Bus Ride to Mahabaleshwar a Hillstation on the western ghats of Maharashtra

Monday, November 10, 2014

If you have been reading my previous blogs, you would have known by now that I decide on treks at the last moment. So there is hardly any time left for planning. 

Reservation Tickets to Mahabaleshwar

Just two days in advance we decided to go visit Mahableshwar a hillstation on the western ghats of Maharashtra. As it was just the two of us, we decided to head off without asking people on social networking websites. Car would not be economical and hence we decided to travel by public transport.

We had decided to visit Pratapgad and the various points of Mahabaleshwar on Day One and Panchgani on Day Two. As per my google search results. 

This ain't the sunrise but the moon

As we were planning to travel by public transport, TIME would be a major concern for us. But we decided to go with the flow.

I checked out the timings of the State Transport buses by MSRTC (Maharashtra State Road Transport) in the night to Mahabaleshwar, they were as follows 8:30 PM, 9:30 PM and 10:30 PM departing from Mumbai Central depot. There was also a bus to Mahableshwar departing from Borivali Bus Depot at 10:30 PM. 

Mahabaleshwar Bus Depot

But for Manohar to come all the way from Chembur would be a hassle. So we settled for Dadar as the pickup point as the bus from Mumbai Central would halt there to pickup passengers. 

Bus to Mahabaleshwar from Mumbai

As it was a six hour journey we were advised to do a reservation of our tickets. Else we would have to travel standing in case the bus was packed. in case unreserved then seats are on first come first serve basis in the bus. Being the last bus we didn't want to take any chances. Manohar got the booking done for the two of us at Chembur ST bus depot. 

Map

We met as decided at Dadar near the bridge as all buses that ply out of the city stop here for passengers. At 10:45 AM the bus arrived. This was not the typical Lal Dabba (Red bus). We sat on our seats and the bus took off.. After collecting the balance of the passengers at Vashi and Panvel the bus final headed to Mahabaleshwar. It was dark outside so we were not sure as to what route it would take. 

Bus Time table, but the bus frequency is as per season as confirmed by Inquiry Desk

The seats of the bus are not very comfortable but if you want to save on time and money then this is your best bet.

The ST bus drivers race on bumpy pothole tar roads as if they are racing on a Formula One circuit. The roller coaster ride is fun in the start but gets painful later as you are continuously swaying in the bus.All that I could hear was the sound of the engine and all that I could feel was the chilling wind that still managed to get to us even though the windows were shut. In spite of all this I still manged to get some sleep in the bus. Manohar was wide awake all the time.

White board showcasing information on the tour packages offered by the State Transport in Mahabaleshwar 

Most of the passengers were covered in woollen and wrapped in shawls. 

The bus does a couple of stops on the way. I woke up when we reached the Mahad depot at 3 AM. I looked out and I noticed the moon light that had lit up the land around. Finally the bus raced on the curvy roads of the ghats, for a change there was no over taking. It was a wonderful sight to see. The hills and valleys were lit up and the sight was extremely beautiful, Sadly the light was not enough to capture on my camera nor on my phone.

Tickets for Pratapgad Darshan and Mahabaleshwar Darhan

After we crossed the ghats, Mahabaleshwar had finally arrived. By the time we reached the depot, the time was 5:15 AM on my watch. 

It was so cold, I was literally shivering in my jumper. Rubbing my palms against each other was not helping me keep myself warm. There was no bonfire either so I had to do light exercises to generate some sweat, which helped me keep warm. 

Manohar and Me

There are private buses plying to Mahabaleshwar also. But a mere six hour journey would take us nine hours to reach, had we taken that option. As these buses spent around three hours in Mumbai collecting prospective passengers. Such a waste of time. 

The next way of travelling here is off course by personal vehicle.

A couple of sign boards at the bus depot helped us plan our day. Else we would have to rely on taxis here. Taxis are a expensive affair too. 

Wada Pav for breakfast at ST canteen in the Depot premises

There was a ST bus plying to Pratapgad at 9:30 AM only to return back at 1:30 PM. The same bus then doubles up as the Mahabaleshwar Darshan bus at 2:30 PM showing tourists around the various points in Mahabaleshwar. 

Remember the bookings for both the buses start at 8:00 AM sharp. So do book your tickets. As not standees are allowed in the bus

Now how do we kill time. As we had nothing to do for the next four hours. We decided to head out out of the depot and all that we saw were closed shops and hotel agents asking us if we want a place to stay or freshen up. 

Misal for breakfast at ST canteen in the Depot premises

We headed back to the Mahabaleshwar ST Depot. There is a ST Canteen in the Depot premises, which serves Wada Pav and Misal. Both of the dishes were wonderful. The canteen serves south indian snacks and scrambled eggs too. The timings being 7 AM on wards.

