Matheran-Hill Railway . Review on Matheran

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. Matheran's cliffs with incredibly heights create stunning points.

The main bazaar offers a variety of articles such as cane and leather articles, hats, chappals and the sweet specialty - Chikki ! Vehicles of any kind are not permitted in the town, which makes it a quiet, and peaceful place.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Population : 5,500

Altitude : 800 m

Languages : Marathi, Hindi, English

Best time to visit : April - May

STD Code : 02148

Matheran-Hill Railway

Neral - Matheran - A hill resort at an altitude of 800 meters (average height of 2500 feet above sea level), Matheran is 110 km. away from Mumbai on Mumbai-Pune rail route. A narrow gauge toy train from Neral (87 km. from Mumbai) meanders up the mountain, treating the tourists to a breathtaking view.

Mr. Hugh Poyntz Malet, the then Collector of Thane, discovered Matheran (meaning ''forest on the top'') in May 1850. Lord Elphinstone, the then Governor of Mumbai laid foundations of the future development of Matheran as a hill station. This 2-foot narrow gauge hill railway, connecting Neral was opened to traffic in 1907.

This hill railway was built by Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, who formed a limited company with an authorised capital of ten lakh rupees divided into 2000 shares. The railway is 20 km. (12.6 miles) long and has a gauge of two feet with a ruling gradient of 1 in 20. The track zig zags up the side of the hill, bringing into view the full beauty of the Matheran Hill.

There are four pairs of train running between Neral and Matheran. However, during monsoon i.e. June to September, only one pair of train is run to open timings.

Train Timings between Neral & Matheran w.e.f. 21/05/05

Down train timings Train No. down Station up Train No. UP train timings

07:30 601 d Neral a 602 08:40

09:30 a Matheran d 07:00

08:50 603 d Neral a 604 11:25

11:10 a Matheran d 09:45

10:15 605 d Neral a 606 15:20

12:10 a Matheran d 13:40

11:35 607 d Neral a 608 16:25

13:35 a Matheran d 14:45

14:10 609* New d Neral a 610 18:10

16:05 a Matheran d 16:25

17:05 611 d Neral a 612* New 19:20

19:00 a Matheran d 17:40

Only on Saturday, Sunday & General Holidays

GETTING THERE

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.

WHAT TO SEE

There are numerous viewpoints like Chouk, Panorama, Garbut Point, Louisa, Echo, etc., in Matheran.