The Aug 15 hike is the peak of my monsoon trekking season; there are always few outings after that generally overwhelming experience. Personally end August and September are a wonderful time to trek when the flowers are out and crowds are thinning in the hills around Bombay. Nevertheless we were just not able to get out this time and soon it was time to bid monsoon goodbye.
Almost every (good trekking) year there is at least one hike to Matheran and this time somehow I hadn’t made it there in the rains. So when the chance came up to go to Matheran for a weekend stay I was upbeat. It had been a bit stressful at work so I was looking forward to some computer-free time.
The last time I wrote about Matheran I had an excellent time walking around. This time too I had wonderful walks in the forest which was still green. Better still, Navratri is the best time to visit Matheran because Gujarati tourists are busy with the festival and the hill station is almost empty and peaceful. Plus as a bonus, in contrast to Mumbai’s sultry heat, Matheran was cool and pleasant. Driving on Saturday from Panvel, we were engulfed in dense fog and as Matheran neared we left the fog behind for partially cloudy skies which meant the views were great from the top.
It has been a wonderful trekking year (after a couple of bad years) with good rains. In between the walks, we would rest in Paymaster Park (which is the highest point in Matheran) which was overgrown with wild flowers and grass. Sitting on a park bench, lazing in the mild sun, thinking about the good times while the air was heavy with the buzz of bees, mating dragonflies and flitting butterflies, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the monsoon trekking season.
Incidently when I returned back to Bombay it rained and it continues to on and off.....
Almost every (good trekking) year there is at least one hike to Matheran and this time somehow I hadn’t made it there in the rains. So when the chance came up to go to Matheran for a weekend stay I was upbeat. It had been a bit stressful at work so I was looking forward to some computer-free time.
The last time I wrote about Matheran I had an excellent time walking around. This time too I had wonderful walks in the forest which was still green. Better still, Navratri is the best time to visit Matheran because Gujarati tourists are busy with the festival and the hill station is almost empty and peaceful. Plus as a bonus, in contrast to Mumbai’s sultry heat, Matheran was cool and pleasant. Driving on Saturday from Panvel, we were engulfed in dense fog and as Matheran neared we left the fog behind for partially cloudy skies which meant the views were great from the top.
It has been a wonderful trekking year (after a couple of bad years) with good rains. In between the walks, we would rest in Paymaster Park (which is the highest point in Matheran) which was overgrown with wild flowers and grass. Sitting on a park bench, lazing in the mild sun, thinking about the good times while the air was heavy with the buzz of bees, mating dragonflies and flitting butterflies, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the monsoon trekking season.
Incidently when I returned back to Bombay it rained and it continues to on and off.....