Matheran is a partially automobile free

hill station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...

and a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

in the Karjat taluka of the

Raigad district Raigad district (), previously Colaba fort, Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The headquarters of the district is Alibag. Other major cities in the district are Panvel, Karjat, Navi Mumbai, Khopoli, Sh ...

located in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. Matheran is part of the

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Mumbai Metropolitan Region (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Muṁbaī Mahānagara Pradēśa''; abbreviated to MMR and previously also known as Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area), is a metropolitan area consisting of Mumbai and its Satellite city, satellite tow ...

, and one of the smallest hill stations in India. It is located in the Western Ghats, at an elevation of around 800 m (2,625 feet) above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. It is about 90 km from

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, and 120 km from

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

. This proximity to these urban areas makes it a weekend getaway for many. Matheran, which means "forest on the forehead" (of the mountains) in Marathi, is an eco-sensitive region, declared by the

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Government of India, Indian government Ministry (government department), ministry. The ministry Portfolio (government), portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union ...

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. There are many hotels and Parsi bungalows in the area. Old British colonial architecture is preserved in Matheran. The roads are made of red

laterite Laterite is a soil type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and prolo ...

earth.

History

Matheran was identified by Hugh Poyntz Malet, the then

district collector The district magistrate, also known as the district collector or deputy commissioner, is a career civil servant who serves as the executive head of a district's administration in India. The specific name depends on the state or union territo ...

of Raigad district in the May of 1850. Lord Elphinstone, the then

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

laid the foundations of the development as a future hill station. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

developed Matheran as a getaway from the regional summer heat. It is also the birthplace of freedom fighter Veer Bhai Kotwal. The Matheran Railway The Matheran Hill Railway was built in 1907 by Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy and covers a distance of , through forest land. The railway was inspected by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

officials, but failed to make it to the list of the World Heritage Sites. India's other Hill Railways like the

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

Railway, the

Kangra Valley Kangra Valley is a river valley situated in the Western Himalayas.Nilgiri Mountain Railway are already on the list. The Toy train was shut down for the most part in 2016 and 2017. It became re-operational on 26 January 2018 and was re-inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis. However, it was temporarily suspended again after a landslide in the 2019. It then began operating as an hourly shuttle between Aman Lodge and Matheran Station. A rickshaw service also runs from Aman Lodge to Matheran Market.

Soil and rocks

Geographically the rock types are solely composed of Deccan trap with inter trappeans of Cretaceous, Eoceuerage and laterites of a still younger age. The rock is basalt, which has given rise to secondary alteration known as laterite. The laterite predominates the hills and almost covers the hilltops. This makes the hard exposed surfaces of the laterite show red gravelly earth. The soil has a vermicular or pisolitic structure and contains a large amount of water. There is little soil cover over most of the hilltop. The topmost layer of rock is a soft porous iron-clay, through which there is drainage of water by the beginning of summer.

Forest and vegetation

Semi-evergreen forests are present in the Matheran. The trees are evergreen, making the plateau forests very dense and even congested in places. The laterite, porous soil along with very heavy rainfall mixed with dense fog has resulted in unique flora rich in diversity on the plateau. The forests show vegetation in top, middle and ground storeys. The trees form a cover over a large variety of shade-loving herbs, climbers, ferns and mosses. The forests of Matheran have attracted many botanists: Smyth J.Y.(1871), Birdwood H.M. (1886) and (1896), Cooke T. (1887–1901), Woodrow G.M. (1897–1901), Irani N.A.(1962), Satyanarayann & Mudliar (1959), Vartak, V.D.(1966), Kothari & Moorthy (1993). A good collection of the dried plants is deposited in the Blatter Herbarium, St. Xavier's College, Bombay, Mumbai. Matheran has a huge number of medicinal plants and herbs. It was declared an Eco-Sensitive zone (ESZ) by the Union Environment Ministry on 4 February 2003. The declaration as ESZ has led to the stoppage of developmental activities and construction of hazardous industries.

List of trees reported to be found in Matheran

The vegetation of the area depends on the type and depth of the soil. Due to poor soil depth, the vegetation on the edges of the plateaus is poor. Due to heavy rainfall, dissected hilly terrain and excessive leaching of the soil, the exposed areas become less fertile and become less moisture retentive, resulting in shallow rooted vegetation. It is required to plant trees to protect the soil cover from losing its valuable humidity and fertility. The winds are very strong and blow from west or southwest during monsoon and also dry winds blow during the three months from January to March. These winds tend to shear and bend the plants while absorbing their moisture.

