Batasia loop

Batasia loop
Originally uploaded by Java Cafe.

There is a narrow gauge "toy train" that runs from the plains to the town of Darjeeling (yes, where the famous tea comes from) in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains, in the northen part of the state of West Bengal, in India.
In 1999, UNESCO declared the Toy Train and its tracks a "World Heritage Site." After a ride aboard the Toy Train in 1895, Mark Twain is said to have remarked, "The most enjoyable day I've spent on earth is of mixed ecstacy of deadly fright and unimaginable joy."
In one section of the journey, the train climbs almost a 1,000 feet in a matter of minutes at this "Batasia Loop," where the tracks spiral around over itself through a tunnel and over a hilltop.