguri as trains roll in from Kolkata, Delhi, nearly every big city. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway picks up there, crawling 88 kilometers through hills toward Darjeeling. Seven hours pass before it reaches its mark. Most people take the shared jeep, under 3 hours, hard to argue with that. The Ghoom to Darjeeling section of the toy train is what gets missed every time, difficult to explain without sounding promotional, the kind of thing that makes sense once you have actually sat on it.

Darjeeling is at 2,045 metres and Tiger Hill above town at 2,590 metres is where people go before sunrise for the Kanchenjunga view, setting an alarm for 4 AM without much complaint because April and May mornings are clear often enough to make it worth it. The tea garden walks away from Chowrasta are quieter than the main market circuit and take about ten minutes to find.

Many seats to NJP from Kolkata go early. Check trainseat availability on RailMitra when planning this one.

Read More: Darjeeling Toy Train: Ultimate Guide to the Himalayan Joy Ride

Shillong, Meghalaya

Most people who have been to Shimla four or five times have not seriously considered Shillong. It is a different kind of hill station and that is precisely the reason to go.

Guwahati is the railhead at 100 km by road, regular trains from Kolkata and Delhi come in throughout the week. From outside Guwahati station, shared taxis to Shillong take 2.5 to 3 hours and longer when it rains, which it does. The April to June window is the right time, 1,496 metres and cool before the monsoon properly arrives.

Don Bosco Museum is one of the better regional museums in the country, and takes a proper two hours if you move through it carefully. Umiam Lake is 15 km from town. Local food is a reason to visit in itself such as Jadoh with pork, Dohneiiong and Tungrymbai. Nothing like what gets served at a dhaba anywhere in the Hindi belt, and that contrast is the whole experience of Shillong.

Food in Train: Eating on Long Hill Station Routes

Most of these journeys are long. Trains to Kathgodam and NJP run overnight. Guwahati and Coimbatore routes stretch 10 to 14 hours depending on origin. Pantry car food on Indian trains is variable enough that you cannot build a plan around it. Platform stops help if you are awake at the right junction at the right hour, which does not always happen.

RailMitra’s food in train service delivers a meal to your seat at major stations along the route. You pick the station and order in advance. For overnight journeys especially, it is a better option than hoping the pantry has something edible at 10 PM.

Before You Book

May and June are peak seasons across every route on this list, no exceptions. Trains to Kalka, Kathgodam, NJP, and Dehradun start filling 30 to 45 days before departure, school holiday weeks faster. Waiting list tickets do sometimes clear in the last week or ten days before travel but building a summer trip around a WL berth is a risk most people regret taking.

Shimla, Ooty, and Darjeeling connect to their hill stations by mountain railway from the railhead. Every other destination here means a cab or bus for the last leg, 1.5 to 3 hours depending on the route. Worth factoring into arrival plans before the day itself.

Each morning, the train leaves Mettupalayam on its climb through the Nilgiris with just one trip daily. Missing it? That lands you stuck nearby until tomorrow rolls around. A few other routes on this list have similarly limited frequency. Check the train schedule on RailMitra before locking in any day plan that hinges on a single departure.

Approximate Train Fares to Hill Station Railheads

Fares change by class, season, and how early you book. Check current prices on RailMitra with the help of fare enquiryservices.

FAQs for Hill Stations in India

Q: Which hill station in India is easiest to reach by train?
A: Mussoorie and Nainital, both in North India. Most trains from Delhi reach Dehradun at different times. From that point, Mussoorie takes just a brief ride by car. 

Q: Which hill stations have their own mountain railway?
A: Three. Shimla off the Kalka-Shimla Railway, Ooty off the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Darjeeling off the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. UNESCO gave all three World Heritage designation, which they share with things like the Taj Mahal.

 

Q: How early should I book summer hill station trains?
A: For Kalka and Kathgodam in May, 45 days out is not excessive, it is just the reality of summer booking. School holiday weeks around late May clear before the surrounding dates. Other routes on this list: 30 days minimum, earlier when possible.

Q: How do I check if my train is running on time?
A: Check live train running status on RailMitra on travel day. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is the one to watch most carefully, Ghat weather delays it more than most other routes.

Q: Is Manali reachable by train?
A: No direct train. Most travelers begin in Chandigarh, a 310-kilometer road trip away from Manali. Buses leave every night, finishing the journey in roughly seven or eight hours. The stretch through Kullu valley sometimes stretches travel time longer.