Matheran - India HillTop Trips - Splendid hills and Majestic retreats

Matheran is an idyllic hill station in Maharashtra that is popular for its scenic beauty and laid back pace. If you are looking forward to some peaceful moments travel to Matheran Maharashtra. Time seems stand still in this part of Maharashtra. Hill Resorts in India provides an overview of the beautiful hill station.

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The Hill Resort

Matheran is an undulating hilltop cloaked in shady trees, that sprawls languidly at an altitude of 800 m. The journey involves an adventurous 2 hrs ascent in a toy train. Its 8 sq km cover a hilltop in the Sahyadris, or Western Ghats and is the closest hill station of Mumbai. It is unique in that no motor transports is allowed within its area. Matheran's cliffs with incredibly steep drops to the plains below create stunning viewing points. These panoramic vistas, by day and night, leaves one feeling light-headed.

History

Centuries have passed since an Englishman Hugh Mallet discovered Matheran in 1850 but little has changed in Matheran. As the common mode of transport in this tiny hill station is rickshaws and buggy.

A Passage To Matheran

Do not crowd on one side of the coach, it is dangerous, reads the cryptic sign, and the point is further driven home by a graphic illustration of several stick-like figures weighing the scales down on one side, while other hapless figures hang in the air on the other balance. Parents and children and weekending couples obligingly spread their weight around inside the little toy train as it trundles up the winding hilly slopes to Matheran.

The train ride sets the tone for the rest of your holiday-languorous, and pleasant. Friendly dales, the shimmer of a lone waterfall, a brief length of tunnel, and loamy stretches of green sweeping upwards greet the eyes.

Nimble-footed schoolchildren spring expertly onto the running board and jump off a half hour later. Their village and school are a hill apart.

Fruit sellers perch themselves on the footboards of the train. People buy and savor the juicy sweetness of the fruit. After all, there is nearly an hour to go before you grind to a halt at Matheran station The air is bracing as you move out of the station into the open. A babble of voices interspersed with neighing sounds greets you. You are in the tiny bazaar where stalls and teashops and rows of fine-boned horses abound. In line with the horses is another strange sight-of men standing as though tethered to their one-seat wagons. This will be your main mode of transport in Matheran-man-pulled buggy.

Somewhere deep down in your heart, you cringe at the thought of what you are doing-making fellow human beings carry you like beasts of burden, but after a while you get used to it. One could opt instead for sightseeing on horseback, but the buggy has a charm of its own. Besides, it is one of the chief livelihoods of these wiry mountain men, and their cheery faces and merry spirits do much to quell your conscience.

The Serene Landscape

It takes only a few minutes to realize why Matheran has this untouched, pristine quality about it. Automobiles and vehicles of any sort are not allowed into Matheran. This little hill paradise has been left largely undisturbed, since the time an Englishman, Hugh Mallet, Collector of Thane, discovered it in 1850 and declared it a fine place for shady walks.

The inhabitants used to fish and keep goats; they still do, though today the tourist trade takes precedence over everything else.

The roads are still kutcha, there has been no attempt to prune the hedges or smarten up the vegetation, or introduce any kind of uniformity into its environment. Yet, nature herself maintains a mild discipline. The heavy branches of trees are not so thickly interwoven that you cannot see through them; the shrubs do not spill over indiscriminately on to the roads.

Monkeys are your companions wherever you go. They sit in your verandah and on your porch, hugging their babies, combing their hair, squabbling occasionally as humans do. As you jog along in your buggy, monkeys dangle themselves strategically, one paw hanging free to grab your packet of chips. You could wave your crooked pandhari stick (a kind of walking stick) at them, but their mournful expressions would melt the sternest heart.

It is possible that you will meet Abbas in Matheran. He belongs to the village that nestles in the narrow picturesque valley, a few furlongs from the bazaar. Abbas is among the younger set of buggy pullers, and perhaps the most buoyant of them all. He will keep up a lively stream of conversation as he runs on light feet, describing the variety of trees and shrubs, the lake, the bharang leaves that are used to treat snake bite, and he will guide you with proprietary pride to the most spectacular viewpoints. You can stand atop these peaks and survey the wild ravishing landscape, and the reddish brown mountain ranges.

The red soil is everywhere. Matheran is a continuous poem of shady, thickly wooded paths of red mud and velvet moss, stretching endlessly.

Getting away from a city is not always possible on a holiday, it travels with you to the most unlikely places and is heard blaring from portable transistors and motorcars, merging with the raucous of streets overflowing with thoroughfare.

But in Matheran it is possible to forget that cities exist, it is possible to believe that you are ensnared in a time web from which release is not desirable. Such is the balmy calm of the place, the quiet and the green of the woods that seem to transform the most strident noises into gentler sounds.

The Marketplace

Even the bazaar is just that-a small marketplace, not a commercial shopping complex. It runs the length of one street, and contains shops and stalls that sell the produce of Matheran. You can see workmen hunching over strips of leather, fashioning the Kolhapuri chappal that Matheran is famous for. Leather bags, leather belts, leather shoes the workmanship is exclusive and the prices reasonable. There are also glass birds and dried wild flowers for sale that have a quaint appeal.

One other thing that dominates the market is chikki, a confection made of gram flour, jaggery and cashew nut. You could buy chikki in kilos to carry home; it is a universally popular sweetmeat.

