This was in the first week of November last year that we planned for a trip to Matheran. We were four of us + one half ticket. (Myself, my wife, my sis-in-law, my co-bro & their 2 yr old daughter).
Actually I had been to Matheran earlier also. It was in the year 2003. But, the memories were still very fresh in my mind. The silent, pollution-free, very near-to-nature feeling. This is what prompted me to take them to Matheran.
We started from Thane by taking the 07:20 Karjat local. The other local timings for Karjat from Thane are 06:40 & 07:40 hrs. By 08:30 hrs, we were at Neral( just one stn before Karjat). From their you just need to follow the crowd to the near-by Taxi-Stand from where you get pre-paid taxis for Dasturi Naka (Entrance of Matheran). The hire is fixed @ Rs.50/- per head or Rs.250/- for the complete Taxi.
(NOTE: The toy train from Neral to Matheran is not running as of now. The track is presently under repair)
After reaching Matheran, we paid Rs.25/- per head as Entry Tax, which I suppose is used for the maintenance etc. The main market area (know as the ‘Bazaar peth’) is @ 2.5 km from Dasturi Naka. If you have heavy baggage or small children, it would be a better option to hire a porter. We did so@ Rs. 60/- ( After bargaining of course).
We had our accommodation booked at Hotel ‘Rangoli Retreat’. Tks to the members of MS for their suggestions. The charges we felt were quite reasonable for the excellent food that they serve. It’s Rs.1200/- per day (All meals & b/f inclusive). You can do the booking from Mumbai itself. The nos. are 022 – 2341 3939 & 2340 3777.
After finishing the heavy b/fast, we were ready for some hard-core bargaining. This time it was for the horses. As by now you must have read in other reviews…..the only way to commute in Matheran is either by walk or on hand pulled rickshaws or on horses.
But one thing I would like to mention here….all the 700 hundred odd horses here are very well fed & taken care of. Unlike Mahabaleshwar, where the horses are in such a bad shape that you don’t feel like riding on them. After putting all our bargaining skills to test, we ended up with a decent deal of Rs250/- per horse per day.
There are many points worth watching…but the best one is the Sunset-point. You can jump any of the other ones, but never miss the sunset at Matheran. It’s awesome!!!!!. Also, the sunset is quite pretty! For best view, we were told we need to go to panorama point which is around 6km from our hotel. But, we were quite certain of our inability to get up so early in the morning (that after such a strenuous day & heavy dinner), we decided we’ll catch up the sun at Rambaug point. It was simply great!
My personal observation at Matheran was that though there are so many points….the view from all the points id more or less similar…..U just end up seeing the dame valley from different angles. Hence, my suggestion is not to miss the Sunset & Sunrise.( Though u end up seeing the same sun also!!:))
All in all it was great fun & we definitely look forward to come to Matheran again & again & …………again!