Matheran

Last Saturday we went to Matheran. Being 90 km away from Mumbai and 120 km from Pune, it is a popular weekend destination that is relatively easy to reach from both cities. (Especially when your company organizes a car that picks you up in the morning to take you there and that brings you back in the evening, ... even if you suddenly find yourself in another village and have no idea where you are.)

Matheran means “forest on top”, and that’s pretty much what it is. We were welcomed by a few monkeys who immediately took a bag that one of us had dropped for a second and brought it high into the trees.



Since all vehicles are banned in Matheran we had to leave our car and got the offer to see the place on horseback. The alternative would have been to walk, and after some struggles all of us happened to sit on a horse.
I was lucky to get a horse that was tall enough to carry me without making me look too ridiculous... ;-)


The forest is pretty nice. Unfortunately we arrived there too late (for my taste) and we only got a last glimpse of the beautiful morning atmosphere. (Since we had to leave before dawn, we also didn't get to see any nice birds. So if you ever go there, make sure to arrive in the morning or for dawn, I am sure it is worth it)



Our horses (and the guys who made sure we stay on the horses) brought us to some viewing points to look down to the surrounding mountains. There are quite many of them in Matheran.


While it got warmer and warmer outside, we really enjoyed the cool feeling under the trees. Compared to the heat of Pune, where it is hard to find a green spot nearby, it was a nice and fresh alternative.



We had delicious breakfast/lunch in front of Charlotte Lake (That's enough of the lake to show you ;-) I am too spoiled lately when it comes to beautiful lakes) ...


... and went back to our horses to continue the sightseeing.


It is a pretty touristy place. Therefore we always had the opportunity to buy drinks or to play more or less interesting games.


The village of Matheran itself sometimes reminds of a city in a wild west movie. There are horses everywhere and the moment you leave your horse behind, you can be sure to get asked right away how you feel about seeing Matheran on horseback.




Oh and of course there is an alternative to horses. You can get a rickshaw, which is pulled and pushed by 3 man, to take you around.


When it was time to go back, we went on the famous toy train (they call it like that) that goes down the mountains and connects Matheran to the next village.


ok ok :) not like that. ... like that:



I am sure it is nice and cool to stand outside on the side of the train, but would you want to do that looking down the steep mountains right next to you? We prefered to sit inside. Boring Europeans.







So we finally reached the last stop of the train, a village called Neral. We were told before that it was close to the place where our driver had dropped us of. Well, it wasn't, and we also couldn't reach him on his cell phone for a while. But finally he called us back, picked us up, and everything was surprisingly easy.

As a conclusion: I think that Matheran is a pretty nice place when you want to escape from Pune or Mumbai and don't have much time to go to a place farther away. However next time I would definitely try to be there in the morning or evening, to see more of the wildlife (maybe stay a night) and to enjoy the atmosphere in the foggy forest. Plus I would walk and not go on horseback. It was nice since we didn't have much time, but it I think it would have been a better experience to be independent and to explore it on our own feet.