All ABOARD

Jump on the Rocky Mountaineer in Canada for a heavenly journey through the clouds from British Columbia to Alberta

- STORY KAYLA WRATTEN

A red carpet is ceremoniously rolled out at the entrance stairs to one of the most luxurious trains in the world. As if on cue, first light breaks through the scattered morning clouds and casts the Rocky Mountaineer in an ethereal, golden glow that has us scrambling for our cameras before we've even left the station. It's a welcome harbinger for the beauty that awaits us on our two-day train journey through the scenic Canadian Rockies.

We make our way up the stairs to the second floor of our cabin and find our assigned, heated seats beneath a panoramic glass-domed roof. Our onboard hosts Toni and Dyllan greet us with smiles and steaming cups of coffee. As the train chugs forward, we're waved off by the Rocky Mountaineer staff, then watch as the landscape slowly shifts from urban cityscapes to the lush fields and cloudy blue rivers of the Fraser Valley.

This is the beginning of the iconic 'First Passage to the West' route; a 900-kilometre sojourn that takes us from the coastal city of Vancouver in British Columbia to Alberta's bucket list-topping resort town of Banff. It's the first of four rail routes crisscrossing Western Canada and the Colorado Rockies, following the same historic trails that early settlers took on foot more than a century ago (albeit ours is a more lavish experience).