Matheran was discovered by Hugh Malet in 1850. The British developed Matheran as a popular tourist resort.
At an elevation of around 800m (2,625 ft) above sea level Matheran is a hill station located about 100 km from Mumbai. Matheran literally means jungle on top.
You can park your vehicles at Dasturi naka and move forward on Horseback, by man-pulled rickshaw, or on foot as vehicles are not allowed.
Old British-style architecture has been preserved in Matheran and most structures are now heritage structures. Matheran has been declared an eco sensitive region by the Union Environment Ministry (GoI).
Matheran has been declared an eco-sensitive region by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, (MoEF) Government of India. It is one of the only few places in the world where all vehicles are banned which makes the place unique. Matheran takes you over a hundred years back in time when there were no cars.
With vehicles being banned in Matheran, the place is quite peaceful despite the thousands of visitors that come visiting through the year. There are a lot of lookout ''points'' that provide spectacular views of the surrounding hills and valleys. Matheran has a reasonably dense forest cover. Being a hill station it is pleasant almost throughout the year though the nights can get a bit chilly.
Matheran is a visual beauty post monsoons with lush greenery, waterfalls and the lake full with water.From the above you can tell that Matheran is just the perfect place to find peace away from the city where you can relax, enjoy the serene nature all around and switch off from the outside world.
Important sites to visit
The market is the area where the bulk of the activity is. You get good quality Shoes, Slippers, Sandals and other leather goods at good bargains here.
You also get various flavors of Chikki, local honey, fudge's (Chocolate and fruit flavours etc.) ice gola's and various drinks. In the center of the market is a garden.
The following is a list of some major places of interest -
- Mount Berry
- Echo Point
- Panorama Point (Sunrise Point)
- Porcupine Point (Sunset Point)
- Monkey Point
- Hart point
- Rambaug Point
- Alexandria Point
- Malet Spring
- One Tree Hill Point
- Belvedere Pt
- Olympia Race Course
- Lords Pt
- Charlotte Lake
- Cecil Pt (Actually a water fall mouth)
- Khandala Pt
- Madhavji Garden & Point
- Louisa Point
- Mayor Pt
Ways to reach:
Mumbai to Matheran
From Mumbai you need to go to Navi Mumbai and from there towards Panvel. You get on to the Mumbai Pune Expressway at Panvel. 8 km ahead you exit at the Shedung/ Khopoli turnoff and get onto the old Bombay Poona road. After some time there will be a turnoff on your left, at a place called Chowk where a big green sign over the road asks you to turn left for Matheran. From then on there are regular road signs to guide you. From Chowk to Karjat rail crossing is 9 km, then 12 km to Neral at the tip of the hill.
After that the last stretch of the road (About 7 km) is on the ghat which leads you to Dasturi Naka (Last point to which cars are allowed, where there is a car park) at the tip of Matheran.
Pune to Matheran
You need to get onto the Pune Mumbai Expressway at Pune and get off the Pune Mumbai Expressway at the Khopoli exit after passing Lonavala/ Khandala and get onto the old Poona Bombay road. Approximately 18 km later, you turn right at a place called Chowk where a big green sign over the road asks you to turn right for Matheran. From then on there are regular road signs to guide you. From Chowk to Karjat rail crossing is 9 km, then 12 km to Neral at the tip of the hill.
After that the last stretch of the road (About 7 km) is on the ghat which leads you to Dasturi Naka (Last point to which cars are allowed, where there is a car park) at the tip of Matheran.
