The Pull of the Mountain

From Alpine resorts to India’s sacred hilltops, gravity-defying funicular railways are quietly transforming the way people climb mountains.

For centuries, climbing a sacred hill has been regarded as part of the pilgrimage itself. Devotees have trudged up thousands of stone steps to temples perched on mountain tops, accepting the physical exertion as an expression of faith. But modern India is now discovering that devotion need not always be accompanied by exhaustion.

Across Maharashtra, an elegant piece of European engineering is quietly changing the pilgrimage experience. The funicular railway - a transport system perfected in the Alps and once associated largely with Swiss ski resorts - is now carrying thousands of pilgrims every day to some of the state’s most revered shrines. It is proving that one of the oldest ideas in rail transport may also be among the most relevant for India’s future.

Three of Maharashtra’s best-known hill shrines have already embraced the technology. The Haji Malang Dargah near Kalyan, the Jivdani Mata Temple overlooking Virar, and the Saptashrungi Mata Temple in Nashik district are all destinations that once demanded long, punishing climbs. They are now linked to the plains by sleek funicular railways. The journeys take only minutes, but they represent something much larger: a reimagining of how millions of Indians may one day reach mountain temples without carving wider roads into fragile hillsides.

Beyond Convenience

The state’s experience has attracted attention because the advantages extend well beyond convenience. Funicular systems require relatively modest investment compared with mountain highways, occupy little land, consume comparatively less energy and have earned an enviable global reputation for safety. For elderly pilgrims, children and people with disabilities, they transform what was once an arduous ascent into an accessible journey.

That success is encouraging planners to think bigger. Maharashtra alone has several hilltop shrines that could potentially accommodate similar systems - from Bhimashankar and Jejuri to Trimbakeshwar, Mahabaleshwar, Grishneshwar and Pune’s Parvati Temple. Across India, the possibilities are even greater. The Himalayan temples of Kedarnath, Badrinath and Vaishno Devi, the Kamakhya shrine in Assam, Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, Sabarimala in Kerala and dozens of other revered destinations receive millions of visitors each year, many of whom negotiate steep and environmentally sensitive terrain.

The timing is significant. Religious tourism has become one of India's fastest-growing travel sectors, while governments are searching for ways to improve accessibility without inflicting irreversible damage on mountain ecosystems. It is no coincidence that the Centre's ambitious Parvatmala programme aims to develop hundreds of ropeway projects across the country before the decade ends. Funicular railways are emerging as another compelling option wherever gradients are steep but passenger volumes are high.

Despite their futuristic appearance, funiculars are anything but new. Their origins stretch back more than five centuries. One of the earliest known predecessors operated in the early 1500s at Hohensalzburg Castle in present-day Austria, where a simple wagon climbed wooden tracks by means of ropes and pulleys. Initially powered by prisoners and later by oxen, it was a remarkably practical solution to an enduring engineering problem: how does one move heavy loads safely up a mountain?

The modern passenger funicular arrived much later. In 1862, the French city of Lyon inaugurated what is widely regarded as the first contemporary funicular railway for public transport. During the decades that followed, the technology spread rapidly across Europe's mountainous regions. It became indispensable at Alpine towns, cliffside resorts and eventually ski villages, where conventional railways struggled with impossibly steep gradients.

Its brilliance lies in its deceptive simplicity. Unlike an ordinary train that relies entirely on its own engine, a funicular works more like a perfectly balanced weighing scale. Two cars are permanently connected by a steel cable passing over a large pulley at the summit. As one carriage climbs, the other descends. Each acts as a counterweight to the other, dramatically reducing the energy needed to move both. Electric motors or hydraulic systems provide only the additional power required to overcome friction and compensate for differences in passenger loads.

The track itself offers another delightful piece of engineering theatre. For most of the journey, the two cars share a single line. As they approach each other midway, the track briefly divides into two parallel lines, allowing the carriages to glide effortlessly past before merging once again. The choreography appears almost magical, though it is the product of meticulous nineteenth-century engineering.

