There are cities in India that impress you, and then there are cities that stay with you. Jaipur sits firmly in the second category.

Known as the Pink City for its distinctive terracotta hue, Jaipur is a place where grand palaces, intricate architecture and vibrant street life exist side by side. It forms a key part of the famous Golden Triangle, yet it never feels like just another stop on an itinerary. There is a richness here that rewards slowing down.
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If you are planning a visit, or travelling as part of one of our escorted tours, these are five places that truly capture the spirit of Jaipur.

Perched high above the surrounding hills, Amber Fort feels more like a palace from a story than a defensive stronghold. Built in the 16th century, the fort combines Rajput grandeur with delicate Mughal influences. The highlight for many is the Sheesh Mahal, or Mirror Palace, where thousands of tiny mirrors reflect even the faintest light into a soft, glowing shimmer.
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The ascent to the fort, whether by jeep or on foot, offers sweeping views across the rugged Aravalli landscape. Go early if you can, when the light is softer and the crowds thinner. It makes a noticeable difference.

Few buildings are as instantly recognisable as Hawa Mahal. Its five-storey façade, with over 900 small windows, was designed to allow royal women to observe daily life without being seen. The honeycomb structure also channels cool air through the building, a clever response to Rajasthan’s heat.
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From the street, it is striking. From inside, looking out over Jaipur’s busy bazaars, it becomes something more intimate, a quiet window into the bustling rhythm of the city.

At the heart of Jaipur lies the elegant City Palace Jaipur, a complex that still houses the royal family. This is not a single building but a series of courtyards, gardens and halls, each revealing a different layer of Jaipur’s history. The famous Peacock Gate, with its vivid colours and intricate detailing, often stops visitors in their tracks. There is a lived-in quality here that sets it apart. It does not feel frozen in time, but quietly evolving, much like Jaipur itself.

Right next to the City Palace is something entirely unexpected, the Jantar Mantar Jaipur. This UNESCO-listed observatory is a collection of enormous astronomical instruments built in the 18th century. At first glance, they look abstract, almost sculptural. In reality, they were designed for precise measurements of time, celestial positions and eclipses.
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The scale is what surprises most people. These are not small devices but vast, architectural forms. It is a reminder that Jaipur has always been a centre of science and learning as well as art and design.

Floating serenely in the middle of Man Sagar Lake, Jal Mahal offers a completely different perspective on Jaipur.
While visitors cannot enter the palace itself, the view from the lakeside is enough. At sunrise or sunset, when the light softens and the water reflects the surrounding hills, it becomes one of the most atmospheric spots in the city.
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It is also a welcome pause from Jaipur’s lively streets, a place to slow down and take it all in.

Jaipur is rarely visited in isolation, and that is part of its appeal. Travelling here as part of a wider journey through Rajasthan or the Golden Triangle allows you to see how each destination connects, culturally, historically and visually. On our Darjeeling Tours Rail on all Gauges itinerary, Jaipur brings a sense of colour, craftsmanship and intrigue. It is a natural highlight, not just because of its landmarks, but because of how it feels to be there.

Jaipur rewards curiosity. Beyond these five highlights, there are bustling bazaars, artisan workshops, and quiet corners that rarely make it into guidebooks. But if you start here, with Amber Fort, Hawa Mahal, City Palace, Jantar Mantar and Jal Mahal, you will already have experienced something essential about the Pink City, its ability to balance grandeur with detail, and history with everyday life.
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And that is what makes Jaipur memorable long after you leave.

One of the pleasures of travelling through Colorado is that the food often reflects the same character as the landscape, bold, unpretentious and full of local flavour. On our Best of Colorado small-group rail tour, the scenery may take centre stage, but the places we stop to eat quickly become part of the story.

Over many years of leading escorted rail tours in Colorado, Amit has quietly built up a list of favourite places to eat along the route. These are not tourist traps or generic chains. They are the sort of restaurants travellers remember long after the journey ends, full of local atmosphere and welcoming hospitality.

