Journey Date: 24-March-2019
Mode of Transport: Train / Van
History of the Matheran
It is situated 800 Meeter above sea level, Matheran was identified by Hugh Poyntz Malet, the then district collector of Thane district in May 1850. Lord Elphinstone, the then Governor of Bombay laid the foundations of the development as a future hill station. The British developed Matheran as a resort to beat the summer heat in the region.
Travel and Trek Experience
One of the memorable trips, Enjoyed a lot. After executing the Karnala Fort trek plan successfully we have decided to plan for Matheran trek. We started our journey from Mumbai – Dadar station by boarding Karjat local around 7:23 AM (You can also take Kasara, Titwala, Asangaon, Khopoli locals) and reached at Neral station at 8:48 AM it takes 1 Hr 25 mins. We had breakfast in the hotel outside the Neral station. Around 9.30 we hire a jeep or van to reach Matheran hilltop, they charge 80 Rs per person (rates in the year 2019) it may increase in the future. there is a toy train from outside Neral station to Matheran but it takes 2hr 30min to 3hrs, to save time better to take vans from the outside station. Within 30 Mins at around 10:00 AM we reached the top of the mount Matheran entry gate.
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Aman Lodge railway station at Matheran
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We paid entry fees of Rs 50 for each person. After entering into the gate and a few minutes’ walk we reached a toy train railway station named Aman lodge. There is one more entrance we entered and started following the rail track. Even in summer season view from the top is awesome we took some photos and moved ahead after 30 Mins of walk around 10.30 AM we reached at selfie point of “I LOVE MATHERAN” we took selfies and group photos, here we left the rail track route and started walking towards the market, after waking almost 1 Hr 30 Mins we reached at Louisa point from this point we are able to see Prabalgad (Kalavantin fort) clearly. We took some rest and had the snack while enjoying the beauty of the Sahyadri mountain range.
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Pisarnath Mahadev temple gate
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From Louisa point we headed towards Malang point we spent some time at Malang point and decided to see Alexander point from Alexander point we headed towards Echo point we had fun at echo point by shouting names of each other, etc. near echo point King George point, Charlotte Lake is there we had group photo over there and headed towards Pisarnath Shiv Temple, done prayer and meditation in the temple, now it almost 3:15 PM hence we decided to take lunch. We return to the market, as per plan at Hotel Kumar Plaza we had lunch, post-lunch after 30 Min, everyone enjoys their first horse ride which cost around 100 Rs per person, around 5:30 PM we started the return journey.
At around 6:30 PM we reached exit point (entry and exit point are same). Hire a van and reach Neral railway station. We had tea and snack at a restaurant near the station and board Mumbai CSMT local train and get down at Dadar.
Places / Points to seen at Matheran
- Echo Point
- Louisa Point
- Panorama Point
- Porcupine Point
- One Tree Hill Point
- Honeymoon Point
- Charlotte Lake
- Chanderi Caves
- Monkey Point
- Shivaji’s Ladder
- Alexander Point
- Heart Point
- Chowk Point
- Belvedere Point
- King George Point
- Mount Barry
- Dhodani Waterfalls
- Olympia
- Rambaug Point
- Khandala Point
- Pisharnath Mahadev Mandir
Places to see nearby
To complete all points of Matheran and visit Vikatgad/ Peb Fort need a plan of 2 days 1 Night.
Important Note
- Carry 2 to 3 liter of water, snack, and energy drink.
- Carry Map and plan your route
- Better to hire a horse or van to save energy and time.
- Best time to visit in the rainy and winter season.
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| Group photo at railway track route |
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| View from echo point |
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| View from Louisa point |
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| View from Alexander point |