10 Cable Car Rides You Must Experience In India

Except for during the monsoon, India's blue skies and clear weather makes a ride on a ropeway, high above her varied landscape, breathtaking.

Caption: Gangtok
Pic: Kind courtesy Dinesh Valke/Wikimedia Commons

Darjeeling Ropeway

Established in 1968, the Darjeeling Ropeway, with today 16 cars, is one of India’s first cable car system. It connects North Point in Singamari to Tukvar tea gardens, descending from an elevation of 7,000 ft to 5,262 ft through 2.5 km.  

Pic: Kind courtesy JyotiPN/Wikimedia Commons

Udaipur Ropeway

A 10-minute cable ride, started in 2009, links the revered shrine atop Machhala Hill with the scenic Deendayal Upadhyay Park in Udaipur. 

 

Pic: Tourist Information Center, Udaipur

Rajgir Ropeway

One of India's first ropeways, a Japanese monk gifted it for visitors to travel to Vishwa Shanti Stupa, a revered peace pagoda atop Ratnagiri Hill in Bihar, near Nalanda. First passenger: Bihar leader Jayprakash Narayan.

Pic: Kind courtesy Bihar Tourism

Auli Ropeway

The 4 km cable car system connects Joshimath to Auli in Uttarakhand, ascending from 6,233 ft to 9,875 ft. One of the longest ropeways in Asia, it offers stunning views of the Garhwal Himalayas. 

Pic: Kind courtesy Mandeep Thander/Wikimedia Commons

Solang Valley Ropeway 

Located near Manali, Himachal Pradesh, it's a chance to sail over Solang Valley. The cable car ascends to an altitude of 10,498 ft, providing panoramic views of snow-covered peaks, glaciers, alpine meadows.

Pic: Kind courtesy Biswarup Ganguly/Wikimedia Commons

Bhedaghat Jabalpur Ropeway

Ride over the the majestic Dhuandhar Falls and the renowned Marble Rocks gorge on this ropeway in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.

Pic: Kind courtesy Deepak Patil/Wikimedia Commons

Gulmarg Gondola Ropeway

One of the highest and longest cable cars in the world, the Gulmarg ride takes you to an altitude of 13,054 ft. It operates in two phases: the first ascends from Gulmarg (8,694 ft) to Kongdoori (10,104 ft). The second extends to Apharwat Peak (13, 054 ft).

Pic: Kind courtesy Slyronit/Wikimedia Commons

Gangtok Ropeway

Giving a bird’s-eye view of Sikkim's capital and the surrounding hills, it runs between Deorali Bazaar and Tashiling Secretariat. Built in 2003.

Pic: Kind courtesy Indrajit Das/Wikimedia Commons

Raigad Ropeway 

It is a means of access to the historic Raigad Fort, capital of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s kingdom, rising approximately 1,312 ft above Maharashtra's Sahyadri range.

Pic: Kind courtesy Joshi detroit/Wikimedia Commons

Guwahati Ropeway

One of India's longest, it spans the Brahmaputra river in Assam. Opened in 2003, folks can travel 1.8 km in these cable cars.

Pic: PTI Photo

Ride For The Future: Kedarnath Ropeway

A journey that normally takes a day, will be cut down to 1 hour when the 11.5 km Sonprayag-Kedarnath ropeway, 11,500 ft above sea level, is completed maybe by 2031 or so, and a huge boon to religious tourists.

Pic: Kind courtesy AshwiniVaishnaw/Twitter
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