Matheran is the closest hill station to Mumbai at a distance of 100 km. It was discovered during the British regime by Hugh Malet in 1850. It served as a summer retreat for the British. Matheran literally means forest on the top as it is 800 m above sea level. The best feature of Matheran is that vehicles are not allowed here. So there is no pollution. The means of transport are horse back, rickshaws pulled by men or simply walking. The roads made of red earth are lined by forests on both sides. The place has old British architecture in form of bungalows. You can have a glimpse of the valleys and mountains from various points. Recently, Matheran was declared as an eco sensitive zone by the Environment Ministry.
Large variety of plant and animal life in the forest.
Beautiful lake and its surroundings.
Due to its height and forest cover, Matheran has a cooler climate. Temperature is as low as 16°C in winter (October to February) and can go as high as 32°C in summer (March to June). The best time to visit Matheran is after the rain (September to December) when the green cover is maximum and the lake has plenty of water. Carry light woolen clothes except in summer.
Many good hotels in Matheran accept international credit cards. There are very few ATMs in the vicinity so it is best to carry cash for convenience..
No permit is required to travel to Matheran. Just a visa to India is all what is needed. There is an entry fee of Rs 25 for visitors entering Matheran. The money is used to prevent deterioration of the ecosystem here.
From Mumbai one can take a central railway local train and get down at Neral. From here a taxi can drop the tourist up to a point called Dasturi after which vehicles are not allowed. One can walk up to Matheran which is around 3 km or take a horse ride.
From Neral, a mini train drops the tourist inside Matheran if one wants to avoid the walk from Dasturi but the train takes one and half hour to reach Matheran.
An alternative is to drive from Mumbai or Pune to Dasturi and then walk up.
Major Airports: Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is 100 km from here. It connects Mumbai to the world. International flights operated by Air India connect Mumbai to major cities of the world. Jet airways offers services to London, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, etc. All major international airlines like Singapore Airlines, Emirates Air, Cathay Pacific, etc fly to Mumbai.
• Various points like Panorama point, Louisa point, Garbut point etc • Charlotte Lake • Paymaster Park Instead of covering all the points in Matheran it is best to see one in each direction. Visit Panorama point in the north and check point in the south. For western view visit Porcupine point and eastern view Garbut point. Nearby excursion from Matheran include • Lonavala and Khanadala are hill stations located at around 20km from Matheran. • Karjat is a small town located close to Neral near Matheran. One can stay at farm houses or resorts in this quiet place.
Where To Eat: Matheran is famous for Chikki prepared from jaggery and groundnuts or dry fruits. Divadkar restaurant in the market offers good vegetarian and non vegetarian meals. It is famous for chicken biryani and Kanda Bhajji. Shabbir’s is a small restaurant serving non vegetarian food. One can have vegetarian snacks at the High Street Café in the market. Regal Hotel serves Gujarati Thalis. For English breakfast try Lords Hotel. The Matheran Food festival is in held in the last week of December. Where To Stay : MTDC has a resort just at the beginning of Matheran. Byke, Usha Ascot and Richie Rich are good hotels here. Lord’s Central and Verandah in the Forest are heritage hotels in Matheran.
