6 of the world’s best mountain-rail trips

From a luxurious, multi-day adventure through Peru to a short hop across the border from Switzerland to Italy, ­­these rail routes all have one thing in common — towering mountain views.

1. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling, India
Since 1881, this old steam train has been a beloved part of northeast India’s forested landscape. Bright blue against emerald-green tea bushes, it weaves in and out of low-hanging cloud, giving a comical toot at every turn. Built by British colonisers, the railway was used to transport tea, rice and other produce up and down the Himalayan foothills.

Today, it’s a hit with Indian families on weekend breaks and rail fans keen to watch traffic grind to a halt as the train crosses the road, rattling past fruit stalls within arm’s reach. On a clear day, passengers will be treated to views of Mount Kanchenjunga, its snowy peak turning peach in the late-afternoon light.

How to do it: The train departs New Jalpaiguri daily at 10am and arrives into Darjeeling at 5.30pm. A one-way ticket starts from £13. Visit IRCTC to book.

2. Qinghai–Tibet Railway

Xining, China to Lhasa, Tibet 
Connecting Xining in Qinghai province to Lhasa in Tibet, this 22-hour journey is the highest rail route in the world. Barrelling around the Qinghai Lake through the night, passengers wake to the hiss of oxygen being pumped into compartments as the train reaches higher altitude, along with the sight of electric blue skies and blazing yellow plateau. Lakes gleam like molten metal and dreadlocked yaks graze up the slopes before the light chills to a blue glow from the icy sides of the Kunlun Mountains closing in around the carriages.

How to do it: A one-way ticket in a hard sleeper starts from £55, excluding the cost of a Tibet permit. Visit Tibet Travel to book.

3. The Skeena

Jasper to Prince Rupert, Canada
Known locally as the ‘Rupert Rocket’, the Skeena train departs Jasper National Park three days a week, taking passengers into the deepest wilderness of British Columbia. With the ice-glazed tops of the Canadian Rockies sparkling all around it, the train curls out of Alberta past the Rockies’ highest peak — the majestic Mount Robson — followed by the Cariboo Mountains, at the foot of which lie teal-green lakes as still as glass. From a panoramic dome, passengers can keep eyes peeled for black and grizzly bears, white-tailed deer, elk and moose, as well as bald eagles swooping through the air.

How to do it: A one-way ticket starts from £92, excluding taxes. Visit Via Rail to book.

4. Bernina Express

Chur, Switzerland to Tirano, Italy
Short but very sweet, a journey on the Bernina Express takes four hours to wind its way from the city of Chur in the Swiss Alps down to the Italian city of Tirano. Running on a narrow-gauge track that includes 55 tunnels and 196 bridges, the train swings around pine-filled valleys and vertical rock faces with sage-green rapids swirling below.

Fitted with panoramic windows and comfortable leather chairs, the train offers passengers unrivalled views of powder-dusted peaks, gritty glaciers and villages scattered among the slopes. Don’t miss the train crossing the scenic Landwasser River valley on the towering, six-arch viaduct.

How to do it: A second-class, one-way ticket from Chur to Tirano starts from £60. Visit Rhaetian Railway to book.

5. Andean Explorer

Cusco to Arequipa, Peru
Starting in the former capital of the Inca Empire, Cusco, the Andean Explorer embarks upon a luxury two-night journey taking passengers high into the canyons and grassy plateaus of the La Raya mountain range. From the cosiness of bunk-bed cabins or double-bed suites, passengers can wake to the sight of a blood-red sunrise over Lake Titicaca before disembarking to sip coffee in the chill of the morning mountain air. Amid long, lavish meals of seared sea bass and crisp duck breast — along with plenty of pisco sours — there are off-board visits to the Uros islands, Sumbay Caves and strolls around green lagoons before the third day’s arrival into Arequipa.

How to do it: A two-person bunk-bed cabin starts from £5,290. Visit Belmond to book.

(6 of the best luxury trains around the world.)

6. California Zephyr

Chicago to Emeryville, US
Journeying 2,438 miles across seven states, the California Zephyr is the second-longest train ride in the US, clocking in at just over 52 hours. The superliner service rumbles through Illinois before crossing over the Mississippi river into Iowa, with Nebraska’s golden prairies and flatlands slipping by through the night. Most passengers will wake as the train pulls into Denver, Colorado, and begins its ascent into the Rocky Mountains, evergreen forests dropping away and flaming rock faces stacking up the sides. From the sightseer lounge there’s a clear view of Colorado’s gaping canyons, followed by the Sierra Nevadas looming in the west.

How to do it: A one-way seat in coach starts from £120. Visit Amtrak to book.

(6 of the world's best coastal rail journeys.)

Monisha Rajesh is the author of Around the World in 80 Trains, £10.99, Bloomsbury.