Matheran is a small hill station that offers picturesque and a refreshing background of green hills. Matheran is an eco-sensitive region and has no vehicles zooming around in its area thus, the calmness is tranquil here. Louisa point, Echo point, Charlotte Lake and honeymoon hill are the points that one should visit for an enthralling experience.
Matheran is a municipal council in Karjat Tahsil in the Raigad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Matheran is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Matheran is one of the smallest hill stations in India. It is located on the Western Ghats range at an elevation of around 800 m (2,625 feet) above sea level. It is about 90 km from Mumbai, and 120 km from Pune. Matheran's proximity to many metropolitan cities makes it a weekend getaway for urban residents.[citation needed]Matheran, which means "forest on the forehead" (of the mountains) is an eco-sensitive region, declared by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. It is Asia's only automobile-free hill station.
There are around 38 designated look-out "points" (viewpoints) in Matheran, including the Panorama Point that provides a 360-degree view of the surrounding area and also the Neral town. Louisa Point has views of Prabal Fort. Other viewpoints include One Tree Hill Point, Heart Point, Monkey Point, Porcupine Point, and Rambagh Point. There are many hotels and Parsi bungalows in the area. Old British-style architecture is preserved in Matheran. The roads are not metalled and are made of red laterite earth.
Matheran was identified by Hugh Poyntz Malet, the then district collector of Thane district in May 1850. Lord Elphinstone, the then Governor of Bombay laid the foundations of the development as a future hill station. The British developed Matheran as a resort to beat the summer heat in the region.
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Matheran is the birthplace of freedom fighter Veer Bhai Kotwal. He was born on 1 December 1912 in a Barber family. The state government has built a monument in his memory. The Matheran Hill Railway was built in 1907 by Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy and covers a distance of 20 km (12 mi), over large swathes of forest territory. The Matheran hill railway, also known as Matheran Light Railway (MLR), was inspected by UNESCO world heritage site officials but failed to make it to the list as a World Heritage Site. India's other Hill Railways like the Darjeeling Railway, the Kangra Valley Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway are already on the list.
The forest type of Matheran is semi evergreen forests. The trees are evergreen, making the plateau forests very dense and even congested in places. The laterite, porous soil along with very heavy rainfall mixed with dense fog for 4-5 has resulted in unique flora rich in diversity on the plateau. The forests show vegetation in top, middle and ground storey. The trees form a cover over large variety of shade loving herbs, climbers, ferns and mosses.
How to go....
Matheran is well connected to Mumbai (100 km) & Pune (120 km) by rail and road, while Neral is the nearest rail station.The nearest airport is Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai that is located around 100 km away from Matheran.
1) Railway- Matheran has a narrow gauge railway station in the town center. The old Matheran Hill Railway offers several daily trains to Neral. The toy train connected to the mainline rail route at Neral Junction. Neral Junction is well connected by local trains from CST along the CST-Karjat route. The train covers a distance of 12 miles in an hour. Any Pune bound train from CST (Mumbai) reaches Neral in approximately two hours. To get there you have to take train from Mumbai to Neral junction; from Neral to Matheran by narrow gauge trains that depart at 8:40 AM, 11:00 AM, 5:00 PM. The Matheran Light Railway (MLR) offers limited seats for each trip. You can even hire a local van to travel till the Dhindi Point. From Dhindi Point you have to walk for about 30 minutes along the railway track to reach Matheran.People who cannot walk are suggested to contact the Neral railway officials to check whether the toy train is operating or not. The Toy train was shutdown for most part 2016-2017. But it is now operational since January 26, 2018 and was e-inaugurated by the Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. Only 1 Ride from Neral to Matheran and it leaves Neral at 6:40 AM and reaches Matheran around 9:40 AM. Thereafter it operates shuttle rides between Aman Lodge and Matheran Station on hourly basis and at 3:30 PM it returns to Neral from Matheran. It takes 2 hours to Travel for return journey[12]
2) Buses- There is regular bus service from Neral railway station and Karjat railway station up to Aman Lodge. The buses and cars are allowed only up to Aman Lodge.The only form of automobile allowed in Matheran is an ambulance operated by the Municipality. No private automobiles are allowed in Matheran.
3) Horses- Within Matheran transport facilities available are horses and hand-pulled rickshaws. In Matheran horses are the cheap and best mode of transport. Because of landslides during the rain fall, the toy train services may be terminated temporarily.
4)Other-The centre has also given moot for e-rickshaws in Matheran
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