The mini-train to take you to the mountain top (Matheran Hill Station) from Neral.
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About Matheran
Matheran is the closest hill station to Mumbai in the Sahyadri hill range in Raigad district of Maharashtra State.
Matheran is situated at a height of 803 m above sea level. Since 1907, a narrow gauge railway line connects Matheran to Neral in the plains. Motor vehicles are completely banned in Matheran (Venice and Matheran are probably the only places in the world where motor cars are banned), making it quite peaceful despite the thousands of visitors that come here, mostly from Mumbai and Pune.
Being a hill station it is pleasant almost throughout the year. In winter, the nights can get a bit chilly though. The best time to go to Matheran is post-monsoon. It is truly spectacular at this time of the year with lush greenery, waterfalls and the lake full with water.
There is a entry fee of Rs 25 for visitors entering Matheran. The proceeds from this is used for the upkeep of the place considering its fragile ecosystem.
Matheran is situated at a height of 803 m above sea level. Since 1907, a narrow gauge railway line connects Matheran to Neral in the plains. Motor vehicles are completely banned in Matheran (Venice and Matheran are probably the only places in the world where motor cars are banned), making it quite peaceful despite the thousands of visitors that come here, mostly from Mumbai and Pune.
Being a hill station it is pleasant almost throughout the year. In winter, the nights can get a bit chilly though. The best time to go to Matheran is post-monsoon. It is truly spectacular at this time of the year with lush greenery, waterfalls and the lake full with water.
There is a entry fee of Rs 25 for visitors entering Matheran. The proceeds from this is used for the upkeep of the place considering its fragile ecosystem.
You can catch a Karjat bound local train from CST(a.k.a. VT Mumbai, India) on the Central Railway to Neral Station. From Neral Station , there is a toy train which runs to Matheran about 4 times in a day. This toy train is not operational when railway route is under maintenance or when there is a perceived hazard e.g. the monsoons. The only way to know about it is at the Neral Station. The train is normally full, so turn up in good time to ensure you get a ticket.
The toy train times (as of Feb '08) are: Matheran -> Neral:
- depart 0700, arrive 0840
- depart 1340, arrive 1520
- depart 1625, arrive 1810
Neral -> Matheran:
- depart 0850, arrive 1110
- depart 1015, arrive 1210
- depart 1705, arrive 1900
There is an extra service in each direction during peak season, from Neral at 10.15 am and back from Matheran at 1.40 pm.
Alternately, there are many share-a-cabs which take you to Matheran from Neral. The distance from Neral to Dasturi Point(last point to which vehicles are allowed in Matheran)is 6 km. The drivers that ply through the roads have immaculate driving skills, so a real advice here is not to keep eyeing the blind turns and foot-to-brake co-ordination, but to just enjoy the breath-taking views as you climb up towards the Dasturi point. Once you have left the taxi, you can take a horse ride or get the help of porters to carry luggage up to the town.
Cars are not allowed within Matheran. However you can drive up and park your car at Dasturi car point and take a 40 minute horseback or man-pulled rickshaw ride to Matheran along a mud track.Alternately you can follow the rail line & make your way up to Matheran. The rail route is slightly shorter & more scenic than than the road route.
Some of the popular points include:
- Panorama Point
- Heart Point
- Monkey Point
- Malang Point
- Luisa Point
- Honeymoon Hill
- Echo Point
- Charlotte Lake
- Lords Point
- One tree Hill
- Olympia
- Paymasters Park
- Mount Barry
- Artist Point
- Khandala Point
- Alexandar Point
- Rambaug Point
- Little Chowk Point
- Chowk Point
- Sunset(Porcupine) Point
- Garbut point
- Panorama point - This point is a very beautiful one, for you can see a panoramic view of the hills on the left and a beautiful Ulhas River to the right. This point is too far from Matheran, and only one road leads to it, but you get a good price for your travel. This point is perfect for Sunrise and is also called "Sunrise Point."
- Heart Point - Here one can see a beautiful scene of the valley and this point looks like heart, so it is named so.
- Monkey Point - Here you can see the monkeys in large numbers and their mischief life-sized.
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3 comments:
nice pics
good........ but u knw when i will come to matheran right!!! dont forget the offer!!!!!!!!!
Found you!!!
HAHAHA
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