Matheran: A Relaxing Hill Station

Travel Journal: Taking a break from the heat in Matheran, India

Tough to get to and far off the tourist track, the shady, quiet and secluded hill station of Matheran was a welcome break from the chaos of traveling. While it may be a popular weekend spot for Indians, we were two of the only foreigners there and reveled in that fact. Autos of any kind are prohibited in the town and it is the last place in India where hand drawn rickshaws are legally allowed. The only people aggressively trying to get us to spend money were the guys renting horses to take us to the town’s famous lookout points or the rickshaw drivers.

The town itself made us both think a lot of Carrie’s town in Nicaragua in terms of the look of the local houses and the main strip of “downtown” which makes a small town back home look big. All roads and paths were a bright red dirt, so our pants were in a constant shade of maroon. Other than wander around and take the horse ride, which we did and saw a beautiful sunset, there was not much to do in town, so we just relaxed. Matheran also has a miniature railroad that takes you up and down the mountain to the train station below, so our final memory of the town is a tranquil two hour slow moving ride gazing out at a vista that went on for miles.