Matheran

Visit to a hill station

We arrived in Matheran by taxi. We should have taken the train. It may take longer, but it is not so scary.

Matheran is a wooded plateau on a mountain top in the Western Ghats. No cars or plastic bags are permitted there. You will be offered transport by horse,

but we felt we needed the exercise of walking. The trees there protect mad dogs from the noonday sun. The views from the edge are magnificent.

We stayed at the Rugby hotel - a park with bungalows. Here I am reading on the veranda.

We were sorry to leave. I am the one with a bald patch following the porter. All the roads are red dust like this.

Construction of the narrow gauge railway up from Neral to Matheran started in 1901. This is Matheran station.

You can just see me here saying goodbye to children and a goat. There are monkeys in Matheran - large and shy, and small and cheeky. They will come and jump on your roof at night. There are one or two panthers too, I am told.

Here are girls coming off the train up the mountain to go to school.

Few journeys to school can have such amazing views.

The Western Ghats:

The Matheran railway is not only scenic but a marvel of engineering; every bend is numbered.

Neral, at the base of the mountain where the air is thicker, can just be seen in the haze.

What I enjoyed about Matheran was not just the cool air, the absence of rubbish and the spectacular scenery. Its people are more relaxed and the struggle for survival seems less fierce. It is a relatively small community up there, that caters to holiday makers and honeymoon couples, and a small number of foreign tourists. Hookahs 'n Kebabs Khan's Hotel advertises, in blue neon lights.
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