Exploring Matheran on a budget!

Bored of the routine? Tired of going clubbing every weekend? Want to enjoy nature at it's best without burning a hole in your pocket? The thing you read after this will definitely have yes as an answer to all of these questions.

So, come Friday evening, my friends and I were discussing and cursing how skewed our lives have become and how badly all of us needed a break and that's when the idea of heading for a trip/walk was planted in our heads. With little research, we ended up zeroing Matheran for a single day trip and trust me, it was one of the best trips I've had in the longest of time.

How we reached?

We started quite early and took the 5:48 am train from Kurla to Neral; Kurla being the closest central railway station for all three of us. After about 90 mins of travelling in an almost empty train, we reached Neral from where we took a share cab that took us Dasturi Naka, beyond which no vehicles are allowed.

Cost: 160/person (40 pp return ticket between Kurla and Neral + 70 pp from Neral to Dasturi Naka+50 Entry-taken to maintain the place)

What we did there?

We had barely slept and needed some energy so we just stopped for a light breakfast after a short walk to the market from the the entry point. With some food and tea in our system we were all set to head to our first stop- Alexander point.

Alexander Point: 

Alexander point was a quiet, peaceful place overlooking the beautiful hills all around and that soothes your mind and body like nothing else.

Rambaug Point:

Yet another beautiful place; just reminds you of how nature can bring back the lost calmness in you.

Chowk Point:

Next up was Chowk Point that offered a view that is mesmerizing! I fail to find the right words to describe it's beauty. With some tea to give us company along with this beautiful view, we were surely lost in a beautiful zone.

One Tree Hill:

As the name suggests, this hill just had one tree and trust me, it looks beautiful! We would have missed getting closer to this place had our tour guide(a dog) not taken us there. Yes, a dog! He was with us all along the route and a chat with the tea stall owner confirmed that dogs in the area move around with you from a point to another, helping you explore places like never before and the least we could do is offer him some food. The happiness on getting some food knew no bound and he wagged his tail left, right and center. It brought a smile on our faces too. All this for something as low as 20 bucks.

Charlotte Lake:

Our next halt was Charlotte lake that is a bit commercialized and that wasn't something we were really looking for. None the less, it was a good halt and we refueled our exhausting bodies with some moderately priced food here.

Louisa Point:

After a good rest of over an hour, fueling our body with food and tea, we headed over to Louisa point. The incline from the lake it a bit tiring, but the visual delight you'll have when you reach there will take away all the tiredness. This one is my personal favorite, offering a view like none of the above mentioned places. Not taking away anything from any of the places, but this just calmed each and every nerve of my body. Hadn't been this calm in while. We sat there for over an hour; doing NOTHING! Like literally nothing, but just absorbing the beauty of nature.

Porcupine (Sunset) Point:

After spending over an hour at Louisa point and having a small chat with one of the tea stall owners on the way, we headed to Sunset point. The name pretty much explains everything and me being obsessed with sunsets, I just couldn't miss this! However, luck ran out and it was too cloudy to witness that. This place was beautiful too with hills all around.

We were there till 7 pm, which wasn't the best of things to do as it started becoming dark on the way back. While we were almost right on our path, couple of people had lost their way back and helping them out occupied quite a lot of our time, and we ended up reaching the market area around 8, completely exhausted! We were super hungry so decided to have some food before heading back. The railway tracks were pitch black so carry a torch/phone with flash light. 

We paid about 400/person for the food and snacks during the entire trip.

Our ride back to Neral was slightly expensive as compared to the morning ride. Share cabs compile only if there are 5 people or if you're willing to pay for 5 people i.e. 350 INR.

Total Damage*: 650/person.

All in all, Matheran is a great place to visit when you're low on budget and want to explore nature's offerings. 

Note: 

1. The train prices may vary as per the individual's location. 
2. Share cab subject to availability.
3. Entry charges as of 20th August, 2016.
4. Food charges subject to the restaurants chosen and can be avoided if you prefer homemade food. 
5. The entire trip was about 27KMs and it's not advisable to follow this route if you're not comfortable walking this long. Another alternate to this is taking a horse but the budget will rise up by another 1000 bucks and you won't be able to spend as much time as we did at each place. 
6. Be careful of monkeys! They are really aggressive in that region.
7. Don't let the craziest selfie of your life be your last selfie.Be smart, alert and careful! 
8. The content/images are my intellectual property and cannot be used without my consent.

Feel free to drop in your experiences, feedback, stories, suggestions, etc. 

Have a happy Trip!!