The Trip: From 6th April’07 to 8th April’07
It takes around 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours to reach Matheran. I preferred the Rail Route.
We left for Dadar at 6:40 AM from home, caught the 7:03 AM Karjat fast. The train stops at Kurla, Ghatkopar, Thane and Kalyan. After Kalyan it stops at all the stations, the fifth station is Neral. We reached Neral at 8:30 AM. You can also travel by Express trains like Deccan, Koyna and Sahayadri express. They all stop at Neral.
Earlier I had booked Neral - Matheran Mini train from CST, in advance. But that did not help. There are 4 trains from neral to matheran. Train 603, 604, 605 and 606. The first one leave for matheran as early as 7:15 AM and the next at 9:20 and the third again at 10:15 AM. We had booked the third one. It nearly takes 2 1/2 hours to reach top via mini train.
We decided not to wait till the 10:15 train leaves, as we reached neral earlier thant the scheduled time. We checked the rates for share a cab/taxi. it is Rs. 50/- per head. We joined another couple who agreed to share the fare.
We were three, including my 14 months old daughter(She is quite mischevious), So decided to pay an extra Rs. 50/- for the kid to travel comfortably. Mostly the cabs/taxies take 5 passengers for a round figure of Rs.250/- in total. Cabs take around 30 mins to reach the point beyond which no vehicals are allowed and forest starts.
*Travel Time:
*It took about 30 mins. from Neral Station to reach Dasturi Naka(Taxi Naka). This is the place beyond which no vehicles are allowed. One can then hire Horses or hand driven/pulled rikshas. We decided neither of these. As they charge you more. The Horses are bit more expensive. Rs.200/- per horse till the hotel/resort; and the rikshas charge you around Rs.160/- per person.
There are porters available for Rs.50/- to Rs. 60/- for lifting your baggage. I would suggest one to hire these porters as they would allow you free movement. Trust me, the journey on foot, to the top of hill is not as easy as it seems.
Journey to the Top:
From Dasturi naka, we decided to climb the hill on foot. All four of us, including the couples whom we met at the station(By now we had become good friends and ofcourse my daughter mingled well with them). We decided to take the dusty road, with red sand(One can rarely see red sand these days.).
Later I regretted not taking the railway track. My advice would be to walk on track. No the train wont hit you as it moves slower than you move. People can easily climb in and out of it. While on our way up, we saw many beautiful scenes and also Monkeys. They are no ordinay ones that we see on the street . they are Langoors and huge ones. Beware, not to show them any plastic bags or else they will rob you of your eatables. Yes Eatables. It took about 45 mins to climb the hill on the dusty /red sand path.
My Strong Advice would be to carry Sports shoes for both men and women. As the path is filled with red brick stones and pebbles with lot of red dust making it difficult to climb with chapples or sandals in feet. You might twist your ankle.
We reached our hotel by 10:15 AM approximately in 3 hours from home.
*Accomodations:
*I had booked Rangoli Retreat hotel from Mumbai. This one is exactly opposite to Matheran Station, the last stop for the mini train. The Hotel is 3 Star with swimming pool and garden. The Stay was a pleasant one. I had booked a Non-AC Super Delux room. The cost for couple is Rs.3200/- for two days stay, including of morning breakfast, lunch, evening tea and Dinner. 24 hrs Water supply and unlimited breakfast and food. I would strongly recommend this hotel for couples. The hotel is close to market area and also opp to the station. The Restaurant of the hotel serves Gujarathi thali and in the evening it is either Punjabi or Chinese.
For Rangoli Retreat - Reservations one can call the Mumbai Office: 23475556, 23475557, 56331191.
Contact Person’s name is Hakim Bhai and Jayesh.
We also got details of other hotels and resorts in the vicinity. Two others which offer similar facility were Richie Rich Resort and Kumar Plaza, both are at the other end of the market just opp to a botonical garden, N Lord Garden. They are bit more expensive the charge range between Rs. 5000/- to Rs. 7000/- per couple for two day stay. The Lord garden is well maintained and has variety of plants. A Nice place to spend your evenings
What to Shop for:
Chocolate Fudge, Chikki and Leather Chappels.The Fudge and Chikkis are better than the ones in Lonavala.
Nariman Stores is one place where you would get best Fudge and Chikkis, also try their dry fruit Gulkand. I bet you would have never tasted such a gulkand here in Mumbai.
Climate:
As we recently visited the place, we didn’t need any woolen clothes. This time of the year the mornings are hot, but not humid; the evenings are pleasant with strong breeze flowing and later in the night it is bit chill but not Cold. Take Cotton cloths and make sure you do not take any whites(Trousers or pants) as most of the time you would be out and walking on red dusty roads/path.
Walking is something you will have to be mentally prepared. I Would prefer Denim or Cargos with Sports Shoes as footwear.
*Sight Seeing:
*There are around 12 points to view in Matheran. We only covered five of them and the lake. Mostly we preferred to stay & relax and make small trips to the market area.
Points you can consider visiting are: Alexander Pt, Landscape Point, Echo pt., Lord Pt., Louisa Pt., Monkey Pt.(Lots of monkeys), Sunset Pt.(Porcupine Pt.) etc. and the Charlotte Lake. The lake is not meant for swimming or fishing or boating, as this one provides water to the entire town.
We hired two horses for a sum of Rs.150/- each(Ofcourse bargaining power is required), for 1 hour for visiting 5 points, including the lake.
Return Journey: We started from Matheran at 9:15 AM. Better than the uphill journey. We hired a porter for a sum of Rs.60/- till Dasturi naka. I preferred the cab back to Neral Station. We started to walk on the railway track, easier than walking/climbing down the hill on the red dusty path. And We throughly enjoied the view and the scenic beauty on the way down. It took us about 40 mins to reach Dasturi naka. We hired cab where in they arranged for another couple to join us. Reached Neral station by 10:15 AM. Booked Tickets, on enquiing about the train, the clerk at the counter informed that Sahayadari express is due to arrive. We took the train. Reached Dadar station by 12:00 noon.
Over all it was a pleasant experience for us except for the tiresome walk from Dasturi to Matheran. Make sure you carry sports shoes and water bottles if you decide to climb the hill from the Taxi naka.
I would rate Matheran 8 out of 10, a place to visit for recreation and rejuvenation.