Matheran – An Eco Paradise

The Mumbai local running on the slow central track of Mumbai Pune link came to an abrupt halt with a mild screeching noise and it was time for us to de- board at Neral. The station was serene in contrast to the fast city life of Mumbai & looked like a scene from a regional flick with few women wearing traditional ‘Laguda’ some of them carrying a fish basket over their head while some of them walked swiftly with huge overstuffed ‘Jholas’ .

We came out of the station, crossed the parking lot & entered a narrow lane with strings of small wooden shops on either side selling fresh Vada Pavs. The aroma of garlic & chilies rising from this famous Maharastrian street snacks was so alluring that we bought them, despite the ugly sight of the shopkeepers hands dipped in yellow dough & the way he wrapped the snacks in an old but clean newspaper. Ten minutes later, we were in a cab on our way from Neral to Matheran entry point still relishing the tongue tingling taste of Vada Pav. The journey was hardly of 20 to 30 minutes & our cab sashayed through curved roads giving full view of hillocks on which the vegetation gleamed in golden sunlight.

We reached Dasturi, which is officially the entry point of Matheran & also the last point till which vehicles are allowed. Matheran not only boasts of being the smallest hill station in India but is also a vehicle free zone and has been declared an eco-sensitive region, by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India. Its proximity to Mumbai makes it a favorite weekend getaway for the urban population.

We were late by fifteen minutes & unfortunately missed our pre booked journey of the colorful & enchanting toy train from Dasturi to Matheran. So, we were left at Dasturi, with other tourists surrounded by numerous porters, rickshawalas & horse owners bargaining like a housewife at the local grocery shop. We hired two sturdy horses, with glistening muscles which rippled at their slightest of movement .The horses galloped on the dusty road lined with wildflowers with numerous butterflies, towering trees & macaque monkeys hopping from one branch to other seeking opportunity to grab any of your belonging which remotely resembled an edible item.

On the way from Dasturi to the top of Matheran, one finds numerous points worth visiting. Our first halt was Panorma point which provides a breathtaking view of hills with river Ulhas flowing alongside. It’s also known as Sunrise point. Our Horseman was self proclaimed guide & he requested us to halt at Monkey point to get a close view of numerous coexisting gangs of monkeys to which we politely declined. However, we enjoyed his informative chatter & he stated that Matheran was discovered in 1850 by Hugh Poyntz Malet who was the district collector of Thane. The credit of developing Matheran goes to the British government who saw it as a destination to beat the summer heat. Being a hill station it is pleasant almost throughout the year however winter nights can get a bit chilly.

Our next destination was the Honeymoon Point about which it is said that a British official once actually arranged his honeymoon there & later the point was used for apiculture. We shouted our lungs out at the Echo point and somehow managed the risky walk to the steep One tree hill were you can see only one big tree growing like a king. It is said that there are total 38 lookout points out of which worth enjoying are points like Louisa point, Malang Point, Alexander point, Artist point, Khandala Point, porcupine point, little chowk point etc.

  It was almost six in the evening when we reached Matheran Market, where you can see general stores, medical stores, shops selling packaged drinking water, snacks counters, small restaurants & in addition to it you will find numerous shops selling female sneakers were you can place orders by selecting your design from a wide range of miniatures which look like barbie’s footwear’s. It was quite dark & we were too tired when we reached ‘Rugby’ the official Guest house of Ambani’s where we had a quite dinner. While the other guests chattered & danced to the live music around a warm bonfire, we retreated to our cottage which had an old world charm with high wooden ceiling, big French windows & a small portico. In no time we were fast asleep averse to the background singing of crickets & howling of stray dogs or maybe wild beasts.