Old 222 and then some

President’s Pick India Ghats, the Ganges & Leopards Tour

As the train slowly pulls away from Kamblighat Station, you seem to hear every rattle and squeak of its old metal bones. The train, known only as No. 222, rolls on through the Rajasthan countryside in Deogarh, both a city and a municipality. This was once the land of Chundawat Rajputs.

On a hill, Deogarh Mahal is an imposing palace with a commanding view of the Aravalli mountain range, lakes and countryside. It features battlements, domes, turrets and huge gateways and was built in 1670. It was constructed as both residence and fort following turmoil and in-fighting between aristocrats of the Mewar region. In the heart of the town, the Kunjbihari Mandir is famous for colonies of bats that live inside the roof of that building. A clock tower in the main central chowk (market) of the town sits at the top of Charbhuja Temple.

Travel aboard this historic gem is an adventure in time as well as place. While it lasts less than two hours, the journey back through time seems longer as you sit on its time-worn wooden seats filled with locals for whom this train is a lifeline. You may be sitting next to an old woman in a traditional sari loaded down with baskets or energetic kids or even chickens or cows.

Old 222 rumbles on through the sanctuary and hills of Kali Ghati and through the Aravalli hill range, scrub forests, two tunnels and 172 bridges, large and small, constructed by the British in the 1930s. This is also the highest track on the Western Railways.

Goram Ghat Station in Pali District with its troops of monkeys is the last stop before the journey ends at Phulad Station. Goram Ghat is unusual in that it can only be reach by train. The rail track to reach it was built in 1932 by the British the help from former Mewar’s Maharana.

The small station of Phulad Station rests in Pali District in Rajasthan with lush rolling hills of the Aravalli Range nearby.

For lovers of trains and romance, No. 222 will delight and entertain, and for the rest of us… well, it will, too. Experience this historic ride on our newest 18-day President’s Pick India Ghats, the Ganges & Leopards.