If you join our Colorado rail tour this September, these are just a few of the memorable stops you can expect along the way.

Colorado has its own distinctive take on pizza, and Beau Jo’s in Idaho Springs is where many locals insist you should try it.

Known as “Colorado-style pizza”, the pies here are built for hungry mountain travellers. The dough is thick and hand-braided into a sturdy crust designed to hold generous toppings. The finishing touch is what surprises first-time visitors, the crust is often dipped in honey once the slice is finished.

It may sound unusual, but it is a beloved regional tradition and one that many guests end up recreating long after the tour has finished.

Just beside the railway tracks in Colorado Springs sits Brakeman’s Burger Bar, a place that feels tailor-made for anyone travelling across the state by train. The restaurant leans into its railway heritage with playful décor, vintage rail references and a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. Their smashed burgers have earned a loyal local following, while the menu also includes lighter options, craft beers and excellent fries.

It is an ideal stop during our time exploring Colorado Springs, and a reminder that the connection between railways and good roadside food is alive and well.

Alamosa sits in the vast San Luis Valley, one of the most dramatic landscapes in southern Colorado. After a day spent exploring the region’s famous railways and wide-open scenery, the San Luis Valley Brewing Company is a favourite place for our group to gather in the evening.

Set in a beautifully restored historic building, the brewery combines locally crafted beers with hearty pub food and a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. It is the kind of place where locals linger over a drink, and visitors quickly feel at home.

For travellers on our Colorado train holiday, it is the perfect place to unwind and share stories from the day’s journey.

Gunnison still carries echoes of its frontier past, and Ol’ Miner Steakhouse leans proudly into that heritage. The restaurant’s Old West décor, warm hospitality and generous portions make it a memorable stop on our journey through the Rockies. While the steaks and ribs are local favourites, there are plenty of other comforting options on the menu, all served in a setting that feels authentically Colorado.

After a day of mountain scenery and historic rail travel, it provides exactly the kind of relaxed, satisfying meal that rounds off the experience.

On a Darjeeling Tours escorted rail tour, the journey is about more than simply travelling from place to place. It is about experiencing the landscapes, history and culture that make a destination unique.

The restaurants we visit along the route are part of that experience. From frontier saloons in historic mining towns to lively brewpubs in the San Luis Valley, each stop adds another layer to the story of Colorado.
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Join us this September on our Best of Colorado small-group tour and discover the state’s spectacular mountain scenery, historic railways and warm American hospitality, with a few unforgettable meals along the way.

There are railway journeys that get you from A to B, and then there are railway journeys that feel like stepping into another era entirely. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, climbing from the plains of Tamil Nadu into the cool hill station of Ooty, very much belongs in the second category.

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage railway, this remarkable line winds through jungle, tea plantations and mist-covered mountains, offering one of the most atmospheric train journeys anywhere in India. It is also one of the highlights of our South India rail tour, where travellers experience a side of India that feels very different from the busy northern cities.

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway was completed in 1908, during the final decades of British India. Its purpose was simple: to connect the hot plains with the refreshing hill station of Udhagamandalam, better known as Ooty.

Building a railway here was anything but simple. The Nilgiri Hills, often called the Blue Mountains, rise steeply from the plains, with gradients far too severe for a conventional railway. The solution was an ingenious rack-and-pinion system, still used today on the steepest sections of the route between Mettupalayam and Coonoor. 
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Here, a toothed rail runs between the tracks, allowing the locomotive to literally grip the mountain as it climbs. It is a rare system in India and one of the reasons the railway earned its UNESCO World Heritage status as part of the Mountain Railways of India.

The journey itself feels wonderfully unhurried. The train winds its way through dense forests, deep ravines and hillside tea gardens, crossing more than 250 bridges and passing through 16 tunnels along the route.

