the 4 train journeys that will change your life, where the window is a portal to dream

The most intimate way to commune with a mountain? It’s probably to hike it. But for no extertion or altitude training, the next best comes the railway, with its cuts and scissions through the steep landscape to permit an exertion free observance through open-air windows. You see the scenery that is inaccessible to roads or even the most brazen of mountaineers. These are the four best mountain rail sojourns.

THE ALPS, SWITZERLAND

The Albula Line is one of just three train lines in the world that’s UENSCO world heritage listed. The Glacier Express is the way to do it, with it’s long window carriages. The scenery is idyllic, pure and simple. The Swiss landscape means you will hear the sound of cowbells tinkling as they graze through verdant meadows. The fields are peppered with citrus wildflowers and houses with high thatched roofs look like they’ve been modeled on a chocolate box – or vice versa, most likely. Lakes are an impossible blue that isn’t even replicated in a gemstone. Startling blues and greens pool at the feet of the craggy and very steep Alp mountains.

As for the engineering statistics, there are 291 bridges and 91 tunnels to be crossed on this train as it mitigates the undulations of such an extensive mountain range. One of the stand-out mountains everyone wants to see (speaking of chocolate – it’s the iconic Toblerone mountain) is the Matterhorn. Glacier Express will get you to Zermatt and there’s the Gornergrat train which gets you the best view. The thing is, there are  28 other 4000 metre high mountains alongside the Matterhorn. It’s an explosion of rock.

THE ANDES, Peru 

This South American mountain range is a stunner. The highlight is the lost city of Machu Picchu. There are two nostalgic throwback trains through the Andes. One leads to Machu Picchu, and is aboard the Hiram Bingham, named after the explorer who discovered the ancient Incan city. Departing from Cusco, it’s a day trip on a Pullman modeled train of the 1920s. There’s a dining car and an open air observation car as well as a bar that is accompanied by live music. As it’s a day trip, there’s brunch, lunch and dinner to cap off a bucket list experience of Machu Picchu. 

The other is the Belmond Andean Explorer, a luxury sleeper train in with heavy Peruvian elements, which includes a neutral palette and local woven textiles and handicrafts. Only 48 people can travel on the Andean Explorer. It traverses the territory from Cusco to Arequipa, passing Lake Titicaca and Colca Canyon.  Clients can do a one or a two night rail journey in a nostalgic golden-era cabin. There’s even a spa car for indulgence on tracks, as well as the usual cars for lounge and observation purposes.

ROCKY MOUNTAINS, CANADA

This is terrain that you just wouldn’t see unless you were on a train. Snaking along the edge of coasts, plowing straight through low lakes district, and up into the heights of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. 

There are four route options, including a new journey from Seattle. The most popular route for a reason, is the Vancouver to Lake Louise trip. One of the first stops en route is Banff and on approach travellers will be captivated by the looming Mount Rundle. Other mountains in Banff National Park include Castle Mountain which clocks in at 500 million years old. Mont Robson is another sight, with its rivuleted dimensions. It’s known as being impossible to climb, so in this case, the train is definitely going to get you closer than hiking ever could.

It’s not uncommon to see bears en route. Spring is one of the best times for sightings of bear cubs as well as meadows of wildflowers after the snow melt. Other wildlife includes ospreys and eagles – choose Gold Class on the Rocky Mountaineer to have a glass window roof so you can view all above for the best twitcher experience. Elks and moose are common as pigeons in Canada; a sighting is guaranteed. 

SEVEN MOUNTAINS, NORWAY

There are 500 kilometres of rail track from Norway’s capital Oslo to second city Bergen, where the Seven Mountains lie. Despite much competition, it remains one of the highest mainline railways in Europe. It gets so high that the mountains become plateaus that stand at more than 1200 metres. Namely, one plateau: the Hardangervidda plateau. From October to April the mountains will be snow-capped.  It’s a mountainous passage through to the fjords of Norway. There are 182 tunnels that slice through the rock and the train line only took 34 years to develop in this most dramatic, but most engineer unfriendly terrain. Many of the stations along this line cannot be accessed by road, and spends most of the year ensconced in snow, so you’re in frontier territory. 

The rail journey takes nine hours point to point, but mixing it up with a stop at Myrdal will lead to the Flam railway, which gives Bergen a run for its money in the scenery stakes, as it is an access point to the great fjords of Norway. Norway is an expensive country, there’s no doubt. In relative terms, the train is positively economical. For an experience of overwhelm, a one-way ticket costs the same as a casual dinner.