25 May 2013 - we had planned to leave Friday but due to the onset of a slight attack of the Delhi Belly (origin unknown) departure was postponed until Staurday morning. The change also meant that rather than traveling on India Railways Central line we took the car !
Matheran itself is in the hills some 3 hours from Mumbai and was home to the Memsabihs of the Raj as they escaped the heat of the plains. Today it is a traffic-free town reached by its own narrow guage railway built in 1903 by an Indian entrepreneur!
Murtuza dropped us at the car park below Mathan and after we negotiated a porter to carry our overnight bags and we headed up the hill 8 kms along the track to the Verandh in the Forest our overnight 'Heritage' stop.
As it happened as we set off we heard a whistle behind us and the afternoon 'up train' chugged into view. Although the narrow gauge is as it was in 1900 the steam trains have now been replaced by two diesel engines which pull and push the train the two hours from Ner
Our destination was a 'heritage' hotel the Verandah in the Forest.
Matheran itself is in the hills some 3 hours from Mumbai and was home to the Memsabihs of the Raj as they escaped the heat of the plains. Today it is a traffic-free town reached by its own narrow guage railway built in 1903 by an Indian entrepreneur!
Murtuza dropped us at the car park below Mathan and after we negotiated a porter to carry our overnight bags and we headed up the hill 8 kms along the track to the Verandh in the Forest our overnight 'Heritage' stop.
As it happened as we set off we heard a whistle behind us and the afternoon 'up train' chugged into view. Although the narrow gauge is as it was in 1900 the steam trains have now been replaced by two diesel engines which pull and push the train the two hours from Ner
Our destination was a 'heritage' hotel the Verandah in the Forest.