Holidaying for me is generally a long list of things I need to accomplish: book a train, find some viewpoints, and set an alarm so I can watch the sunrise. By the time I get home, I usually need another holiday! Matheran was the first place that reminded me to take it slow and steady.
Matheran is a little hill station located in the Western Ghats mountain range, approximately 90 km from Mumbai. There are a few things that make Matheran unique, but the best part is its simplicity: no cars, no motorcycles, no auto rickshaws, and nothing but serenity and the sound of trees.
Travellers searching for hotels in Matheran can choose this hill station for a slower, more relaxed pace of travel.
A hill station that slows you down structurally
Matheran lies at around 800 m above sea level. A narrow-gauge toy train takes you from Neral to Matheran in about an hour, and this experience alone sets the tone of this little village.
Once you arrive, the only ways to get around are walking, hiring a horse, or taking a hand-pulled rickshaw. However, it is this slow, relaxed pace that sets this town apart.
MG Road, Matheran: Where the weekend actually begins
MG Road is the main stretch in Matheran. It is lined with chikki stalls, small eateries, and old colonial-style buildings. The road is relaxed enough that you can walk in the middle of it without looking over your shoulder.
I arrived on a Saturday morning. I bought peanut chikki from the first stall I saw. I ate half of it before I reached my guesthouse. That set the tone for the entire weekend.
Panorama Point: The view that earns its name
Panorama Point is the westernmost tip of Matheran’s plateau. It is considered the best viewpoint in the hill station, and on a clear morning, it is easy to see why.
I went just after sunrise. The Sahyadri range spread out in a wide arc in front of me. The light was soft and golden.
Echo Point: Better than it sounds
Echo Point often gets dismissed as a tourist gimmick. While it has a reputation for being crowded, the view here is genuinely worth the walk.
Two curved rock faces face each other across a deep valley. You shout, and the echo comes back cleanly. I watched a small child scream her own name into the valley and collapse laughing. It was one of the better moments of the trip.
Charlotte Lake: The quiet one nobody rushes to
Charlotte Lake is a small reservoir about two kilometres from the main market. It is not dramatic. There is no big view, no sharp drop, no Instagram moment.
What it has is stillness. The water barely moves. The trees around it are thick and green. I sat on a rock nearby for a while and simply enjoyed the calm. After a full morning of walking, that felt like the best part of my day.
What I ate between the trails in Matheran?
At Matheran, you can eat well and simply: Vada Pav from a street-side stall by the market, Misal Pav at a small Dhaba with proper spiced gravy and Masala Chai from a tea stall on MG Road with a view of nothing in particular and a lot of things that count.
Then there is the Chikki, which I must add deserves its own mention; there’s a classic peanut chikki, but a cashew chikki can be delightfully addictive. I brought home three packets!
Why Matheran works when other hill stations don't?
While most hill stations are just commercially popular, Matheran does not try to fit this frame.
You simply walk, you eat, you sit at a viewpoint watching the clouds rolling in over the coast, and by Sunday evening, I had done very little, and for the first time in months, I could say I felt genuinely rested.
That is a rarer thing to find than any viewpoint.
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