Traditional X-class steam locomotives still operate on the steep lower section, pushing the train uphill from behind. Watching the engine labour against the gradient, sending plumes of steam into the forest canopy, is a moment that railway enthusiasts and casual travellers alike rarely forget.
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As the train climbs higher, the scenery gradually changes. Tropical jungle gives way to rolling tea estates, eucalyptus trees and cooler mountain air. By the time the train reaches Coonoor, the atmosphere feels distinctly alpine.

The final destination, Ooty, has been a beloved hill retreat since the 19th century. British administrators escaping the heat of the plains developed it as a summer capital, and traces of that colonial heritage remain in its architecture, gardens and relaxed pace of life.

Visitors will find botanical gardens, lakeside promenades and sweeping views across the Nilgiri Hills, all wrapped in a climate that is pleasantly cool compared with much of southern India.
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The railway journey is part of what gives Ooty its enduring charm. Arriving by train feels far more fitting than arriving by road, especially when the train itself is one of the most historic in Asia.

India has several remarkable mountain railways, but the Nilgiri line stands apart for its engineering and scenery. Together with the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and the Kalka–Shimla Railway, it forms the trio recognised by UNESCO as the Mountain Railways of India.

Each has its own character, but the Nilgiri route is perhaps the most dramatic in terms of engineering. The rack-and-pinion section, steep gradients and surviving steam locomotives combine to create an experience that feels both historic and surprisingly adventurous.
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For travellers interested in rail heritage, scenic landscapes and quieter corners of India, it is a journey that consistently ranks among the country’s most memorable.

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway journey to Ooty is included as part of our carefully curated small-group escorted tour of South India.

Our itinerary combines several of the region’s most fascinating experiences, from historic railways and hill stations to temples, spice plantations and coastal landscapes. Travelling in a small group with an expert tour leader means you can enjoy the journey without worrying about the logistics, while still experiencing the authentic rhythm of travel in India.

If you would like to learn more about this journey and the full itinerary, take a look at our South India rail tour:
https://www.darjeelingtours.co.uk/southindiatour.html
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For many travellers, the moment the little blue train begins its climb into the misty Nilgiri Hills becomes one of the most vivid memories of their entire trip. And once you have travelled this line, it is easy to see why it has earned its place among the world’s great railways.

If Colorado’s mountain railways are the dramatic headliners of the state’s rail story, then Birney Car No. 25 in Fort Collins is something quieter and rather more charming. No towering passes or dizzying canyon drops here. Instead, this beautifully restored electric streetcar glides gently through leafy neighbourhoods and along the edge of Colorado State University, offering a small but fascinating window into a very different era of American transport.

For travellers joining our Best of Colorado rail tour, this little slice of living history offers something unexpected. After days of steam locomotives, dramatic scenery and legendary mountain railroads, the Fort Collins trolley reminds you that railways once shaped everyday life in towns and cities across America.

Birney Car No. 25 dates from 1919, when electric streetcars were transforming American towns. Built by the American Car Company in St. Louis, it is a classic example of a Birney Safety Car, a design that helped keep smaller tram systems running during financially difficult times. The Birney was something of a technological breakthrough for its day. Earlier streetcars required both a driver and a conductor, but the Birney design allowed one-person operation, dramatically reducing costs for local transport systems. Safety innovations included a “dead man’s control” which stopped the car automatically if the driver released the handle.
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More than 6,000 Birney cars were built between 1915 and 1930. Today, only a handful remain in operation. Fort Collins’ lovingly restored No. 25 is one of the best preserved.

Fort Collins once had a small but busy streetcar system running through the city’s main streets. Like so many American tram networks, it fell victim to the rise of the automobile and buses. The original line closed in 1951, and the rails gradually disappeared beneath asphalt. But local enthusiasts never quite let the idea go. In the 1980s, volunteers launched an ambitious project to bring the tramway back. They tracked down the original Birney Car No. 25, which had been operating in Virginia after leaving Colorado decades earlier. After years of restoration work and fundraising, the Fort Collins Municipal Railway reopened a section of line in 1984.
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Today the heritage trolley runs along Mountain Avenue, one of the city’s most attractive streets, shaded by mature trees and lined with elegant historic houses. It is not a long journey, just over three miles return, but it feels like stepping briefly into another century.

