.My Travel - Matheran
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Dates Visited
♦ Been here in October 2012 with someone I loved, and
♦ on 17, 18 February, 2019 with an acquaintance;
Matheran - Review
Matheran is a beautiful and pristine place with simple people. They don't allow vehicles upto the main town, and that's what has kept the atmosphere beautiful. You can move around on foot or ride horses.
A very beautiful, simple hill station. First been here on the 6,7-Oct-'12 weekend and it was great fun. Then, on the 17, 18-Feb-'19, on a short and sweet trip.
There are a total of 38 points to visit (that's as of 2012. In 2019, I was told 17 points for the evening Horse Ride), but we visited the top 8-10 ones on horse. Took us around INR 700/- per head per horse in 2012, and INR 1,300/- per person per horse in 2019. They don't allow two people on one horse.
The market is near the Narrow Guage Railway Station, which is in the center of the town.
It's a nice place if you just want to go there and relax without expecting too much of lavishness. It's more like a town than a typical "hill station".
When the train is "closed" it means it is closed from Neral (foot of the hill) to Matheran. Otherwise, it runs on the top like a shuttle, every 10 mins to and fro.
There's no hustle-bustle like Mahabaleshwar, in fact you cannot compare these two hill stations. I love the both of them equally.
People are cooperative, but the Food that I had in 2019 (two meals and one snack) was very bad. I couldn't have tried all the restaurants during my short stay.
How to reach: Take the ND Studio's well-constructed road (while driving from Pune). The shortcut was under construction and in very poor condition.
We stayed at "Sun & Shade Resorts" in 2012, and at "Hunjar House" in 2019 (both reviewed below). The surprise was Wi-Fi availability.
Sun & Shade Resorts - Review
Worth it! Been here during October 2012
A pretty decent resort, around 1.5-2 KMs from Dasturi Point, and 1-1.5 KMs before the railway station (which is in the heart of Matheran). It's 1.5 KMs outside Matheran, but walking upto the railway station / market / center of the town is very much manageable and fun, in fact.
ROOMS: Spacious, clean, well-maintained. The back-side rooms have a valley view, whereas the front-side view is the garden view, which is simple and nice too. There's a swimming pool on the back side of the resort, viewable from the back-side rooms. They clean it daily, but the water is not as crystal clear as one might expect.
FOOD: Pure Veg. only. Pretty good food. The cooks can be a bit cleaner themselves though 😊
STAFF: Courteous, helpful. They're not seasoned/professional, but they're very helpful and good souls.
TARIFF: Roughly Rs. 2,500/- to Rs. 3,000/- per night per couple per room. We stayed there from Friday night to Sunday evening and paid around Rs. 6,000/- All meals inclusive.
LOCATION: Outside the small Matheran town, but not too far. It's between Dasturi point (parking place for vehicles) and railway station (which is in the heart of the town)
OVERALL: It was a good experience. The tariff was fine, considering the overall location and room experience. They can keep the resort a little more maintained and the staff can be a little more "uniform" (they're just simple village untrained boys), however, that's negligible, because they're courteous. They still don't have a website and tripadvisor does not have them listed yet. However, you can ask anyone if you wish to stay there. Just follow the train route from Dasturi point, and after around 2 KMs you will find it on your left 😊
Hunjar House - Review
Worth it! Right next to the Market. Been here during February 2019.
A pretty decent lodge, at around 100 metres before the railway station / market (which is in the heart of Matheran).
ROOMS: Spacious, clean, very well-maintained. The back-side rooms have a valley view, whereas the front-side view is the market / railway line, which is fun.
FOOD: Can be ordered in your rooms, if required.
STAFF / CONTACT: Fateh Khan (7066946836) was courteous, helpful.
TARIFF: Roughly Rs. 1,200/- per night per couple per room. We stayed for only one night.
LOCATION: Very convenient.
