Matheran

Matheran माथेरान
Hill station
Detailed map of Matheran
Matheran Location in Maharashtra, India
Coordinates: 18°59′12″N 73°16′04″E / 18.9866°N 73.2679°E / 18.9866; 73.2679Coordinates: 18°59′12″N 73°16′04″E / 18.9866°N 73.2679°E / 18.9866; 73.2679
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Raigad
Government
• Type	Municipal Council
• Body	Matheran Hill Station Municipal Council
Area
• Total	7 km2 (3 sq mi)
Elevation	800 m (2,600 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	5,139
• Density	730/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Marathi
• Spoken	Marathi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	410102
Telephone code	02148
Vehicle registration	MH-46
Nearest city	Karjat

Matheran माथेरान is a hill station and a municipal council in the Raigad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a hill station in Karjat Tahsil and is also the smallest hill station in India. It is located on the Western Ghats range at an elevation of around 800 m (2,625 feet) above sea level. It is located around 90 km from Mumbai, and 120 km from Pune. Matheran's proximity to many metropolitan cities makes it a popular weekend getaway for urban residents. Matheran, which means "forest on the forehead" (of the mountains) is an eco-sensitive region, declared by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. It is Asia's only automobile-free hill station.^[1][2]

There are around 38 designated look-out points in Matheran, including the Panorama Point that provides a 360 degree view of the surrounding area and also the Neral town. From this point, the view of sunset and sunrise is dramatic. The Louisa Point offers crystal clear view of the Prabal Fort. The other points are the One Tree Hill Point, Heart Point, Monkey Point, Porcupine Point, Rambagh Point, and more. To stay there, there are plenty of hotels.There are a lot of Parsi bungalows. Beautiful old British-style architecture is preserved in Matheran ^[3]. The roads are not metalled and are made of red laterite earth. There are many "points" (viewpoints) in Matheran which give a panoramic view of the plains below.

Soil and rocks

Geographically the rock types are being solely composed of Deccan trap with inter trappeans of Cretaceous, Eoceuerage and laterites of still younger age. The parent element is Basalt, which has given rise to secondary rocks, known as laterite. The laterite predominates in the hills and almost cover the hill tops, therefore in the hill region the hard exposed surfaces of the laterite shows red gravelly earth. The soil has a vermicular or pisolitic structure and contains much water. Over almost the whole hill-top there is little soil cover. The topmost layer of rock is a soft porous iron-clay, through which, by the beginning of the hot season, the whole rainfall has drained.

History

Matheran in 1911

Matheran was identified by Hugh Poyntz Malet, the then district collector of Thane district in May 1850. Lord Elphinstone, the then Governor of Bombay laid the foundations of the development as a future hill station. The British developed Matheran as a popular resort to beat the summer heat in the region. Matheran is the birthplace of famous freedom fighter Veer Bhai Kotwal. He was born on 1 December 1912 in a Barber family. State Govt. has built a monument in his memory. The Matheran Hill Railway was built in 1907 by Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy and covers a distance of 20 km (12 mi), over large swathes of forest territory^[4]. The Matheran hill railway, also known as Matheran Light Railway (MLR), was inspected by UNESCO world heritage site officials but failed to make it to the list as a World Heritage Site. India's other Hill Railways like the Darjeeling Railway, the Kangra Valley Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway are already on the list.^[5]

Forest and Vegetation

The forest type of Matheran is Semi evergreen forests^[6]. The trees are evergreen, making the plateau forests very dense and even congested in places. The luxuriant growth represents the climatic climax of the forest. The laterite, porous soil along with very heavy rainfall mixed with dense fog for 4-5 months has resulted in unique flora rich in diversity on the plateau. The forests show vegetation in top, middle and ground storey. The trees form a cover over large variety of shade loving herbs, climbers, ferns and mosses. The Forests of Matheran has attracted many botanists who have studied the flora Flora of Matheran. They are Smyth J.Y.(1871), Birdwood H.M. (1886) and (1896), Cooke T.( 1887-1901), Woodrow G.M. (1897-1901), Irani N.A.(1962), Satyanarayann & Mudliar(1959), Vartak, V.D.(1966), Kothari & Moorthy( 1993)^[7].A good collection of the dried plants is deposited in Blatter Herbarium, St. Xavier's College, Bombay, Mumbai. Matheran has a huge number of medicinal plants and herbs.Matheran has been declared an Eco-Sensitive zone (ESZ)by the Union Environment Ministry in 4 February 2003 ^[8]and can be called a Health Sanatorium in itself.The declaration as ESZ has led to the stoppage of developmental activities and construction of hazardous industries^[9].

