The Kangra Valley train's journey

Covering a distance of 164 km between Pathankot in Punjab and Jogindernagar in Himachal Pradesh, this train is arguably the longest one running in the hills of India since 1929. What are we talking about?
The Kangra Valley Train, which takes the reader on a breathtaking journey through historic Kangra and is now likely to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the subject of a new book.
Titled "The Kangra Valley Train", the book, penned by Premola Ghose with photographs by Ram Rahman, provides interesting tidbits about one of India's most treasured landscapes.
According to the author, each journey to the Kangra Valley is a rich and rewarding experience.

"The main highway that cuts through Kangra from Pathankot to Mandi shows a rapidly changing world as car showrooms, automobile repair shops and garishly-built houses mushroom along the sides of the road.
"However, the train journey, since it weaves its way through fields, villages and common lands, preserves a pristine quality of the landscape," she writes.

She says the Valley has much to offer a visitor.
"From the historical sites of Kangra, Nurpur, Sujanpur Tira and Guler, to the religious sites of Jwalamukhi, Chintpurni, Chamunda, Baijnath and Mcleodganj. What better way to travel in this district than the Kangra Valley Train, disembarking at various stations for a picturesque meander through its lanes and by-lanes?"

On the colonial architecture of the Kangra Valley Railway stations, Ghose says it is a hybrid of the local kathkundi style of horizontal sleepers packed with stone, ideal for seismic areas, and the English Elizabethan decorative style.
"The stations therefore look like cottages with thin walls, wooden trusses, sloping roofs and deep verandahs held up by wooden pillars. The railway guesthouse, Him Darshan, in Maranda is a fine example of colonial architecture as are the stations of Ahju and Joginder Nagar," the book, published by Niyogi Books, says.