I want to share a great experince about my travel to Matheran.Its a very lovely place.
Matheran was discovered by Hugh Malet in 1850. The British developed Matheran as a popular tourist resort.
At an elevation of around 800m (2,625 ft) above sea level Matheran is a hill station located about 100 km from Mumbai. Matheran literally means jungle on top. All vehicles (Except emergency vehicles) are banned here.
The roads are not tarred and are made of red laterite earth .
GENERAL INFORMATION :
Population : 5,500
Altitude : 800 m
Languages : Marathi, Hindi, English
Best time to visit : April - May
STD Code : 02148
Get to Matheran
By Air
Nearest airport to Matheran is the Mumbai Airport which is about 100 km away. Another airport nearby is the Pune Airport which is about 120 km away.
By Air
Nearest airport to Matheran is the Mumbai Airport which is about 100 km away. Another airport nearby is the Pune Airport which is about 120 km away.
By Train
Mumbai is a major railhead near Matheran. The Deccan Express which runs on the Mumbai - Pune route stops at Neral (A town on the foot of the hill). Apart from the above local trains also ply on the route frequently.
A mini train runs from Neral to the main Market in Matheran (Matheran Light Railway - It plies on the Neral - Matheran route and stops at 3 stations on its way - 2 on the ghat - Juma Patti Station and Water pipe Station [Named so because the old steam engines used to be refilled here] and one near Dasturi Naka - Aman Lodge Station).
This train service (Matheran Light Railway) had been stopped because on 26/7/05 torrential rains had washed away the tracks. However w.e.f. March 2007, the tracks have been repaired and this train is now back on track. It will complete 100 years in 2007, and it is also on the tentative United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) heritage list.
By Road
Mumbai and Pune are two Major cities connected to Matheran by Road.
The last stretch of the road (About 7 km) is on the ghat which leads you to Dasturi Naka (Last point to which cars are allowed, where there is a car park) at the tip of Matheran.
Places to see
The market is the area where the bulk of the activity is. You get good quality Shoes, Slippers, Sandals and other leather goods at good bargains here.
You also get various flavors of Chikki (which is a softer version of peanut brittle), local honey, fudge's (Chocolate and fruit flavours etc.) ice gola's and various drinks. In the center of the market is a garden.
The following is a list of some major places of interest -
1. Mount Berry
2. Luisa Point
3. Echo Point
4. Panorama Point (Sunrise Point)
5. Porcupine Point (Sunset Point)
6. One tree Hill
7. Garbut Point
8. Chowk Point
9. Olympia Racecourse
10. Monkey Point
11 Hart point
12. Rambaug Point
13. Charlotte Lake
14.Alexandria Point
15. Malet Spring
Hotels in Matheran:
1. Brightlands Resorts: ***
B.P. 187, M. G. Road, Opp. Railway Station, Matheran, Maharashtra, India.
Services & Facilities :Swimming Pool, Health Club & Gymnasium, Massage Parlour, Open-air Jacuzzi, Restaurant & Pool-side Bar, Hotel Shop, Laundry Service, Tennis, Mini Golf, Cyber Cafe, Direct Dial Telephones & all other modern facilities & amenities, Baby Sitting Service, Medical Help, Indoor & outdoor games, Horse-riding, Mountain treks - hikes & jungle trails, Weekly open air Garden Buffets & Bar-be-Que, Discotheque, with Karaoke & Laser movies with in-house Entertainment, Games and Contests, Pool Table.
2. Regal Hotel: ***
Kasturba Road, Matheran - 410 102. Maharashtra. (INDIA)Room Category :Regal Suite : Centrally ACDuplex Suite : Centrally ACAC Cottages : ACTree Top Rooms : Non ACRegal Cottage : Non ACDeluxe Cottage : Non AC,
Services and facilities: Swmming pool,Health club/Gymnasium,Children Amusement ,Relish and Cherish,Conference Hall,Marriage Banquet Hall,The Joy Ride Light Train .
Check-in time is 11.00 a.m. & Checkout time is 8:30 a.m.
3. Richie Rich Resorts: ***
Bazaar Peth, M.G.Road, Matheran - 410102, Maharashtra, IndiaServices and facilities: Deluxe, Duplex and Cottage Accommodation ,Swimming Pool ,Veg. Cuisine (Indian, Chinese, Continental) ,Health Club / Gymnasium ,Video Games ,Indoor Games / Outdoor Games ,Evening Entertainment .
Check-in Time : 11.00 a.m. Check-out Time : 9.00 a.m.
4. Rangoli Retreat: **
B.P. 187, M.G. Road, Opp. Railway Station, Matheran, Maharashtra, IndiaServices and facilities: Secretarial Services, Swimming Pool, Room Service, S.T.D./I.S.D. Telephone, In-House Movie, Tour Desk, Conference / Seminar / Banquet Facilities, Laundry Service, Car Hire, Non-Smoking Room, Restaurants, Ironing Services, First Aid.
Check In Time 10-00 AM. Check Out Time 8-30 AM.
