MATHERAN - The queen of the Western Range (Matheran)

Member Name: emil

Product:	Matheran
Date:	17/08/01 (1087 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nature's beauty, idle relaxation, no vehicles

Disadvantages: can be crowded in May, Below top standard accomodation.

Matheran is a beautiful hill station close to Bombay. It is at an altitude of 800m. This is the getaway that the people of Bombay think of when they want a break or when they just want to get away from Bombay’s humidity. Literature suggests that Matheran, established in 1850, is located 80 to 105 Km from Bombay. The ambiguity is because it depends on where in Bombay you are starting from. Before I start describing how you get there I will set the milestones and then show you the options. The milestones are:

Bombay - Neral - Dastoori Naka - Matheran

Next I’ll tell you the best thing about Matheran. NO MOTOR VEHICLES ARE ALLOWED INTO MATHERAN. To my mind this is reason enough to want to go there. Ironically, this was precisely why I did not visit Matheran till this May in spite of having lived all my life in Bombay. I had the impression that it is difficult to get there.

HOW TO GET THERE
You have the option of road or train. If you go by road, you can drive up to Dastoori Naka, which has a car park. That is as far as you are allowed to take the car. Read on find out what next.

Train is the better option of the two. You can take either the Deccan Express or the Koyna Express from a couple of locations in Bombay to Neral or go by one of the Suburban local trains. If you opt for the former, you need to book your seat in advance. The latter option permits you to just go across to the nearest convenient station along the Central Railway and catch a Karjat local. Neral comes a couple of stations before the terminus. This leg of the journey could take upto 2 hours depending on where in Bombay you start from.

The next part of the journey spoils you for choice. The most popular choice is a mini train which winds its way over 11 Km in over 2 hours. It takes you right up to Matheran over a most scenic route albeit at a leisurely pace. No, this is not irritatingly slow. When you board this mini train at Neral, yo
ur holiday has already begun. Be warned however, that the train does not run during the monsoon months.

If in the unlikely event, you are in a hurry, you could take a taxi from Neral station to Dastoori Naka, a 5 Km journey over a winding, narrow road at breakneck speed. Somehow it seems to me that the taxi is driven faster around blind corners than over the straight stretches. This journey shouldn’t take more than about 20 minutes. Try to keep your eyes closed if you get the feeling your driver is taking a shortcut to heaven. It costs about 75p per head or you pay about 3.5 pounds to have the whole taxi to yourself.

The hiking type could take the 3 hour hike from Neral station to Matheran. Even if you did land up at Dastoori Naka, you still have to walk the last 2.5 Km (about 40 minutes) to reach Matheran. You can engage porters to carry your luggage if you like. You can avoid walking too as there are horses you could ride up the hill. Slightly more comfortable are the human pulled carts called RICKSHAWS. It does seem rather inhuman. It worried me too. To begin with you feel uncomfortable by the plight of the people who transport you. Think again. You are their source of livelihood, not a pain in the a**.

ACCOMODATION
Matheran has plenty of hotels. Search the web for Matheran and the result will be several hotel homepages. The one I stayed in, the Regal, cost approximately 35 pounds per day for a couple inclusive of all meals. With a child under 9 thrown in for free. (They don’t give the child off course. You’ve got to get your own.)

They are little cottages with one room containing 2 double beds, a tiny dressing room, a bath and WC. There is also a small verandah to relax in the evenings.

The meals here and with many hotels in this class are vegetarian. Specifically Gujarati. Gujarat is a neighbouring state from which there are several migrants in Bombay. The Gujarati community happens to be the mo
st affluent so obviously they present a very lucrative market for the hoteliers of Matheran. You in the UK will be familiar with the Patels and Shahs who are members of this community.

The Regal also has a swimming pool and a health club. Use of the swimming pool is included in the room tariff. However the health club is run on a pay per use basis. The pool is kept reasonably clean. They also provide you with freshly laundered towels at the pool. If you happen to go there without a swimsuit, they have a shop that sells swimsuits and trunks. Surprisingly these are sold at street prices and they don’t rip you off like is often done at tourist destinations.

