India - Kalka

Kalka is a town in the Panchkula district of Haryana, and is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas.  Cyril Sladden arrived there in August 1916 as he had travelled there from Simla and this was the terminus of the Kalka-Simla Railway.  Cyril gave a description of the spectacular railway journey in a letter of 13th August 1916.

Work on the railway line started in 1898 and it opened for traffic in 1903, adding to Simla's accessibility and popularity. At nearly 60 miles long with 864 bridges and 103 tunnels, it was an engineering feat and came to be known as the “British Jewel of the Orient”.  Prior to construction of the railway communication, connection with the outside world was via a village cartway.  The line from Simla connected important hill resorts with the foot hills.  This line was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2008.