Hill Stations

Mumbai to Coorg by Road

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The retreating rains call for one last time to cavort under the cloudy skies and misty winds. Just the right time when we decided to road trip to south of India, to Coorg, in the Western Ghats of Karnataka. The first stop of our journey was Belgaum as we wanted to drive through the Anshi National … Read more

Panchgani, Maharashtra

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Panchgani is a beautiful 6-7 hour drive from Mumbai*. As you cross Pune, the drive gets better and you move ahead for another 1.5 – 2 hours and take a right. Then the ride up the hills is awesome, and best attempted on a weekday. Avoid the weekend, when Panchgani / Mahabaleshwar become as crowded … Read more

Manali – Rohtang Pass in October

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Late October isn’t the ‘touristy’ time to visit Kullu Manali, and that’s the very reason we decided to make it. After all, we had to see Rohtang Pass at least once in our lives. We found it a wee bit difficult to get a taxi to take us from the hotel in Manali to Rotang … Read more

Kasauli

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October 2010. Our short trip to Kasauli was also one of our most memorable. It’s a small cantonment town, and as such, retains the quintessential ‘quaint hill station’ flavour more than most hill stations. The place to stay is the Himachal Tourism Department’s Ross Common Hotel (an erstwhile colonial bungalow). It has the best views, … Read more

Matheran

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Walking in Matheran

Matheran is another quaint little hill station of Maharashtra, best visited on a weekday to avoid the mad rush. It is also claimed to be the only automobile-free hill station in Asia. You can’t drive your car into the town. Which means the transport in the town is by foot or mules. Still haven’t found a great place to eat here, but some of the walking trails are beautiful. The views are amazing, Maharashtra being such a beautiful state. Its best to walk around and discover your own ‘view points’.

Matheran Vista
The vew from Matheran in a poorly stitched panorama. The camera was an Olympus E20, one of the earliest DSLRs.
View from Matheran
Views from Matheran in the summer.
Walking in Matheran
One of the many walking trails in the Jungle at Matheran

Camera : An old Olympus E20.

From Wikipedia: Matheran is a Hill Station and a municipal council in the Raigad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a hill station in Karjat Tahsil and is also the smallest hill station in India. It is located on the Western Ghats range at an elevation of around 800 m (2,625 feet) above sea level. It is located around 90 km from Mumbai, and 120 km from Pune. Matheran’s proximity to many metropolitan cities makes it a popular weekend getaway for urban residents. Matheran, which means “forest on the forehead” (of the mountains) is an eco-sensitive region, declared by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India. It is Asia’s only automobile-free hill station.

[box type=”success” width=”100%” ]We have never stayed at Matheran, but ‘Neemrana’s Verandah In The Forest’ is an awesome place. Mumbai Office: Marathon Nextgen Innova 4th Floor, IT Park, Lower Parel, Mumbai-400013 Tel: +91 22 6146 3301, +91 90224 24054 Email: sales.mumbai@neemranahotels.com

There is also the ‘Fleetwood House’, built in 1871. Please call +91 9702851885 to inquire for rates or email reservations@fleetwoodhouse.com

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