Some places ask you to slow down. Matheran leaves you with no choice.
Unlike most hill stations, the journey truly begins only after your vehicle stops. Cars are allowed only till Dasturi Car Park, the last motorable point before Matheran. From there onwards, you walk. Or ride a horse. Or take an e-rickshaw where available. Either way, you leave the noise of engines behind and enter a world that has remained remarkably unchanged since the British declared Matheran an automobile-free hill station.
Even bicycles are practically absent. They are discouraged because they can collide with horses on the narrow pathways. Walking isn’t just the safest option here – it’s the most rewarding one.
How to Reach Matheran
There are two popular ways to reach Matheran.
The first is by driving up to Dasturi Car Park, parking your vehicle, and walking into town. The walk itself becomes part of the holiday.
The second, and perhaps the more memorable, is to travel to Neral and board the iconic toy train to Aman Lodge. From Aman Lodge, you can continue on foot, by horse, or by e-rickshaw.
At Dasturi, dozens of horses wait patiently for visitors. Every horse has a name. Ours were called Badal and Raja.
Interestingly, all the horses are male. They are brought from Nashik, kept in pairs because they form close bonds with one another, and spend the tourist season carrying visitors through the forests and viewpoints of Matheran.
Checking Into Hope Hall
We left Pune around 1 p.m. and, after negotiating weekend traffic, reached Matheran around 4 p.m.
As always, I stayed at Hope Hall, run by Maria, someone I’ve known over many visits. Hope Hall isn’t luxurious in the conventional sense, but that’s precisely what makes it special.
Old wooden furniture, sprawling lawns, giant trees, flowering plants and timeless hospitality give the property a warmth that’s difficult to find in modern resorts. It truly reflects the spirit of Atithi Devo Bhava.
Our room cost just ₹2,500 for the weekend – remarkably reasonable in a hill station where hotels can become prohibitively expensive during peak season. If you’re travelling on a budget, lodges often offer far better value than larger resorts.
The Heart of Matheran
As evening descends, Matheran’s market comes alive.
The town centre is vibrant, bustling and full of life. Families, honeymooners, trekkers, college students and horse riders all converge here, creating an atmosphere that’s both festive and relaxed.
The markets are famous for handcrafted leather products, hats, local honey and beautiful accessories.
One handbag especially caught my eye. Handmade flowers had been stitched all over its surface, making it resemble a blooming garden. It was exquisite – a true piece of craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, I had already run out of cash.
There was a Union Bank ATM nearby, but it had no cash. Mobile networks were weak, digital payments were unreliable and many shops preferred cash anyway.
That experience taught me one lesson I’d happily pass on: carry extra cash when visiting Matheran, especially during the tourist season.
Walking Through Paradise
If you’re planning to visit Matheran, prepare to walk.
A lot.
By the end of the day, my travel partner and I had each completed nearly 23,000 steps.
Starting from Charlotte Lake, we walked to Pisarnath Temple, Cecilia Point, Echo Point, Honeymoon Point, Malang Point and Louisa Point.
Many visitors choose horses, but exploring on foot allows you to appreciate every tree, every valley and every bend in the forest trail.
By evening we were exhausted.
After a brief rest at Hope Hall, we headed once more towards Sunset Point. We even crossed Paymaster Park before realising that there is only so much the human body can endure.
Sometimes turning back is the wiser adventure.
Street Food and Small Pleasures
My travel partner enjoyed an ice gola while I began with rabdi falooda before surrendering half of it because it was simply too sweet.
Later, I tried another gola with kala khatta, kacchi kairi and pineapple.
Here’s my advice: never mix flavours with kala khatta. It dominates every other flavour. Pick just one, and you’ll enjoy it much more.
We also sampled freshly made ice cream. My travel partner chose chikoo while I went with strawberry.
Dinner ended with a comforting bowl of vegetable Maggi.
Simple food somehow tastes extraordinary in the mountains.
Living Alongside Monkeys
One thing every visitor should know: Matheran belongs as much to the monkeys as it does to us. And they are experts.
They don’t merely steal food. They’ll grab your cold drink bottle, expertly unscrew the cap and calmly drink it themselves.
Keep your bags zipped, hold your snacks firmly and never underestimate their intelligence.
Early every morning, monkeys race across the rooftops, becoming nature’s own alarm clock.
Waiting for Sunrise
The following morning, I woke before dawn and walked to Khandala Point, just opposite Hope Hall.
[Years ago, when I had stayed at what was then Laxmi Lodge (today’s Laxmi Resort), I had witnessed another unforgettable sunrise from there. Both locations offer magnificent views.]
College students had already gathered quietly, waiting.
The eastern horizon slowly transformed into an artist’s palette where reds blended effortlessly into pale blues and soft whites.
Then came the miracle.
First, a tiny orange streak appeared behind the clouds.
Then the upper curve of the sun emerged.
Slowly, almost ceremoniously, the full orange sphere rose above the horizon. The colour seemed deepest at its crown and brightest near its base, glowing against the valleys and forests below.
For a few fleeting minutes, everything stood still.
Watching the sun rise is one of nature’s oldest daily rituals, yet it never loses its ability to humble us.
Standing there, I instinctively felt like bowing my head – to Mother Earth, to the Sun God, to the extraordinary privilege of witnessing such beauty.
Within moments, the soft orange transformed into brilliant daylight.
The show was over.
But the feeling stayed.
The Journey Back
After breakfast, we packed our bags, paid Maria ₹5,000 for our stay and I gifted her a copy of my poetry collection, Whispers of the Soul.
Leaving Matheran proved almost as challenging as arriving.
The toy train, with a capacity of around 90 passengers, had a waiting line stretching nearly two hours. Each person can purchase only four tickets, making the queue move slowly.
The e-rickshaw queue was even longer.
Rather than spend hours waiting, my travel partner and I walked down to Aman Lodge in about thirty minutes before beginning our drive home.
Final Thoughts
Matheran isn’t about luxury resorts or speeding from one attraction to another.
It’s about walking.
It’s about forests untouched by traffic.
It’s about horses named Badal and Raja, old colonial bungalows, bustling bazaars, handcrafted leather goods, fresh honey, mischievous monkeys, simple food, unforgettable sunrises and conversations that happen only when life slows down.
Come with comfortable shoes.
Carry cash.
Start early.
And leave enough time to simply walk.
Because in Matheran, the journey isn’t between two points.
The journey is the destination.
In Matheran, every path asks you to slow down. Somewhere between the forest trails, the sunrise and the silence between footsteps, you realise that the destination was never the point. The walk was.
