Matheran

Matheran is a popular place, both for the tourists and the trekkers. There are many routes to Matheran, other than the road or rail route from Neral. For example, one can climb up the Bhivpuri Hill from Bhivpuri station and go on to the Garbat plateau of Matheran.. One can also climb up the Shivaji Ladder point of Matheran, which can be approached from Panvel-Chowk-Varosa. But probably the most interesting route to Matheran is to climb Peb fort and then traverse to Matheran. This route goes all around Peb fort and then on to the saddle between Peb fort and Matheran, and then after a 6m rock climb, which can be quite slippery in the monsoon, one reaches the railway line from Neral to Matheran, under Panorama Point. From there one can walk on the railway line towards Panorama Point.

There are many popular "points" on Matheran. Some of them are the Echo Point, Louisa Point, Sunset Point, Monkey Point, Panorama Point and the One Tree Hill. The road from Neral to Matheran goes upto the car park area of Matheran. Beyond that motor vehicles are not allowed. From there the main railway station and the bazaar area (called Bazaar Peth) is 2.5km away in the south. Echo and Louisa Point are 3 and 4km respectively from Bazaar Peth, and One Tree Hill is a further 1km away from Louisa Point. All these points are south of Bazaar Peth. Panorama Point is on the northern tip of the Matheran, about 4km from the car park and 6.5km from Bazaar Peth. It gives a great view of the surrounding mountains. The entire north-south length of Matheran plateau is about 13km. For pictures, follow this link.