Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai

Tripoto
15th Jul 2017

I am privileged to have been to many interesting places. Many times, people ask me about my favourite place. Well, here is my answer – if you ask me to choose one place where I would like to go back again and again and again, it has to be Matheran.

Matheran (literally ‘forest on the forehead’ of the mountains) is the smallest hill station in India. The unique thing about the place is that there are no vehicles allowed – you can either walk or take a horse. This keeps the hill station in its pristine state.

Located at a distance of just 90kms from Mumbai and 120kms from Pune, this place is no less than heaven on earth. Though most people come in the winter, I always love to go there during the monsoon (which actually is the off-season) to enjoy the pitter-patter of rains and the sound of the flowing streams. Long walks getting drenched in the rain is the best part of being there.

We took a train a train from Hyderabad to Karjat and then a local train to Neral. There are lots of local taxis that can take you to Dasturi Park, the last point beyond which no vehicle is allowed.

We stated walking…

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 1/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

The toy train from Neral to Matheran is closed during the monsoon. Fortunately, the service from the station – Aman Lodge (about a kilometer from where the taxis are allowed) to Matheran was operational. We decided to walk and meet the train halfway.

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 2/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

We checked in our hotel – The Byke, one of the best places to stay in Matheran. We bought some chikkis on the way. They are not locally manufactured but sourced from Lonavala.

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 3/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

And as we expected the rains got heavier and heavier. It was a bliss watching the heavy downpour.

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 4/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

Day 2

We started our walk the next day. There was a light drizzle.

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 5/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

The rains gained in pace.

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 6/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

The view from Belvedere Point was absolutely breathtaking.

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 7/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

A village down below.

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 8/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

We saw a ‘water-rise’ – the wind was so strong that the water was not falling down, it was rising up!

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 9/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

The roads were filled with a carpet of green shrubs.

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 10/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee
Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 11/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee
Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 12/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

Day 3

There was heavy downpour the whole night and we expected the same to continue today.

The scene, when I opened the door… There were monkeys around looking for shelter.

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 13/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

There is no better time to give a hug than this weather.

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 14/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

Today was magical! Rains and mist all over!

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 15/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee
Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 16/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

The Charolette late, which had almost no water yesterday, was now looking beautiful.

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 17/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

A shot from train…

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 18/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

The trip was not over though! Descending the hills was another experience.

Photo of Matheran in Monsoon – A Heaven near Mumbai 19/19 by Saurabh Chatterjee

We finally reached Neral and then to Karjat to take our train back to Hyderabad.

Thank you for reading. I will soon be back with another interesting place. You might like to read my previous posts.

This article is written by Saurabh Chatterjee. He is a travel photographer and a photography trainer. He strives to ‘make every camera-owner a great photographer through his Photography workshops and Photo Tours and Photo Walks