A Colonial Relic at Matheran
On the long Republic Day weekend instead of doing a long trek, I spent my days walking in Matheran. My trekking bible – Harish Kapadia’s “Trekking The Sayhadris” mentions Matheran as:
“This is a well-known hill station and a paradise for hikers, particularly in the monsoon. It has many routes and one can always spend an enjoyable hiking day exploring these…The soil is red and on top excellent walking paths and a lake are the charms of Matheran.”
The ‘excellent walking paths’ cannot be stressed enough; there are several roads to explore around Matheran, either going deep in to the forest or skirting along the edge.
Since a cottage in Matheran has been in my family, I have been lucky to spend several holidays there over the years and they all have been memorable experiences. After all as my cousin Ameya who accompanied said where else, so close to Mumbai, could one experience such wilderness and yet have basic comforts at hand. The cold wave up in the north blessed us with good weather and early mornings were appropriately chilly.
I mentioned before in my blog that the late rains in 2009 have made all winter hikes great because there is still so much greenery around. Matheran was especially verdant at this time of the year.
Most of the crowds at Matheran indulge themselves in the noisy market which is best tackled only for meals. Some venture to a few popular points around the market or visit Charlotte Lake, Matheran’s primary source of water. If you leave early in the morning (even eight is fine if you can’t always get up early like us!) you can visit most of the points and enjoy the views in peace. We visited Louisa Point and Sunset (Porcupine) Point in the morning and enjoyed the wonderful views of the Matheran range right up to Mallangad near Kalyan. Since I had visited Prabal the earlier weekend, it was nice to view the fort from its more famous neighbour.
One of the evenings we did a long circuit to the south of Matheran. A lot of people go to Charlotte Lake but a few continue beyond. At the end of the Matheran towards Karjat lies One-Tree Hill which along with the adjacent Chowk point gives great view of the valley in between Matheran and Prabal, Irshalgad and the Morbe dam reservoir. We watched the sun set from One Tree Hill which requires a bit of climbing. We continued in moon-light to Rambaugh point and then finally trawled to the market. The route is beautiful for walking with thick forest around, a few old Parsi bungalows here and there in the woods. One of the hill station’s charms, are the old properties which are beautiful even when dilapidated; some, like Barr House near the lake are lucky to be converted into tasteful classy hotels.
As I walked through Matheran I also thought about all the hikes I have done there; Matheran in rains is always great. There are so many routes up; there’s one going down from almost every point! I am just listing a few that I have done: via Peb fort (Panorama Point), Bhivpuri Hill & Garbat point, Rambaugh Point, Sunset Point, Lord Point (Charlotte Lake), from Dasturi to Neral (not by the metalled road)….;if there are others feel free to let me know – I’ll try them this monsoon!
This post is dedicated to the house in Matheran and to my little furry friend there!