Conservation

The vegetation of the area depends on the type and depth of the soil. Due to poor soil depth, the vegetation on the edges of the plateaus is poor. Due to heavy rainfall, dissected hilly terrain and excessive leaching of the soil, the exposed areas become less fertile and become less moisture retentive, resulting in shallow rooted vegetation. It is required to plant trees to protect the soil cover from losing its valuable humidity and fertility. The winds are very strong and blow from west or southwest during monsoon and also dry winds blow during the three months from January to March. These winds tend to shear and bend the plant parts and absorb the moisture from the plants.

Wildlife

The town also has a large monkey population, including bonnet macaques and Hanuman langurs. The nearby Lake Charlotte is the main source of Matheran's drinking water. Inside the forest animals like leopard, barking deer, Malabar giant squirrel, fox, wild boar, mongoose are found.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[10] Matheran had a population of 5139. Males constitute 58% of the population and females 42%. Matheran has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is 66%. In Matheran, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.Languages spoken include Marathi, Hindi, and English.

Geography

Matheran is located at 18°59′N 73°16′E / 18.98°N 73.27°E / 18.98; 73.27.^[11] It has an average elevation of 800 metres (2,625 feet).Matheran lies in an elevated region, enjoys a cooler and less humid climate which makes it popular during the summer months. Temperatures range from 32 °C (90 °F) to 16 °C (61 °F).

Transport

Matheran is well connected to Mumbai (100 km) & Pune (120 km) by rail and road, while Neral is the nearest rail station. The Matheran Light Railway (MLR) offers limited seats for each trip. You can even hire a local van to travel till the Dhindi Point. From Dhindi Point you have to walk for about 30 minutes along the railway track to reach Matheran. The only form of automobile allowed in Matheran is an ambulance operated by the Municipality. No private automobiles are allowed in Matheran. Within Matheran transport facilities available are horses and hand-pulled rickshaws.People who cannot walk, are suggested to contact the Neral railway officials to check whether the toy train is operating or not. Matheran has untouched nature, so don't make any kind of pollution for that still running of automobile or personal vehicle is prohibit. In Matheran you will get horses as a maily for transport. Because of landslides during the rain fall, the toy train services may be terminated temporarily. The nearest airport is Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai that is located around 100 km away from Matheran. Matheran has a narrow gauge railway station in the town center. The old Matheran Hill Railway offers several daily trains to Neral. The toy train connected to the mainline rail route at Neral Junction. Neral Junction is well connected by local trains from CST along the CST-Karjat route. The train covers a distance of 12 miles in an hour thereby allowing the passengers ample time to soak in the beauty of the surroundings.The IRCTC conducts tour packages for the railway trip^[12] Any Pune bound train from CST(Mumbai) reaches Neral in approximately two hours.to get there you have to take train from Mumbai to Neral junction;from Neral to Matheran by narrow gauge trains that depart at 8.40am, 11.00am, 5.00pm. Trekkers prefer to travel by State transport bus from Panvel to Dodhani ( 15 km). From Dodhani it is an hours trek to the sun set point of Matheran. This trek is very safe and easy to walk. Many trekkers prefer it during monsoon.This path passes through forest area, with lots of streams and lush green trees.

Places of interest

Louisa Point

There are altogether 28 points, 2 lakes, 2 parks, 4 major worship places<ref>https://www.holidify.com/places/matheran/<ref> and a race course to visit in Matheran. It takes about 2–3 days on your feet for a complete tour of all the points. Important points are Alexander Pt., Rambag Pt, Little Chowk Pt, Big Chowk Pt, One Tree Hill Pt, Belvedere Pt, Olympia Race Course, Lords Pt, Charlotte Lake, Pisharnath Mahadev Mandir, Celia Pt (a water fall mouth), Echo Pt., Porcupine Pt (Sun Set Pt), Panorama Point (Sun Rise Pt), Khandala Pt, Madhavji Garden & Point, Matheran Railway Station, Louisa Point, Mayra Point, Pisarnath Temple, Matheran Shiv Mandir.View points like monkey and echo are famous for steep cliffs, deep ravines. One day trekking to vikatgad is an adventurous experience along the cliffs and deep ravines.

List of trees Growing in Matheran

Gallery

• 
  The pathways
• 
  The trek route through one tree hill
• 
  Tourist at Charllotte lake
• 
  The forest
• 
  The Toy train
• 
  The Veer Kotwal Garden
• 
  Sunset point in rains
• 
  Steep hills around the Matheran

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matheran.

• Matheran travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Matheran Hill Railway Schedule at India Rail Info
• Neral to Matheran Light Train Timetable
• Fresh attempts to get heritage status for Matheran Light Rail - Indian Express (14 January 2013)