Matheran, Best Hill Station Near Mumbai City, India
Mumbai is a financial capital of India, a cosmopolitan metropolis and the largest city in India. Mumbai is originally a conglomeration of seven islands. Mumbai is one of the most populous cities in the entire world with an estimated metropolitan population of more than 21 million. Mumbai never sleeps. Mumbai is now extended its area beyond its earlier border and known as suburbs. People come from different part of India to Mumbai to earn for their living.
There are many entertaining options available in Mumbai. But if you are bored with these options you can take a day out and visit nearby places and enjoy. Matheran is one of the weekend destinations for people of Mumbai which is situated in the Sahyadri hill ranges.
Matheran is located in the Raigad district of Maharashtra and around 100 kms from Mumbai. It is at a height of approximately 803 meters above the sea level. There exists a narrow railway line that joins Matheran to Neral. The railway is among one of the heritage railways of India. Its history goes back to 1800 century.
A strict ban of motor vehicles is imposed in Matheran. Hence after reaching the point from where vehicle is banned, one has to travel by feet, horse or man pulled autos. 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.
Reaching Matheran is very easy from Mumbai. Mumbai is an International Airport so it is connected from all corners of the world. From Mumbai one can visit Matheran by private car or train. 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. From train you need to get down at Neral station of central railway line. From Neral station you can catch the Toy Train to Matheran or Cab to Matheran. The cab will drop you at Dasturi Naka which is an end point for vehicles. From there you need to walk to reach the center of the city.
At Dasturi Naka tourists need to pay nominal entry fee of 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.
If you choose to walk, you will 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 some of the famous Matheran points like Panorama, heart point, monkey point, echo point, one tree hill point and so on!
