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Peaks of perfection: Like mountains and railways? Then there is only one journey for you

By Frank Barrett, Mail on Sunday Travel Editor

Published: 05:16 EST, 24 September 2015 | Updated: 05:16 EST, 24 September 2015

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Mountains are mountains, you might well think: you’ve seen some pretty big ranges in Scotland, and you’ve travelled in the Alps and seen its lofty peaks.

But Canada’s Rocky Mountains feel as if they’re in a whole other league.

Here you will discover a mountain railway journey for which the word ‘wow’ was invented.

A view from viewpoint Goats and Glaciers on the Athabasca River and the Canadian Rockies

I took the Rocky Mountaineer train east from Vancouver to Jasper. In rail journey terms this is no Trans-Siberian as it takes just two days with an overnight hotel stay at the halfway point of Kamloops.

I spent most of the ride with my face pressed against the picture window drinking in the extraordinary views.

The line crosses so many seemingly unbridgeable gaps that after a while you have to give up wondering how they managed to construct this fantastic line with only the most rudimentary of Victorian machinery.

You quickly begin forgetting the ‘how’ and give way to the ‘wow’. There can be no more picturesque railway journey on Earth.

It’s easy to see why for many years it was generally considered impossible to construct a railway across the Rockies. Perhaps even more extraordinary is that in the post-Second World War period – when compared with fast air travel, trains were considered too slow and too old-fashioned – the Canadian government was happy to let the Rocky Mountain part of the passenger rail network lapse into complete disuse.

Twenty five years ago it took the people behind the Rocky Mountaineer to show that this was a rail journey that was not for people keen to get somewhere in a hurry; this was an adventure to be taken entirely for its own sake.

Awesome: Rocky Mountaineer Train crossing South Thompson River at Kamloops

There is a choice of different routes and packages (rail and cruise, for example, or rail and drive) – and you can begin your journey in Seattle as well as the traditional starting point of Vancouver.

It would be hard to imagine a more spectacular journey than the run I enjoyed up to Jasper from Vancouver – not just the plunging gorges and racing rivers, but the sights of circling eagles and glimpses of wildlife: bears have often been known to wander into view.

There is also a choice of ‘class’. In the Rocky Mountaineer’s more expensive ‘Gold Leaf’ class, you are served superb meals, while in the upstairs section of the special carriage you have a glass-domed roof through which you can feast on the glorious unfolding panorama.

Keeping track: A mature Bald Eagle perched over the railway line

At the back of the carriage is a viewing platform where you can enjoy fresh air and breathe the smell of the forest and hear the sounds of rivers in full spate.

I left the train at Jasper to stay at the Jasper Park Lodge, a mile out of the small town. Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was an early visitor and recorded his enthusiastic verdict on the hotel in its visitor book.

He wrote: ‘A New York man reached Heaven, and as he passed the gate, Peter said, “I am sure you will like it.” A Pittsburgh man followed and Peter said, “It will be a very great change for you.” Finally there came a man from Jasper Park. “I am afraid,” said Peter, “that you will be disappointed.” ’

In this glorious spot it feels rather like heaven. This is especially true if, like Conan Doyle, you are a keen golfer. Jasper’s course is excellent but here the bunkers are not the only hazards. The bears, it seems, have a fondness for golf balls that stray within their reach.

The problem with the Rocky Mountaineer is that it is likely to become a habit: the something you may well find that you will want to return to and enjoy again and again.

Once is not enough.

TRAVEL FACTS

Canadian Affair (canadianaffair.com, 0207 816 9184) offers a Rocky Mountaineer adventure from £1,659pp including return flights and transfers from London to Vancouver returning from Calgary.