The result is one of the safest and most efficient transport systems ever devised for steep terrain. Around the world, funiculars have become fixtures of mountain life, carrying commuters, tourists and skiers to places where roads would be prohibitively expensive or environmentally destructive. Their reliability has made them enduring symbols of engineering elegance rather than technological extravagance.

India has traditionally relied on ropeways and cable cars to serve hilltop destinations. These remain practical solutions in many locations, but funicular railways offer distinct advantages where large numbers of passengers must be transported quickly, comfortably and repeatedly. Running on rails, they are less susceptible to wind-related disruptions, can accommodate larger capacities and provide a smoother ride. The system at Palani in Tamil Nadu, inaugurated in 1968, demonstrated the concept decades ago. Maharashtra has now shown how effectively it can be adapted for twenty-first-century pilgrimage.

As India’s sacred mountains draw ever larger crowds, the challenge will be to welcome pilgrims without overwhelming the landscapes that make these places sacred in the first place. In that quest, the funicular may prove to be more than just another railway. It is an old invention finding a new purpose - a machine that harnesses gravity rather than fighting it, and in doing so offers a gentler way of reaching the heavens.

Three Mountains, Three Miracles

The success of Maharashtra’s funicular experiment is best understood not through engineering drawings, but through the mountains themselves. Three very different pilgrim centres - one a centuries-old Sufi shrine, another a forest-clad temple overlooking the Arabian Sea, and the third one of Hinduism’s holiest Shakti Peethas - have demonstrated how the same technology can transform journeys that once demanded hours of physical endurance.

The newest and most spectacular is the 1.2-kilometre Funicular Rail to Haji Malang Dargah near Kalyan, inaugurated in January 2026. It is India’s longest funicular and climbs to a lush plateau nearly 2,600 feet above sea level in barely ten minutes. Until recently, pilgrims routinely spent three exhausting hours negotiating the steep mountain path to reach the shrine of the 12th-century Sufi saint, Haji Abdur Rehman Malang Shah Baba.

Today, air-conditioned coaches glide silently up the hillside, carrying as many as 1,200 passengers every hour. Powered by the classic counter-balanced cable system, one carriage climbs while another descends, making the ascent remarkably energy-efficient.

The railway has transformed a pilgrimage that was often intimidating for the elderly and physically challenged. For decades, many visitors had little choice but to hire palanquins, with return journeys reportedly costing between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000. The funicular has reduced those costs dramatically while making the shrine accessible to far larger numbers.

The dargah itself remains one of Maharashtra’s most enduring symbols of communal harmony. Hindus and Muslims worship here together, while the shrine continues to be jointly administered by a Muslim Mutavalli, descended from the saint’s family, and a Hindu Vahivatdar from the Karandekar family. Beyond the plateau rises the rugged Malanggad Fort, another 600 feet higher, whose rocky slopes continue to attract seasoned trekkers and aspiring Himalayan mountaineers.

If Haji Malang showcases engineering on a grand scale, the Jivdani Mata Temple at Virar illustrates how dramatically a pilgrimage can be shortened without diminishing its spiritual appeal.

Perched nearly 1,500 feet above sea level amidst dense forests, the shrine has long drawn devotees from across Maharashtra. Traditionally, visitors climbed around 1,350 stone steps through thick woodland - a two-hour ascent rewarded with sweeping vistas of Vasai-Virar, Thane Creek, the Papad-Khandi Dam and, on clear days, the shimmering Arabian Sea.

Everything changed in 2022 when the temple trust commissioned a Rs. 35-crore funicular railway. The climb now takes just five minutes to the temple complex, followed by elevators that carry pilgrims to the sanctum.

For families with young children and elderly relatives, the experience has been revolutionary. Kishore and Priyanka Gowale still remember their visit before the railway opened. After climbing every step, they were so exhausted that they rested for nearly an hour before joining the queue for darshan. Returning with their three young children after the funicular became operational, they completed the pilgrimage refreshed rather than fatigued.

