Matheran | Toy train to Matheran | Matheran Attractions

Home > Mumbai > Weekend Breaks - Monsoon > Matheran - A perfect weekend getaway

Matheran - A perfect weekend getaway

Weekend / Hill Station

Being one the tiniest hillstation in the world with absolutely no pollution is what makes Matheran a special hillstation. It helps that is close to Mumbai - Just around 100 Kms away..

Matheran is probably the tiniest hill station in the world and is definitely one of the cleanest hill stations in India. Clean because all motor vehicles are banned within the hillstation. Matheran literally means "forest at the top" and true to its name, has retained its evergreen forest.

Reaching there:
matheran drive You can take the old Pune road and drive upto Chouk Village , where you need to take a turn towards Karjat.After a leisurely 10 minute drive, you have to turn left at the junction to reach Neral. You can reach Neral from Dombivili side too by taking the Badlapur Pipeline road too. If you are coming from Pune, you can follow this road map

Matheran Ghat starts from Neral junction and is short (7 Kms only) but steep. You will find plenty of signboards urging you to move to the first Gear. Cars are not allowed inside Matheran and have to parked at Dasturi Naka. The main part of the town and railway station is a good 2.5 Km walk from Dasturi naka. As you have to walk the distance, it is better not to carry heavy baggage. Walk from Dasturi to Matheran is very enjoyable. If you feel you cannot last the 2.5 Km of walk, there are plenty of horsemen and hand pulled carriages to take you to your resort.
Matheran By Toy Train: The most interesting and enjoyable way to reach Matheran is to take the toy train from Neral. There are three services from Neral to Matheran. Current timings are : 8:40 AM, 11 AM and 5 PM.

Train to Matheran

The train timings keeps changing often and you should check with Central railways enquiry beforehand. Current Matheran train timings can also be had here (trainenquiry website of Indian railways) .The toy train may not operate during Monsoons.

The toy train chugs slowly hugging the mountain and navigating one of the steepest climbs. Train passes thru one short tunnel aptly named “One Kiss Tunnel!”. The toy train takes 2 hours to reach as it has to stop often to cool the engine.

Attractions:

Primary attractions of Matheran are the viewpoints (called just "points"). Each point has its own speciality and history attached to it. You will be handed with the map of Matheran and various points in Matheran. It is printed on the reverse side of the entry pass.
Some of the important points at Matheran are: Panorama Point - Go there early in the morning as it is famous for the view of Sunrise. Just near Panaroma point is the Mount Berry. Climb Mount Berry for an impressive view of Sahaydri mountain ranges.

A visit to One Tree hill is a must.

Walkways at Matheran

The point acquired its name from the solitary Jambul tree that stands atop the hill. There is a ladder, which would take you to the tribal villages down. Of course, you need to be adventurous and trained if you plan to come down thru’ the ladder.

Charlotte Lake is the key attraction of Matheran. The lake has a splendid view with the dam at one end and a temple at the other. You can have a pleasant walk around the lake at any anytime of the day. It is not tiring even in the mid afternoon!

For sunset, reach "Porcupine Point" - The place gets crowded in the evening, but the sunset view is spectacular.

Lake at Matheran

Chikki and Honey are popular at Matheran. You can buy any of these and more at the Matheran Bazaar which is very close to the Matheran station.

Tips to visitors:

Make advance booking as there are many touts waiting to con people who reach there without accommodation arrangements
There are plenty of monkeys in Matheran. Do not make mistake of feeding them as they will keep following you. Left alone, these monkeys are harmless
Be careful with your hand bags as Monkeys could snatch them
Please do not litter. It is maintained as a clean station and we should help administrators in keeping the hill station clean

Matheran is not to be missed weekend getaway. It is a popular getaway during summer and is really enchanting in the early Monsoon when fog envelops most of Matheran. (The red soil at Matheran can get soggy and you would be advised against using your brand new expensive shoes)

Trek To Matheran
Adventure lovers can try climbing Matheran. There are many routes to reach Matheran. The easiest is thru the Garbert Plateau. The route starts from Bhivpuri station. In monsoons, the climb is extremely enjoyable as there are numerous streams and waterfalls. It is advisable to start early in the day and have a local guide to accompany you.

Also read an interesting blog about Matheran here

Contribution by Swapnesh

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]

Budget Hotels | Honeymoon | Links | Blogs | Other Links