It is one of the smallest hill stations but one of my most favorite places in India, Matheran is located in Raigad district in Maharashtra. The word Matheran means “forest on head”. It is about 800 meters above sea level, but offers some of the most spectacular and scenic views that you can see anywhere in Maharashtra.
One of the things that I like the most about this place is that the nature is unbounded. Most of the hill stations in India have fence on the edge of the mountains (so that you don’t fall off accidentally) but most of the points in matheran does not have those fence – which is the reason why I like it the most. You can get direct access and view of the nature. But you must keep in mind to stay away from the mountain edges as there is risk of you falling down. If you do – damn ! no one will ever be able to find you :- ) so I advise you to stay away from the edges.
One of the reason why this place is very popular is that it is located very close to Mumbai and Pune (the two major cities in Maharashtra). There are multiple ways you can reach Matheran. You can go by foot where you can trek the mountain and reach to the top or you can go via Train. I took train when I went there by train. It is the best way to reach Matheran if you are travelling during day time. This train is really slow but you will definitely enjoy the ride. Oh by the way – there is no direct train from Mumbai to Matheran. There is a place called “Neral”, that’s where you will get a train to reach Matheran. How do you reach Neral ? – well that’s not very difficult, you can take a cab from anywhere in Mumbai or may be a rental car (with driver).
Once you reach Matheran, the forest is yours. You can do whatever you want. You will find lots of different trees and lots of different animals. Monkeys are very common and popular in Matheran and they are in large number. So if you are carrying any food items or little babies with you – you wanna hold them tight or moneys are known to steal stuffs from your hand :- ) .. One word of caution – don’t try to play with moneys :- ) but you can have some fun ! I did find a couple of snakes while I was walking to some attraction. The locals say that there are tigers as well, but I never spotted them… lucky me !!!
Matheran is not very huge in terms of area but if you want to move from one place to another there are a couple of ways – A) you can walk (which is what I like to do) or B) you can rent a horse ride (yes – it is available and not very expensive). I personally enjoyed walking to each and every attractions Matheran offers. But depending on the time of the year you are visiting this place, it may get really hot for you to walk. I went there in winter so it was OK to walk.
There are many attractions or scenic points available in Matheran. Some of them like – Alexander Point, Ram Baug Point, Sunset Point, Echo Point and One Tree Hill Point are some of the popular points. One Tree Hill Point in particular is a popular scenic point that one must visit. I was in Matheran for about 2 days and that was sufficient for me to cover all the points.
Here are some of the pictures that I took during my visit. Hope you will like it -
The Train Ride from Neral
Small plains and Signboards of various scenic points
Scenic Points and Mountain Ranges
Animals
Some more scenic views…amazing isn’t it !
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That’s me sitting on the edge of the mountain ! … lovely experience …but don’t try it if you are afraid of heights !
This is my cousin – trying to pose like Karate Kid !
