Matheran; Dec 10/11, 2011

Probably the most talked about weekend hangout near Mumbai, next to only Lonavala, I have been hearing of this place for quite sometime. But for some reasons I always had mixed feelings for the place. My expectations were pretty low when we decided to go to this famous mountain re-treat on this weekend. 

For the first time we decided to travel by train instead of usual car/cab which was fun in itself. Just after 1.5 hrs we started our ride uphill from station to the town of Matheran and I soon realized I was grossly underestimating the place. The town was at considerably higher altitude than I had expected and the weather changed accordingly from dry/hot to pleasant cool breeze. 

Matheran felt like a town I have read about in books during school time. Small clean roads, small shops, lot of hawkers and everyone at peace. We ate a lot of tangy stuff on our way to the hotel. The highlights of our hotel stay were evening swimming in chilling waters with amazing view of the ghats below and lunar eclipse under way above. The whole setting was breathtaking. We also had a great time playing various games in the main bazaar and winning prizes.

 

Next day we went to see lake point and echo point and did some horse riding. Matheran is a perfect weekend getaway especially if you plan to stay for the night as you get to enjoy the thing you miss the most in a metro like Mumbai – Eternal silence.