According to ancient Indian scriptures, the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand is known as Manaskhand. Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board in association with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. has started a Special Tourist Train named Manaskhand Express to promote lesser known destinations of the Kumaon Region of Uttarakhand. The first trip of the train started from Pune on April 22, 2024 with 280 Tourists. The train will reach Tanakpur Railway Station in Uttarakhand on April 24, 2024. The tourists were welcomed in traditional Indian way by putting Aarti, Tikka and showering of flowers petals. The tourists were quite enthusiastic about this tour and expected to see some of the new destinations through this tour package. The 10 nights/11 days trip will include visit to various locations including Nainital, Bhimtal, Almora, Chaukori, Purnagiri temple, Haat Kalika Temple, Katarmal, Kainchi Dham, Chitai Golu Devta, Jageshwar, Shardha Ghat, Patal Bhuvneshwar temple, Nanakmatta Gurudwara, Champawat etc. Train travel is in 3AC Train. However, only four persons in one Coupe have been booked to enhance comfort of the tourists. The train’s exterior is showcase of Uttarakhand’s rich natural, cultural, architectural and spiritual heritage. The pantry car coach depicts various dishes from Uttarakhandi  cuisine, one of the coaches depicts various folk festivals, on another coach there are people wearing different attire from the State. Various temples and other places of importance are also depicted on the coaches. The train is equipped with an air conditioned pantry car which will serve various dishes including Uttarakhandi cuisine to the tourists during the journey. After deboarding at Tanakpur the tourists will be taken to various destinations where they will stay at hotels/homestays and visit various places as per the Itinerary with nights halts at Tanakpur, Champawat/Lohaghat, Chaukori, Almora and Bhimtal. Seeing the overwhelming response from tourists Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board plans to operate more such trips in the future with the next trip from Pune scheduled on 22-05-2024, the bookings for which are already open on www.irctctourism.com/bharatgaurav  This unique initiative by Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board is perhaps the first of its kind in India in which an attempt is being made to promote lesser known destinations through train tours.