Matheran

By ajaychaudhary2nd

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MATHERAN HILL STATION

MATHERAN......................

Amid the green Jambol forest, situated at 803 metres (2,636 ft.) above sea level, Matheran is the most splendid hill-station in Maharashtra. It covers an area of 8 square kilometres in Sahyadris. Its pastoral beauty is especially pristine thanks to a blanket motor transport ban.

This lovely spot was discovered in 1850 by Hugh Poyntz Malet, the collector of Thane district. He was camping around the village of Chowk, when on a hill top he stopped for a drink of a water from a spring - which still bears his name.

The light railway line was constructed by Ms. Adamji Pirbhoy in 1907 and was worked by an agency called the Matheran Steam Light Tramway Co. Ltd., Bombay. The Government authorised the construction, maintenance and working of the line by the promoter, while Government land was provided free of cost.

Matheran hill station 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.

So visit Matheran to sit back and enjoy nature and the healthy atmosphere.

An Eco-sensitive Zone

Matheran has been declared an eco-sensitive region by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), Government of India (GoI).

Matheran is situated on a hilltop at an altitude of 800 m. In shady trees, and unpolluted air the journey to this hilltop could be through an exciting two hour ascent in a toy train, with food and drink vendors and monkeys jumping on and off, or through a tough 11 km. road hike passing from dense forests.


The nearest airport is Bombay (Mumbai), around 100 km away.
From Mumbai, one can take a local train to Neral, where a tiny toy train waits to take people to Matheran. Mumbai to Neral takes around two hours, while the toy-train journey takes an hour and a half. Mumbai to Neral is around 90 km, while Neral to Matheran is 21 km.




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