Places to eat

There are a few wonderful eating joints that serve sumptuous food. Chikki is what dominates the food items in Matheran. It is made of gram flour, jaggery and cashew nut.

shopping

The main Mahatma Gandhi Road is lined with shops selling the famous chikki sweets and local honey. Chikki is a softer version of peanut brittle made from jaggery and there are seemingly endless varieties--peanut, sesame seed, coconut, ginger and mango. Decorative grasses are also dried locally. Another specialty is footwear. Local craftsmen will make a pair of sandals, shoes or riding boots to order in just a few days. There are walking - stick shops, snacks shops and even a video games parlour. The Kapadia market, is the main bazaar.The main bazaar offers a variety of items such as cane and leather articles, hats, chappals etc.

Elevation

Matheran - 800 m.

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Location Details

Matheran is located in the state of Maharashtra and is about 103 kilometres from Mumbai. Matheran's lush green landscape and verdant hills attract a number of tourists to the quaint hill station every year.

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How to Reach There and Distances

Air

Mumbai is the nearest airport, 100 km away.

Rail

Matheran is about 70 kilometres from Thane. You can take train to Neral from Mumbai and then take the toy train to reach Matheran. Matheran is most easily reached by rail. Many trains leave VT for the small mainline station of Neral, from where one can connect with the narrow-gauge toy-train to Matheran. Except during the monsoon (June-September), there are several trains a day on the mountain railway which take 2 hours to cover the 20 km climb to their destination. Stations on the way have names like Water pipe and there is also the famous One Kiss Tunnel. During the monsoon, the service is restricted to one train a day and during heavy rain even this can be cancelled due to landslides.

Road

State Transport buses regularly ply from Mumbai and Pune. Transport in the town is restricted to ponies, foot, and hand-pulled rickshaws.

Food And Accommodation

Tucked away amidst these stalls are any numbers of hotels. Some of these are simple lodges, while a few up the hill are luxury places. The Regal Hotel at one end of the bazaar is the quintessential Gujarati eatery. Large gleaming thalis filled with sweet fragrant kadi, bajra rotla and ghee, dal and undhiyo. Waiters drift around on padded feet, refilling your glass of chas while carved murals in wood exude an ethnic charm.

As one goes up the hill, one comes to Scott Bungalow; that is part of the MTDC Holiday Resort, and is a carryover from British times. A sprawling, old-fashioned bungalow, its rooms are let independently to guests. The rooms are large with high ceilings, quaint long-stemmed fans and spacious verandahs.

Why is it that in Matheran, you think only the pleasantest thoughts, people have been known to wonder aloud. Perhaps it is because as you recline in your verandah, ancient trees with spreading branches rest quietly with you, and you are reassured of the sweetness of life and the continuity of things.

There are a few hotels and lodges in Matheran that provide an ideal base to tour Matheran. MTDC Holiday Resort, Royal Hotel, Rugby Hotel are some hotels that you can opt for when travelling to Matheran.

MTDC Holiday Resort, Royal Hotel (5 km from the station), Rugby Hotel (about 3 km from the station) are some hotels providing comfortable accommodation at Matheran.

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Best Season to Visit/Weather

The best season to tour Matheran is from April to June and November to February.

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Tourist places near Matheran

As you take the toy train to reach Matheran, the beautiful hills seem to welcome you. Once in Matheran, the hill resort smells clean and fresh. As no motor vehicles are allowed into the town and one has to travel by foot or can take rickshaw or buggy. Matheran is really beautiful during the monsoons when rains leave the hill station clean and green. Time seems to stand still in Matheran as you walk to a number of beautiful places in Matheran. Some of the view points in Matheran include Chouk, Panorama, Garbut Point and Louisa.

Rummaging through the small bazaar in Mathern is an exciting idea. As you see small shops selling a number of items that include Kolhapuri chappal, leather bags, and belts. Glass birds and dry flowers are other two important items sold in Matheran that you can shop.

Places to see

Karsondas Mulji Library

Founded in 1897 at the far end of Mahatma Gandhi Road. A sign on the wall reads, "No one ever really paid the price of a book, only the price of printing it.

Panorama Point

5 km north of the post office, has the most spectacular views. Below lies Neral, to the west Mumbai and to the north are the Ghats. It's a popular place to watch the sun rise.

Monkey Point which look down over the plains.

Porcupine Point further to the southwest, is the popular sunset view.

Louisa Point three kms west of the post office, is on a plateau with views of the ruined forts Prabal and Vishalgarh. One of the nearby rocks is called Lion's Head because of its supposed resemblance to one.

Echo Point really does have an echo.

Chowk Point 4 km from the post office, is at the extreme southern end of Matheran.

Rambagh lies 2 km away looking towards Khandala and Karjat.

Alexander Point

one km to the north, one can see Garbut Point, the Chowk valley and the Ulhas River.

Mount Barry is one of the highest spots in Matheran, with splendid views. Between Mount Barry and Panorama Point is Governor's Hill, another viewpoint. The Panthers' Caves and the Paymaster Park are other attractions, especially for children.

Charlotte Lake is the main source of drinking water for the town. The lake looks splendid in the monsoon, with swirling coffee brown water, but dries up in the summer. Near the dam are some food stalls and the main Hindu temple, the Pisarnath Mandir.

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