The Mahabaleshwar ST bus depot also houses bathrooms and restrooms (indian style). Manohar tried them, clean and decent. Just a headsup incase the need be.

Awaiting the bus to Pratapgad.

Panorama Point in Matheran

Friday, March 16, 2012

This trek took place in the rainy season last year. It had been raining heavily for a couple of days, so my office colleagues and I decided to go on a trek to see some place in all its green glory.

We decided to go to Peb fort which is located near the hill station of Matheran. We gathered at Kurla station on the Central line and decided to board the last local for Karjat. We had to reach Neral station on the Karjat railway line.

Eight of us boarded the 1.07 am train at Kurla. We made a lot of noise in the train. Since this was the last train for the night, it was packed with people who later started alighting at their respective destinations. Initially we laughed and joked a lot, but then we began to get tired and started taking short naps as were going to reach Neral at 2.45 am.

Our plan was to wait at Neral station until dawn and then set out. A trek is no fun if you get lost in the dark, and we were here to have fun. We tried to sleep but the mosquitoes and the outstation trains with their sirens kept us awake. Finally we decided to make a move at 4 am.

Now we hadn’t carried any torches so our only hope was that the moonlight would help us to tackle the dark roads and that the rains would spare us.

But what is a trek if there is no adventure?

View from atop Matheran

No sooner did we step out of the station than it began to rain. The rains started playing hide and seek with us. It was very chilly.

We missed the electricity tower where we were supposed to take a detour and carried on in the dark night with no moonlight to guide us on. :(

Even after walking for around two hours we were still climbing. A few locals told us that in order to visit the fort, we would need to go along the railway line.

There are two ways to get up Matheran. The road takes you up in 30 minutes’ time though the climb is very steep and the mini-train takes around 2 hours. So if you have lots of time to spare, then you can certainly take the rail route.

The railway line is closed during the rains for fear of landslides. The line had already been closed a week when we got there.

Trekking to Panorama Point via the railway line

On this trek we got to travel by both the road and the rail route. At indicator 135 NM we boarded the railway line and decided to walk along the stretch. We walked for two hours and all we saw was the track ahead and the scenic view around. By this time the sun had risen and the rays were breaking the clouds and falling on the face of the earth. It was a beautiful sight to see.

I immediately got my camera into position. At which point my fellow-trekkers began to pose for pictures and cribbed loudly about my unwillingness to click their snaps. I had to remind them that I had brought the camera along to shoot nature pictures.

Finally there was a sign there indicating the way to Peb Fort, which apparently is now on a different hill range altogether. We were very pleased to see it. On the Peb hill range, I could see a temple with a table like structure in the distance.

Kadyavarcha Ganpati

We saw the access route to the fort. It seemed difficult to cross, but promised adventure. We decided to head to Matheran as the track would take us there. On the way there was an entrance to a temple. But we could not locate any temple.

The entrance had a bell and had a series of steps leading somewhere. We didn’t follow the steps to see where they were leading to. I wanted to go, but most said NO so I obeyed the majority and we decided to head atop to Matheran.

After walking for around 30 minutes we were taken by surprise by something we saw on the left hand side. There was this huge statue of Ganpati (standing erect) painted on a rock surface with a rat at his feet. This is known locally as Kadyavarcha Ganpati, as it is on the corner of the hill.

Panorama Point

The statue was around 2 storeys high and looked stunning even from a distance. Then we realised that perhaps the steps near the temple led to this place.

After walking and enjoying the scenic view we reached the entrance of Matheran. It was 10.30 am. We had a few refreshments there and decided to visit Panorama  Point, the highest point on Matheran. We walked through thick vegetation and finally landed at Panorama  Point. Most of us were dead tired as we had walked for almost seven hours at a stretch to reach here.

Atop Panorama  Point we could see Peb Fort in the distance and the Ganpati too. It was just awesome. After that we boarded a jeep which took us down to Neral station within 30 minutes. I was back home at 2:30 pm. This was certainly my shortest trek ever.

Matheran (Four Points and a Lake)

Tuesday, March 6, 2012



This trip was special to me as it was the first one that I had organised under the banner of merwynsrucksack the adventure co. I decided to go to Matheran as it was close to Mumbai and promised to be an easy trek.

I put up an announcement regarding my upcoming treks on my blog to see if anyone was interested in coming along.

Shawn signed up along with his wife Perpetua and a cousin, Savio. Shawn had earlier accompanied me on my trip to Madh Fort, Erangal Village and Mandapeshwar Caves. You can check out that post HERE. http://merwynsrucksack.blogspot.com/2011/12/madh-fort-erangal-village-and.html

Flature, who had never gone on a trek before, also joined us.