What makes a ride on the trolley memorable is the atmosphere rather than the distance. Inside, the wooden seats creak softly as the car accelerates. The trolley pole sparks faintly against the overhead wire. Conductors often share stories about the tram’s history as you roll gently past parks, university buildings and neighbourhood cafés. And then there are the quirks. Birney cars were sometimes nicknamed “safety cars”, but in practice their biggest safety feature may have been their modest speed. They typically trundle along at around 20 miles per hour, making them perfect for relaxed urban travel.
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Another small detail most passengers miss is the air whistle, which produces a distinctive mellow tone quite different from the sharp clang of traditional tram bells.

One of the most appealing aspects of the Fort Collins trolley is that it survives largely thanks to volunteers.
The Fort Collins Municipal Railway Society maintains the tram, the tracks and the overhead wiring. Many of the drivers and conductors are local railway enthusiasts who simply enjoy sharing this piece of history with visitors.
Their dedication keeps the trolley running during summer weekends and special events, turning what might have been a museum exhibit into a living, breathing part of the city.
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For visitors, that human connection is often what makes the ride memorable. It is not just a historical artefact. It is a community project that has kept a small but meaningful part of Colorado’s railway heritage alive.

For travellers interested in rail history, experiences like this add depth to the bigger, more famous journeys across Colorado.

Our Best of Colorado rail tour focuses on some of the state’s most spectacular lines, including the narrow-gauge railways that once carried silver, timber and supplies through the Rocky Mountains. One highlight is the legendary Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a steam-powered journey through deep canyons that still follows its original mining-era route.

Another classic is the Georgetown Loop Railroad, where trains climb high above Clear Creek on dramatic bridges and tight mountain curves, a remarkable feat of nineteenth-century railway engineering.

Colorado’s railway story also stretches beyond the narrow gauge lines. On the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, trains cross the Colorado–New Mexico border while climbing to over 10,000 feet at Cumbres Pass, one of the highest steam railways in North America. It remains one of the most authentic historic rail experiences in the United States.

Then there is the extraordinary Pikes Peak Cog Railway, the world’s highest cog railway and one of the most unusual mountain railways anywhere. Using a rack-and-pinion system to climb the slopes of Pikes Peak, it has been carrying passengers to the summit since 1891.

And for sheer scale, few railway experiences rival the arrival of Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014, the largest operational steam locomotive in the world. When this immense machine visits Colorado, it is a reminder of the power and ambition that defined the golden age of American railroads.

Seen alongside these giants of railway history, the Fort Collins trolley might seem modest. Yet it represents a different side of Colorado’s rail heritage, one rooted not in dramatic mountain passes but in everyday journeys through growing towns and communities.
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Together they tell the full story of railways in the American West, from quiet city streets to the highest passes of the Rocky Mountains.

When travelling through Colorado by rail, much of the attention naturally falls on the dramatic scenery of the Rocky Mountains. Towering peaks, deep gorges and thrilling narrow-gauge lines tend to steal the spotlight.
But sometimes the quieter stories are just as interesting.

A short ride on Birney Car No. 25 is a reminder that railways were not only about conquering mountains. They were about connecting communities, helping cities grow and shaping the rhythm of daily life. And occasionally, more than a century later, they still do.

If you enjoy discovering the full story behind America’s railways, from dramatic mountain passes to charming heritage tramways, our small-group escorted rail tour in Colorado explores both the famous routes and the hidden gems that bring railway history to life.

Colorado is famous for big landscapes. Towering Rocky Mountains, high alpine passes and sweeping valleys are part of the state’s identity. Yet tucked away in western Colorado lies something far more dramatic. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is one of the most striking natural landscapes in North America, a place where sheer rock walls plunge almost vertically into a dark ribbon of river far below.
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For travellers exploring the American West on a Colorado rail tour or small-group escorted tour, it is one of those places that genuinely stops you in your tracks.

