A Trip to Matheran, Maharashtra India

In March of this year, I had the opportunity to visit Matheran, a ecologically preserved plateau a couple of hours drive from Mumbai. It was a wonderful trip. This post will mostly consist of a small subset of pictures I took on the trip. I cannot thank my TCS colleagues enough for arranging the visit. I do not include any individual pictures except myself to preserve our team’s privacy.

The trip was to Matheran, an ecological preserve and resort area about 55 miles (90 kilometers) from Mumbai. It was a several hour drive in a nice bus. Here is an aerial view of the plateau of 2500 feet (500 meters) altitude that makes up Matheran. I was lucky to get this from a flight from Bangalore to Mumbai during the same trip.

Aerial view from a Jet Airways flight of Matheran

Aerial view from a Jet Airways flight of Matheran

Look below the fold for many more pictures and detail.

The bus trip here was typical. Traffic not bad by India standards but there were some bottlenecks.

India traffic on our way to Matheran

India traffic on our way to Matheran

Refreshments were available on the way, but we did not stop.

Treats for sale on the way.

Treats for sale on the way.

We arrived at the base of Matheran and were advised that driving our bus to the parking area was not a good idea. That was good advice. We took local cabs. The drivers knew the route well, so it was exciting, if you know what I mean. When you get to the parking area, you can take an occasional train, horses, or walk. We took horses. Horses do a lot of work on Matheran, and they are much smaller than the horses one sees in North America. These are pack horses who took off carrying concrete mix.

These little ponies work hard.

These little ponies work hard.

So we all took horses to the village.

My horse

My horse

I can drive.

Riding the horse.

Riding the horse.

Matheran has many, many horses. This picture is from the next day, but there are many more like these pretty beasts.

Matheran has many horses because motor vehicles are banned.

Matheran has many horses because motor vehicles are banned.

Once arrived in the late afternoon, we must see the sunset. So off to Sunset Point on horseback. My horse’s companion (I was not allowed to ride freely) was aggressive. So on the way out and back, we did a fair amount of trotting. I resisted the gallop as the saddle was a little loose. Sunset Point has a great view of, of course, the sunset.

Navi Mumbai and Mumbai

Navi Mumbai and Mumbai

A nice view of a reservoir to the north.

A look to the north

A look to the north

A couple was roasting corn for sale. Very tasty. The woman had a device that blew air over the coals to heat them and more quickly roast the corn.

An enterprising couple makes grilled corn.

An enterprising couple makes grilled corn.

The sunset was very nice.

Sunset

Sunset

Sunset

Sunset

We had a nice evening of karaoke, dinner, and scotch. After a wonderful breakfast at Adamo, the Resort (a great place to stay), we walked out into the village for our adventure.

Street scene in Matheran

Street scene in Matheran

We walked many paths to Echo Point.

One of many paths on Matheran

One of many paths on Matheran

Heading out to see the sights

Heading out to see the sights

Down to the view point

Down to the view point

The view was great.

Spectacular mesa view

Spectacular mesa view

Looking northwest

Looking northwest

We headed off toward the reservoir and Lord Point.

On to the reservoir

On to the reservoir

The reservoir

The reservoir

At Lord Point, there was a man who rented views through his spotting scope. We had five views and the best was this one. A rope ladder used by the locals to climb up the cliff and (according to the guide) collect honey.

A local ladder seen from Lord Point

A local ladder seen from Lord Point

Now on our walk, it was clear that many houses, retreats, resorts, and other developments had started and may or may not have continued on the mountain. Here is a set of pictures of the spooky gates and one garden from Matheran.

A spooky house

A spooky house

One of many spooky gates on Matheran

One of many spooky gates on Matheran

One of many spooky gates on Matheran

One of many spooky gates on Matheran

A garden with statuary visible from the path.

A garden with statuary visible from the path.

One of many spooky gates on Matheran

One of many spooky gates on Matheran

One of many spooky gates on Matheran

One of many spooky gates on Matheran

One of many spooky gates on Matheran

One of many spooky gates on Matheran

Our trek complete, we returned to Adamo, cleaned up, and headed for the train station. We did have ticket to get to the parking area, although the train to the base was cancelled due to an official visit by a government official. The walk through the town was pleasant, as was the short train ride.

Matheran Village

Matheran Village

Matheran Village

Matheran Village

Matheran Village

Matheran Village

Departing Matheran on the train

Departing Matheran on the train

We got a look at the train on our way down in the taxi.

The train that goes all the way to the base of Matheran

The train that goes all the way to the base of Matheran

And I got a good look at Mumbai on my flight to Bangalore.

Downtown Mumbai, from a Jet Airways flight to Bangalore

Downtown Mumbai, from a Jet Airways flight to Bangalore