Matheran!

So one fine day I decided to explore Matheran by myself as most of my friends were not in the mood to go 'that far'.

Getting to Matheran is half the fun; It is well connected and the nearest station from CST is Neral Station at the bottom of the hill. It takes approximately one and a half hour to reach Neral from CST. At Neral one can avail taxis which cost about Rs 250 to go till Dasturi. Its a very scenic one hour journey through the valley climbing the hill top. From Dasturi Naka one can either walk (its so much fun, especially as you will be walking on the red earth)or take a pony for Rs 200 to reach Matheran. Besides, shared taxis are available for only Rs 50.

Mumbai-Neral, 90 kms. Neral-Matheran,21 kms.

Ok so finally am in Matheran. The best thing about this hill-station is that no cars or heavy vehicles are allowed into the town which makes it a very peaceful place to stroll. So walking is an activity that will be richly rewarded, especially for those who love being close to the nature. I just took the toy train tracks to reach the main market area, I was not in Matheran to explore picnic spots or run towards sun set points, although the place is exploited of them, but I just wanted to explore the place as it is.

So taking the off beaten road, I went about the village from its by-lanes and almost lost tracks.

It was nice being close to the nature relishing every single blow of wind on the wild trees and soaking in the silence of the nature, at time getting disturbed by horse riders, otherwise this place is heaven for those who do not like or wants to break away from the mad city life. For sure, here, the time stops.

Just few words of caution:

Carry a good pair of comfortable walking shoes. Matheran is quite dusty and there is red soil everywhere.

The roads can be rough with many small stones in them, but they are not sharp craggy rocks. If you wear a good pair of shoes with thick soles you should be fine. Obviously, if you don't intend walking much then this doesn't really matter too much.

The weather is truly excellent as you can walk around even in summer without feeling too uncomfortable. Morning is the best time from trekking but be ready for a hazy view as the cloud covers the place at early morning.

Carry water.

Try to avoid carrying too much baggage with you.

The charges for horses differ. The horse keepers charges anything between Rs. 100 to 500. You can bargain.

Carry enough cash with you, as there is only one ATM in Matheran and unfortunately it often does not work during monsoon.

There are monkeys around. Please do not feed them or play with them. Don't openly carry any food articles with you, as monkeys would definitely try to snatch it away. Sans food they are pretty harmless

Was so inspired by the hill station, I did four watercolor-pen works as a tribute to this lovely place.