The only way in, without walking
Matheran is unique among Indian hill stations: no automobiles are allowed. Visitors arrive on foot, on horseback, by hand-pulled rickshaw, or on the toy train. That makes Matheran station (code MAE), at about 800 metres (2,625 ft) on a ridge of the Western Ghats in Raigad district, the end of the only mechanised route into town.
The line up from Neral
The Matheran Hill Railway opened in 1907, built privately by the Peerbhoy family. Its 2-foot-gauge trains start at Neral and wind 21 km up the hillside on gradients as steep as 1 in 20, at no more than 12 km/h. Intermediate halts include Jummapatti and Water Pipe before the line reaches Aman Lodge, about 3 km short of Matheran.
The Aman Lodge shuttle
Because the town's car park is at Dasturi, near Aman Lodge, a short shuttle service between Aman Lodge and Matheran became popular with visitors who come up by road. At times when the full Neral–Matheran service has been suspended, the shuttle has been the only train running, so check the current timetable on the train timings page before you go.
Relics on the platform
- An ML-class steam locomotive, No. 741, is preserved on a plinth at the station, a reminder of the steam era that ended in 1982.
- A bell dated 1907, inscribed "J. Warner London 1907", hangs outside the station office, as old as the railway itself.
Heritage hopes
The Matheran Hill Railway is on UNESCO's tentative list of World Heritage Sites, and many hope it will join the Darjeeling, Nilgiri and Kalka–Shimla lines that make up the Mountain Railways of India.
In car-free Matheran
- Red-earth paths lead to more than thirty viewpoints, including Panorama Point and Louisa Point.
- The monsoon brings mist and waterfalls, but also suspensions of train services; plan around them.