The Black Canyon is not the widest or longest canyon in the United States. What makes it remarkable is its intensity. The walls are incredibly steep and the gorge is astonishingly narrow in places. The canyon’s rock tells a story that stretches almost two billion years into Earth’s past. The exposed metamorphic rock formed deep beneath ancient mountain ranges before being pushed upward by geological forces and slowly carved away by the powerful Gunnison River.

Over millions of years the river cut deeper and deeper through the resistant rock, creating cliffs that today tower more than 2,700 feet above the water. Standing at viewpoints along the rim you quickly understand why the canyon earned its name. Sunlight only reaches the river for brief moments each day, leaving much of the gorge in shadow. The result is a landscape of dark rock faces, sharp ridges and dramatic light.
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One of the most famous sights is the Painted Wall, the tallest cliff in Colorado at more than 2,200 feet high. The striking bands of lighter pegmatite rock streaking through dark gneiss look almost like brushstrokes across the canyon wall.

For those interested in rail history, the Black Canyon has a fascinating connection to the great age of American railroads. In the early 1880s the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad attempted to push a line through this wild landscape to reach the booming mining districts of the San Juan Mountains. Engineers blasted narrow ledges from the rock and laid track through a twisting canyon route that early passengers described as both thrilling and terrifying. One observer wrote that the railway clung to the canyon walls above a roaring river far below, with curves so sharp that there was barely a straight stretch of track for miles. Even by the ambitious standards of the era, the route was an engineering feat. Eventually a more practical line was built elsewhere and the canyon railway was abandoned by the mid-20th century, but the story remains an important chapter in Colorado’s rail heritage.
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It is one of many reminders of how closely the region’s railways were tied to its landscapes.

​Today the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park protects around 14 miles of the most dramatic section of the gorge. Visitors explore it from the rim rather than the depths, with a series of viewpoints revealing different perspectives of the canyon. Each stop feels like a new discovery. At Chasm View the canyon appears impossibly steep. At Gunnison Point the river glints far below like a thread of silver. And at sunset the cliffs glow with deep reds and purples as shadows stretch across the canyon.

For travellers on our Best of Colorado rail holiday, the canyon fits beautifully into a wider journey through the state’s landscapes as Darjeeling Tours combine the experience with some of Colorado’s great scenic railways.

Colorado’s rail history is deeply tied to its geography. Mining towns, mountain passes and remote valleys were once connected by narrow gauge railways that remain legendary among railway enthusiasts.

A journey through the region today often includes rides on some of the finest surviving examples of those lines. One highlight is the famous Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a spectacular steam railway that winds through deep gorges and high mountain scenery in the San Juan Mountains. The experience perfectly captures the spirit of the old mining railways of the American West.

Another iconic line is the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, which crosses high mountain passes on the Colorado–New Mexico border and offers one of the most authentic historic rail journeys anywhere in North America.
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These railways help bring the landscapes of Colorado to life. They are not just transport, but part of the story of how this rugged region was explored and settled.

For travellers who want to experience the very best of the American West without the stress of planning every detail, our small-group escorted tour offers a relaxed and rewarding way to travel.

At Darjeeling Tours, our journeys focus on the details that make travel memorable. Carefully designed itineraries, knowledgeable guides and a friendly group of like-minded travellers allow you to experience destinations in a deeper way.

Our Colorado rail tour combines spectacular scenery with some of the most iconic railways in the United States. Along the way you will experience dramatic mountain passes, historic towns, and natural wonders such as the remarkable Black Canyon of the Gunnison. It is a journey through landscapes that were shaped by geology, explored by railways and preserved as some of America’s most beautiful national parks.

The Black Canyon does not always receive the same attention as the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. In many ways that is part of its charm. It feels quieter, more intimate and in some ways more mysterious. The shadows, the steep walls and the distant river create a sense of scale that photographs rarely capture.

