The summit of the toy train
Ghum (code GHUM, also spelt Ghoom) is the highest point on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, at 2,260 metres (7,410 ft). After climbing all the way from the plains, the line tops out here and then runs gently down to Darjeeling. Ghum is widely described as the highest railway station in India. Tourist literature sometimes calls it the highest in the world, but that has never been true.
Reaching the top in 1881
Construction of the DHR reached Ghum on 4 April 1881, three months before the line opened through to Darjeeling. The railway transformed travel to the hills: before 1878, the journey from Kolkata to Darjeeling took five to six days.
The Batasia Loop
Just beyond Ghum towards Darjeeling, the line drops about 1,000 ft and swings round the Batasia Loop, a graceful double spiral built in 1919 to ease the gradient. Today the loop encloses a garden and war memorial, with views of Kanchenjunga on clear days. It is the highlight of the Darjeeling–Ghum joy rides.
The rail museum
Ghum station houses a rail museum on the history of the DHR, with old photographs, equipment and memorabilia, and an early steam locomotive displayed outside. It is a natural stop for anyone interested in how the toy train was built and run, and Darjeeling joy-ride trains usually halt at Ghum long enough for passengers to walk through it.
The station
Ghum has 2 platforms on Hill Cart Road, where the tracks share space with the road through the bazaar.
Around Ghum
- The Ghum Monastery (Yiga Choeling), with its large Maitreya Buddha statue, is a short walk from the station.
- Tiger Hill's sunrise viewpoint is reached by road from Ghum.
- Joy-ride timings from Darjeeling are in our train timetable.