****************A TIP************************
I didn’t have a problem here but at many tourist destinations you can get cheated when buying camera film. To be on the safe side in India do not buy your film at such places. Buy it in Bombay or wherever before you set out.
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GETTING AROUND IN MATHERAN
As I said earlier, no motor vehicles are allowed in Matheran. You have three choices: you could ride a horse, take a rickshaw or you could walk. If you opt for a horse or a rickshaw, you have the advantage of a guide as the horse handlers and rickshaw pullers double as tourist guides. On the other hand, walking is pleasant but could be tiring if you are in poor physical shape. This being a hill station, it certainly isn’t flat ground you walk on.

THE ATTRACTIONS
Many places of tourist interest in India have a number of points designated to be seen. Matheran has 38. I wouldn’t recommend that you go ahead and see all 38. Doing that reminds me of the movie “If its Tuesday, this must be Belgium.” Several of the points would only look like repetitions and it would bore you. You would then need a list to tick off all those you’ve already seen. It is better to restrict yourself to a few,
say a dozen. Your hotel staff can tell you which are the best places. You can pick up a map when you get there, and then plan your itinerary. Some of the “must see” places are: Panorama Point, Echo Point, Sunset Point, Sunrise Point Charlotte Lake, Porcupine Point, Louisa Point.

Panorama point is arguably the place with among the best views in the world. It is truly breathtaking. Years ago, when I had visited the Grand Canyon, as much as I liked the place, I was amazed at the American ability to market their asset. We have amazingly beautiful places in India we haven’t told the world about. Near the Grand Canyon, the Americans have plaques marking stones as “100 million years old”. Here in India we have far more history but don’t appreciate it.

Echo point is a meeting point of 3 hills giving it the ability to reflect sound. As may be expected, some points are best seen in the mornings and the others can be better viewed in the evenings. This shouldn’t be such an inconvenience as you can see the map and decide to do several points on the eastern side once and the western ones another time.

Once again let me remind you not to turn your trip into a “If its Tuesday” type of expedition. Don’t measure the success of your visit by the number of points you have seen. Take time to relax rather than rushing around. The place is really good for idle relaxation and recharging your batteries. I remember a poem we had in school I think it was “Of leisure” by Wordsworth who said, “What is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.”

Matheran is not a place you come to for shopping but does have a decent leather industry. You could buy belts or shoes or even have a pair of shoes custom made for you. Another local specialty is a confection called the “Chikki”. This consists of a variety of pieces of nuts like peanuts, cashew nuts, al
monds, sesame, etc., bound by a sweet binder, either sugar or jaggery.

BEST TIME TO VISIT
Tourist information will tell you October to December is the best time. Some hotel sites will tell you that October to May is the best time. I suggest you avoid the second half of April and the whole of May as it can get really crowded. For the true nature lover I recommend the monsoon months of June to September. Lush greenery as you will ever see. Matheran is even more beautiful in this season. As a bonus, it is the off-season and you can negotiate pretty good discounts with the hotels.

The down side is that you need to rough it out a little more than at other times. For example the little train doesn’t run in this season. The soil, which is red clay, can get your shoes in a pretty bad mess.

WARNING
Matheran is infested with monkeys. I thought of putting this under attractions but it remains an attraction only till the novelty wears off. Or till you are attacked, which will probably occur before the novelty wears off. Don’t leave a bag down in the open. Don’t pop snacks into your mouth while you are walking out in the open. They will make a quick dash for the bag and run off with it.

On the other hand, this is a unique opportunity to observe our ancestors at close quarters. Their social manners, their family relationships, their actions. Sooo human. The little babies are absolutely cuddly cute. On second thoughts I admit the monkeys are an attraction. But be careful all the same.

And enjoy your vacation.
I give this place 4 stars because the hotel accomodation is below top class standards.

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