Global Travel Guide 2009: Ultimate Rail Journeys

RUSSIA, MONGOLIA
A Trans-Siberian Railway Adventure
The Trans-Siberian Express is the world’s most famous long-distance rail journey. Begun in 1891 and modified many times thereafter, and with routings to Vladivostok or through Mongolia to China, it doesn’t get any more epic than this. You will, of course, want to journey the full 8,961 kilometres from Moscow to Beijing—by express train that takes six days, but you’re in no hurry. In addition to exploring the wonders of your two end points, you’ll want time to gaze across Lake Baikal, the deepest and oldest lake on Earth. You’ll also stop off in Mongolia to explore the capital of Ulaan Bator, its famous Gandan Monastery, and to eat lunch in a traditional ger. With this particular traveller’s rite of passage, it’s the journey that matters, and the meetings along the way.

MIR Corporation
Phone: 800-424-7289
Length/Departs: 15 days/Jul.-Aug.
Accommodation: Train, hotels
Price: $6,195 US(land only)
Difficulty: Easy to moderate

PERU
Train to Machu Picchu
This intense three-hour ride is a spectacular rail journey. As you travel from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes, the track switchbacks up the brown-earth flanks of the Sacred Valley, then skirts the edge of the mud-brown Urubamba River in the shadow of imposing Andean peaks. From the rail terminus, you’ll continue upward to explore the lost city of Machu Picchu, one of the true cultural wonders of the world. After soaking up the story of the place from local guides, you’ll have a full day to explore the ruins, or to hike up nearby Huayna Picchu mountain for stunning views of the entire setting. In Aguas Calientes (or hot waters) you can also kick back and soak in local hot springs, or take a leisurely hike to the Mandor Waterfall, the perfect way to cap off your adventure.

Kumuka Worldwide
Phone: 800-517-0867
Length/Departs: 2 days/year-round
Accommodation: Hotel
Price: $335 CDN
Difficulty: Easy

CANADA
Royal Canadian Rockies Experience
For those craving a taste of luxury, the Royal Canadian Rockies Experience is the rail journey for you. You’ll travel through some of the most rugged and inaccessible terrain in the world, along the same historic Canadian Pacific lines that helped to open the West. Emerald rivers and lakes, fragrant pines and jagged snow-clad peaks are only a portion of this journey. You’ll also make a number of stops at such places as Banff, Lake Louise, the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel in Cranbrook, B.C., and Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump in the foothills of the Rockies. It’s a journey into a formative period of Canadian history, with a touch of luxury.

Royal Canadian Pacific
Phone: 877-665-3044
Length/Departs: 6 days/Jul.-Sept.
Accommodation: Private train compartment, hotel
Price: $8,000 CDN(land and rail only)
Difficulty: Easy

SOUTH AFRICA
The Blue Train
All aboard for what has been hailed as “the finest train experience in the world.” The trip begins in Pretoria, South Africa’s administrative capital, and travels south across verdant farmlands, with the glittering shafts of diamond mines visible in the distance. After a stop at Kimberley to see the Big Hole, you’ll continue onward and overnight to Cape Town. Ensconced in five-star luxury, you’ll awake to gentle movement as you slide past vineyards and orchards, gradually descending through incredible mountain and valley scenery in Drakenstein, Slanghoek and Elandskloof. You’ll disembark at Cape Town, instantly recognizable for its land-mark Table Mountain, one of the most beautifully situated cities in the world.

Borton Overseas
Phone: 800-843-0602
Length/Departs: 2 days/year-round
Accommodation: Train
Price: From $1,023 US (land only)
Difficulty: Easy

VIETNAM
The Reunification Express

The building of the rail link between the northerly city of Hanoi and the southern capital Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) began in 1899 and was completed in 1936, but knocked out of action for most of the past century due to the wars that divided the country. Its re-establishment in 1975 became a symbol of unity for both the North and South Vietnamese, hence the name Reunification Express. It’s since become one of the world’s great rail journeys. You’ll wind your way up the spine of Vietnam, lulled by the clacking of the wheels, hypnotized by the light green of rice fields and the darker green of misty mountain heights as they roll by. And you’ll have plenty of time to stop and explore the colonial back streets of Hanoi, the beaches of Nha Trang and the limestone wonders of Ha Long Bay along the way.

Goway
Phone: 800-387-8850
Length/Departs: 15 days/year-round
Accommodations: Guest houses/hotels, sleeper train, sailing junk
Price: From $930 US, plus $300 US local payment
Difficulty: Easy

MEXICO
Copper Canyon Sierra Spectacular
Descend the deepest and third-deepest canyons in North America on the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad, one of the most scenic rail journeys in the world. The track alone is a marvel of engineering, featuring 37 principal bridges, 87 tunnels and a tunnel with a 180-degree turn followed by a bridge with a 90-degree turn. This serpentine track also passes through some of the most biologically diverse habitats on the planet, and you’ll experience it all from an open-deck railcar. The train journey is only the centrepiece of this trip, however. You’ll also explore several areas of Copper Canyon on foot, view Tarahumara Indian cave dwellings, visit centuries-old missions and spot an incredible array of indigenous wildlife. This is a taste of a hidden Mexico beyond the tourist beaches.

Canyon Travel
Phone: 800-843-1060
Length/Departs: 12 days/Mar. and Oct.
Accommodations: Private lodges
Price: $2,949 US (land only)
Difficulty: Easy

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