Travel guide to Matheran
Situated in the Sahyadri hill ranges, Matheran is the nearest hill station to Mumbai. It is located in the Raigad district of Maharashtra. It is at a height of approximately 803 meters above the sea level. There exists a narrow railway line that joins Matheran to Neral. A strict ban of motor vehicles is imposed in Matheran. It is thus a very quiet and peaceful place. There are many visitors who visit the place from many different places but this does not spoil the serenity of the place. The innumerable lookout points, hills and surrounding valleys comprise the excellent matheran sight-seeing. Matheran is basically a plateau with a quite dense forest cover. There are several places to see in Matheran and it has a pleasant weather throughout the year owing to the fact that it is a hill station. The nights in the place become very chilly. But, overall the weather is an easy and enjoyable one. Post-monsoon is the best time to visit the place. It looks amazingly beautiful at that time of the year with lush green fields, soothing and breath-taking waterfalls and the water-filled lakes. The time span that is best to visit is thus the time between September to November and February to March. The months of December and January can be very chilly. The people of Mumbai are frequent visitors to the place all around the year. They enjoy in the place with their families as part of relaxation or a fun and soothing outing. It is also an excellent place for yoga, retreats and meditation. The entry fees to Matheran is a nominal one with something around Rs. 50 for adults and half the price for children. Through this money the management upkeeps the place considering the fragile ecosystem it has. There are several trains that you can take in order to reach the place. You can either catch the Karjat bound train or the Deccan express from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. Also, a toy train runs from Neral Station for four times a day. It is not a very reliable option as it closes down in the face of some upcoming perceived hazard. The other option that can be taken is going by car. Cars are prohibited inside Matheran. But, you can drive upto a certain point, park your car in the parking lot and take a shuttle from there onwards. If you park at the Dasturi car point, you can take a horse-back or a normal rickshaw to Matheran. It is a muddy track from there on. You will also come across many walking trails that ascend the plateau. These are generally taken by the locals who go to the place on a regular basis or by other holiday-makers as part of trekking. Starting from the western side gives you the advantage of avoiding the sun right on top of you. The ascent takes a couple of hours or so. Make sure you do not miss out on the Matheran points like Panorama, heart point, monkey point, echo point and so on!