Wildlife

The town also has a large

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

population, including

bonnet macaque The bonnet macaque (''Macaca radiata''), also known as zati,Chambers English Dictionary is a species of macaque endemism, endemic to southern India. Its distribution is limited by the Indian Ocean on three sides and the Godavari River, Godavari a ...

s and Hanuman langurs. Riding horses are abundant in Matheran and serve as a local icon. Inside the forests, animals like barking deer,

Malabar giant squirrel The Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel (''Ratufa indica'') is a large multi-coloured tree squirrel species endemic to forests and woodlands in India. It is a Diurnal animal, diurnal, arboreal, and mainly herbivorous squirrel. Distr ...

s, foxes,

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family has two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, A ...

s can be found. These animals are few in numbers compared to the monkeys and usually do not venture to places with human activity. Leopard Sightings While not native to the area, there have been reports of leopard sightings in Matheran in recent years due to dense forests in the surrounding valleys. Their dwindling population nationally has resulted in less frequenting sightings. There have been no reported leopard attacks in Matheran.

Demographics

As of the 2001 India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Matheran had a population of 5139. Males constituted 58% of the population and females 42%. Matheran had an average literacy rate of 71%; male literacy being 75%, and female literacy being 66%. In Matheran, 11% of the population was under 6 years of age. Languages spoken include

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, and English.

Geography and Climate

Matheran is located at . It has an average elevation of 800 m (2,625 ft) above sea level. Lying in an elevated region, it has a cooler and dryer climate relative to its surroundings, making it popular during summer. Temperatures range from 32° C (90° F) to 16 °C (61 °F). The monsoon retreats prior to October and November, making the temperature cool, but not humid. The winter months are cool with the temperature usually staying above 11 °C. While the days are mostly sunny, evenings and early mornings tend to get a bit chilly. Couples prefer this time period to visit Matheran for their honeymoons. From March to May, the temperatures can go over 35 °C during the day. June to September sees heavy rainfall.

Transportation

Matheran is connected to Mumbai (100 km) & Pune (120 km) by rail and road, with the closest railway station being in the foothill town of Neral. The nearest airport is the

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is the international airport serving Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the second-busiest airport in India in terms of total and international passenger traffic a ...

Rail

Matheran has a narrow gauge railway station in the town center. The old Matheran Hill Railway offers several daily trains to Neral. The Toy train is connected to the mainline rail route at the Neral Junction. Service began between Neral and Matheran on 22 October 2022. The train between the Aman lodge and Matheran is also in place at intervals of approximately every hour having approximately 85 seats. The journey takes about two and a half hours each way.

Road

There is a taxi service available from the Neral railway station till Aman Lodge, while bus services are available from the railway stations of Neral and Karjat both. No automobiles except for a municipality operated ambulance and e-rickshaws are allowed inside. Prior to December 6, 2022, e-rickshaws were not permitted inside as well.

Non-automobile transportation

Beyond Aman Lodge,

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s and hand-pulled rickshaws are the available non-automobile modes of transport.

Places of Interest

Altogether, there are 40 scenic vistas, two lakes, two parks, four major worship places and a

race course A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

in Matheran. Echo Point Matheran1

Historical places of interest

# Forts: The hill station has two medieval forts in its close proximity, them being Prabalgad and Pebkilla. The Vikatgad fort is also a trekking destination, which is connected to the hill hosting Matheran itself. # Horse Race Courses: Olympia Race Course (established in 1892–93 by Sir Dhunjibhoy Bomanji). # The Matheran railway Station

Religious Places of interest

# Pisarnath Temple # Matheran Shiv Mandir

Lakes

The water to the Matheran is supplied from Lake Charlotte. This dam overflows during monsoon, making it a tourist attraction.

Parks

The "Paymaster park" at Matheran is maintained by the local Municipality. Games for children and pagodas are organised here.

Hiking Routes

Matheran has various trekking routes, reported to be easy to traverse over by tourists:

1) Sunset Point Route

This route starts from Dodhani village and ends at the Sunset Point at Matheran. This is the most popular route for trekkers.

2) Garbett Point Route

This route starts from "Sagachiwadi", a small tribal village near the Dhom dam. This is the second most popular route.

3) Rambaug Point Route

This route goes from Rambaug point to a small village called Pokharwadi near Chowk village. The route passes through a waterfall during the rainy season. There is a view of the Morbe Dam's backwater while going through this route.

4) One Tree Hill Route

The route's base village is the Ambewadi village. Ambewadi is near Pokharwadi, where the route to Rambaug point begins. There is a view of the Morbe Dam's backwater while going through this route.

5) Vikatgad Route

This is reported to be the most difficult trekking route of Matheran. It starts from the base village Mamdapur and takes about three hours to reach Matheran via the Vikatgad fort. All treks have been reported to take between two and three hours to complete.

Gallery

File:MatheranHS4.jpg, The pathways File:MatheranHS2.jpg, Tourists at Charlotte Lake File:MatheranHS3.jpg, The forest File:MatheranHS7.jpg, The toy train File:View of Neral from Matheran.jpg, View of Neral

References

External links

*
Matheran toy train timetable

Fresh attempts to get heritage status for Matheran Light Rail – Indian Express (14 January 2013)
{{Authority control Tourism in Maharashtra Hill stations in Maharashtra Cities and towns in Raigad district Mountains of the Western Ghats Tourist attractions in Raigad district