Yet tradition has not disappeared. Hundreds of devotees whose wishes have been fulfilled still choose to climb every step as an act of thanksgiving. Technology has made the journey optional rather than obligatory.

The story began even earlier at the Saptashrungi Mata Temple near Nashik, where India’s first passenger funicular at a major pilgrimage destination commenced operations in 2018.

Dedicated to Goddess Saptashrungi Nivasini, this revered Shakti Peeth sits amidst seven mountain peaks nearly 4,660 feet above sea level. Ancient scriptures identify these hills as the eternal abode of the Goddess after her victory over the demon Mahishasura, and the naturally formed rock idol, adorned with eighteen arms holding weapons, draws lakhs of devotees every year.

Earlier, pilgrims approaching from Vani village endured a gruelling climb before reaching the temple precincts. The funicular has reduced that journey to scarcely four minutes.

Its impact extends well beyond convenience. Local businesses have flourished, visitor numbers have multiplied, employment opportunities have expanded and pilgrimage tourism has become a year-round economic engine. Every ascent offers breathtaking panoramas of cloud-covered hills before depositing passengers at one of Maharashtra’s most sacred shrines.

More Than a Ride

The success of Maharashtra’s three funicular railways has demonstrated that these systems are not merely tourist attractions but economic catalysts, social equalisers and, potentially, one of the most sustainable ways of opening up India’s sacred mountains.

The most immediate impact has been accessibility. For generations, steep hill temples effectively excluded many worshippers—the elderly, people with disabilities, pregnant women and families travelling with young children. A pilgrimage that demanded hours of climbing could be physically impossible for thousands of devotees.

Funicular railways have changed that equation almost overnight.

At Haji Malang, what was once a punishing three-hour ascent now takes around ten minutes. At Jivdani, a climb of 1,350 steps has become a comfortable five-minute ride. At Saptashrungi, pilgrims reach one of India’s holiest Shakti Peethas in just four minutes instead of enduring a lengthy uphill trek.

The consequences ripple far beyond the temple gates.

Higher visitor numbers translate into fuller hotels, busier restaurants, expanding transport services and greater demand for local handicrafts, food stalls and pilgrimage-related businesses. At Saptashrungi, traders estimate that pilgrim footfall has increased several-fold since the railway began operations, generating employment for local youth and strengthening the regional economy.

Yet prosperity has also brought new challenges.

Rapid commercialisation has intensified competition for shop space around temple precincts. Local traders complain that a handful of licence holders dominate the most lucrative stalls, while many others operate informally. The familiar tensions between faith, commerce and politics—visible at many pilgrimage centres across India—have accompanied the new infrastructure.

There are environmental considerations as well. Compared with constructing broad mountain roads or parking complexes, funicular railways require relatively modest land acquisition and a far smaller ecological footprint. They reduce vehicular traffic, limit hill cutting and consume comparatively little energy because the ascending and descending cars counterbalance each other.

That makes them particularly attractive for India’s environmentally fragile mountain systems—from the Himalayas to the Western Ghats and the Aravallis—where expanding road networks often comes at considerable ecological cost.

The implications extend well beyond Maharashtra. Across India, dozens of famous hill shrines still depend entirely on steep stairways, winding roads or seasonal ropeways. Many receive millions of pilgrims annually while struggling with congestion, pollution and difficult terrain.

The experience of Maharashtra suggests that carefully planned funicular systems can offer a rare balance between conservation and accessibility. They preserve the mountain while making it easier to climb.

Perhaps that is why these railways have attracted growing attention from planners elsewhere. They represent a transport technology that is simultaneously Victorian in concept and remarkably modern in application—a nineteenth-century engineering solution answering twenty-first-century problems.

For centuries, pilgrims measured devotion by the hardship of the climb. Today’s funiculars do not diminish that faith. Instead, they ensure that the mountain is open to everyone, whether they arrive with the strength to scale a thousand steps or simply with the desire to pray.