5. Woodlands Hotel: **
Chinoy Road, Matheran, Maharashtra, India
Services and facilities:The hotel has game facilities that include carom, table tennis and badminton as well as a play ground for children. The hotel is also conveniently placed within walking distance from the bazaar, taxi stand and some of the main points. It has also a generator for uninterrupted power supply in case of electricity failure.
2 comments:
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Hmmmm.. lets see.. about Matheran. Having explored India pretty well, I recently had the opportunity to explore Lonavala/ Khandala, and now Matheran, in the Maharashtra circuit. Someone had described Lonavala, in his blog, as a dirty little town with over-priced hotels. I fully agree with his opinion. And now lets talk about Matheran. I browsed over a hundred blogs, hotel websites and tour operator portals to gain an insight on Matheran. Yesterday, I reached home (Delhi) after a 5-day, 4-night stay in this place. Now here goes:
THE PLUS POINTS: Lots of wooded, shady areas, no vehicular pollution, and the hotel, I stayed in, Woodlands. I had no great expectations of Woodlands.. in fact the only reason I booked it was that I could not find ANY ADVERSE comments about it on the net. In fact the profile and pictures of itself, which the hotel had put up on the net, were not impressive at all. But on checking in, I was amazed as to how spacious it actually was, completely insulated from the filthy surroundings that is Matheran, and how well equipped. The food was homely, tasty, in generous portions and served with affection and dedication by the staff. I had heard that Matheran was plagued was monkeys. Well, a couple of stray dogs, affectionately called Julie and Raju by the staff, had made the resort their home. These friendly creatures had sanitised the placed so well that no monkey or its stupid brood could be seen in the vicinity. Julie, an affectionate tail-wagging creature was in her snarling, aggressive form, while giving a chase to a huge snake, in front of my eyes. The dogs would even accompany guests on their walks, so that they would be protected against vicious monkeys and other forms of ‘nature’, including lack of proper signages, which invariably caused visitors to get lost. God Bless the owners of Woodlands. I would request them to put up proper pictures of themselves on the net, though.
THE MINUS POINTS: As a tourist resort, Matheran has no proper approach. One can book a taxi from Mumbai, at horrendous costs, although it is only about 120 kms away. Otherwise, one can catch a suburban train on the central line, bound for Karjat, and get down at a shabby hellhole called Neral. From here, one can take a taxi upto Matheran or a ‘toy train’ Both the suburban trains bound for Karjat and the ‘toy’ train are not very frequent, so one invariably wastes a lot of time and energy in ACCESSING this god-forsaken place, called Matheran. On reaching, one is besieged by coolies, hotel touts, hand rickshaw pullers and horse owners, each one quoting double the approved rates.. to reach a hotel. One can take a horse, but then a coolie will also have to be hired separately to carry one’s luggage. One look at the broken, filthy paths, littered with boulders, stones, red soil and covered with horse shit, made me hire a couple of rickshaws, which could accommodate me and my luggage. The rickshaw pullers face a terrible time, pulling the rickshaws over steep inclines, barefoot, over those idiotic, boulder-strewn paths. Lack of proper signages ensure the traveller, on his own, was likely to lose his way. And God help the tourist who reaches Matheran at night..
Matheran has a ‘toy’ train, which I explored. It appeared that the coaches and the engine were all recently manufactured, from the dates embossed / painted on them. Yet, it is touted to be 100 years old, included in the World Heritage List or something – I wouldn’t care less. There are a dozen such toy trains operating all over the country. The station is close to a market, which has shops selling chikki, slippers and leather goods of dubious quality, snacks and other sundry items. The market place, like the rest of the town is dusty, filthy, with a broken pathway, and horses’ droppings, resulting a permanent pungent odour clouding the place. The hotels along the main bazaar (road?) cannot be recommended, due to the incessant clomping of horses and all pervasive odour of horse droppings and urine, but maybe the hotels, way down in the wilderness, can offer peace and calm. But commuting from such isolated hotels to the ‘market’, the railway station or the taxi stand at ‘Dasturi Point” is tiresome and very expensive.
I can only request the planners, municipal authorities or tourist department officials, who have a stake in Matheran, not to ensure that the area remains a shit hole under the garb of environment ‘conservation’. The paths have to be levelled, with proper tarmac. The area needs proper signages and lighting arrangements. Other than some birds and destructive monkeys, Matheran has no ‘wild life’ to name of, so nothing will be ‘disturbed’ if the roads are developed. Battery operated vehicles can protect against vehicular pollution. Coolies doing backbreaking work over boulder-strewn paths is a shame and I wonder what foreigners think of it or write about it. I would say that it only proves that we are still savages at heart, without regard for human life or dignity. Lack of development and horseshit strewn all over, is not conservation. It is gross mismanagement and lack of vision. If the shortsighted stakeholders of Matheran want to see how forest areas can be developed, let them visit IIT Campus at Chennai (I would not say JNU Campus, New Delhi, lest I sound north-centric). Matheran is not a hill station. It’s a woody area on a certain elevation and needs to be seriously developed, right from its approach to its facilities. Otherwise there are a hundred such woody areas in India, from Kerala and Karnataka to Jharkhand. And these places are much better than Matheran can ever hope to be.
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