Stand at the rim for a moment and listen to the wind moving through the canyon. The experience reminds you how small we are in the face of deep time and vast landscapes.
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And that is exactly why places like this belong on a great journey through Colorado.

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is often described as one of America’s most scenic steam railways. That is true, but it is also not the full story.

What makes this line significant is not just the scenery. It is the fact that it survives as a working remnant of the Denver & Rio Grande system, built in 1882 to serve the silver mines of the San Juan Mountains. The line was never intended as a tourist attraction. It was an economic lifeline.
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That sense of purpose still defines the experience today.

When construction reached Silverton in 1882, the town was in the midst of a mining boom. The narrow gauge alignment followed the Animas River because it had to. There was no easy way through this terrain. Engineers threaded the track along canyon walls, blasted ledges from rock and constructed timber trestles to maintain a workable gradient.

Unlike the Cumbres route, this line does not climb to a 10,000-foot summit. Instead, it follows the river valley for most of its 45-mile journey, gradually gaining height until it reaches Silverton at 9,305 feet above sea level. The defining feature is the section known as the High Line. Here, the track clings to a narrow shelf cut into sheer rock faces, with the Animas River hundreds of feet below. There are no guardrails and no visual barriers. From the rear gondola, you look straight down into the canyon.
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This alignment exists because it was the only practical route for freight trains carrying ore concentrates, timber and supplies. It remains in use today for the same reason it was built: it works.

The Durango & Silverton operates coal-fired steam locomotives originally built for the Denver & Rio Grande Western in the early twentieth century. These are K-28 and K-36 class engines, designed specifically for narrow gauge mountain service.

They are not small. A K-36 weighs over 180,000 pounds and was built to haul heavy loads over demanding gradients. On the climb north from Durango, you hear the locomotive settle into a steady rhythm as it works against the grade and curves of the canyon.
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The gondola car at the rear is often the preferred place to ride. It is open-sided, roofed, and allows an unobstructed view of both the locomotive ahead and the river below. You feel the cinders. You smell the coal smoke. It is not a sanitised experience.

Silverton itself is not a reconstructed theme town. It is a community that survived the collapse of large-scale mining in the twentieth century and gradually shifted toward tourism.

Its grid of streets, wooden storefronts and mountain backdrop remain largely intact. When the train arrives, it does so along the same alignment that once brought freight wagons and miners into town. The railway is not an accessory. It is part of the town’s identity.
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Spending time here adds context to the journey. You are not simply travelling through scenery. You are visiting a place that existed because of the railroad.

It is tempting to compare Durango & Silverton with the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, and they do share common roots in the Denver & Rio Grande narrow gauge network. Both operate authentic steam locomotives over original nineteenth-century alignments.

The difference lies in geography. Cumbres & Toltec is defined by sustained climbing over a high mountain pass at more than 10,000 feet. Durango & Silverton, by contrast, follows a river canyon, gaining height gradually while clinging to rock ledges above the Animas.

The contrast with the Pikes Peak Cog Railway is even greater. Pikes Peak was engineered specifically to reach a summit, using a rack system to conquer gradients too steep for conventional adhesion railways. Durango & Silverton, on the other hand, is a traditional freight railroad built to move ore and supplies. It survives not because it was designed as a spectacle, but because its original engineering was sound enough to endure.
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Taken together, the three lines illustrate different responses to the same challenge: how to build and operate railways in the Rocky Mountains.

On our Best of Colorado Tour small group tour, Durango & Silverton provides one of the most visually arresting days of the itinerary. It complements the high-altitude engineering of the Pikes Peak Cog Railway and the sustained mountain work of Cumbres & Toltec.

By the time you have experienced all three, a broader picture of Colorado railroading emerges. Narrow gauge construction, mountain alignment, freight heritage and tourism adaptation all sit within the same narrative.

Durango & Silverton is not simply photogenic. It is instructive. It shows how a freight railroad built for silver extraction survived by adapting without losing its operational character.
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For anyone interested in American railway history, that survival story is as compelling as the scenery itself.