Group Pic - Savio, Shawn, Perpetua, Me and Flature

As planned, we decided to board the 7.03 am train to Karjat from Dadar on the Central railway line. Matheran is a hill station which can be accessed from Neral station, two stations prior to Karjat. Alternatively you can also get there from Panvel, but this route is a bit difficult, so most people opt for the first route.

The train was 10 minutes early. Luckily Shawn and his party were in time to board the train. They managed to board the bogie next to the one Flature and I was in. Later at the next station they got into our bogie.

Our bogie was crowded, and everyone was loaded with bags.  I guessed that they were going for an outing, either a day trip or an overnight trip. And all were having fun in their groups. Luckily we got a place to stand near the entrance of the bogie, where we made ourselves comfortable, in spite of the crowd.

I was hoping to get a good shot of the sunrise, but the train was moving so fast that I could hardly get a clear shot. I needed to take many pictures before I finally got a good shot.  Yippee.  

Matheran

As we were standing at the entrance of the compartment, we could feel the cold wind against our jumpers and monkey caps. The winds were so strong that they penetrate through our woolen gear and made us shiver from within.

Finally at 8.40 am we alighted at Neral station. Half the compartment exited with us. Moving through the crowd, we got on the overbridge that would take us outside the station.

Matheran is clearly visible from Neral, as you travel towards Karjat,. It can be sighted on the right hand side. As it was broad daylight we could see the hill range. If you travel at night, the only way to recognise the hill range is by spotting two street light poles up at the entry point to Matheran.

There are four ways you can reach up here, mini train, cab, private vehicle and by walking.

View on the way to Garbut Point

I don’t know the price of the train ticket but I know that it takes 2 hours by train to reach Matheran and the station is near the Market area. But the view from the train is amazing, much better than the road view.

The Taxi stand here is very well organised. Each taxi accommodates 5 people. The cost of each seat is Rs.60. The arrangement is such that two passengers sit with the driver and the remainder sit on the back seat. The person sitting next to the driver sits in a weird position with the gear box right between his legs.

There was complete chaos at the taxi stand when we got there. Our driver had been given a receipt to take us up the hill, but we couldn’t locate him. We thought we had lost him in the crowd. As we were trying to locate him, far away in the distance we saw a hand waving out to us and then calling us. That’s our ride, yelled Shawn and we went on to board his taxi.

The taxis are mostly Maruti Omnis. For those of you who live outside India and are unfamiliar with this vehicle, let me inform you that it looks like a rectangular box on wheels. It is not a very comfortable ride but it is the only way up if you don’t have a vehicle. The other option is to trek it up. It is a 3-hour climb up to the entry point to Matheran, which is Dasturi Car Parking.

Toy Train to Neral from Matheran

The roads are not in good condition but they are not bad either, though bumpy rides are guaranteed no matter how powerful your vehicle’s shock absorbers may be. The taxi will take you up the winding roads with the hill on one side and the deep valleys on the other. On the way the road was so steep that the driver had to switch gears to climb the hill. Finally after 30 minutes we were up the hill.

We immediately decided to have breakfast at the entrance, at Dasturi Naka. Here we were welcomed by monkeys. Their number kept increasing. After a few photo sessions with the monkeys we decided to go have our breakfast at a small joint outside the entrance.

This place is very small and it serves omelet pav, vada pav, tea, packaged water and packed snacks and biscuits. No coffee is served here, sorry coffee lovers. Inside all over the place there are instructions put up stating “Self Service.”

As we were the first to enter we immediately placed our orders for 5 omlette pavs (a pav is a loaf of bread) and 4 teas. Flature did not want any tea.

Me at Garbut Point

Soon after we arrived it seemed as if the hotel was suddenly bustling with people. The owners of the hotel should thank us, as we gave them so much business. We had our omelet pav and tea and headed off to Matheran.

While making the omelet, the cook asked us if we wanted chillies in our omelets to which we all readily agreed. It was only later that we found out that all the chillies were in the omelet which was served to Flature.

After having our breakfast we headed off to buy our entry ticket to Matheran at a cost of Rs.25 per head. At the entry we were given a map of Matheran with the points and places to see in Matheran.

No vehicles are allowed in Matheran. The only modes of transport are walking, horseback and hand cart. Though there is an ambulance up there in case of emergencies.

View from Garbut Point

You can hire horses and go up to see the points, but only the famous ones will be shown to you. If you plan to see all the 33 points up here then I guess walking would be the best option and a trip of 2 to 3 days is required to cover Matheran in its entirety.

The roads are all muddy and dusty. The moment a horse passes by dust rises. The place is covered with red soil. In the rains, the ground gets rather mucky and wet. For a change it was not at all cold up here. The weather was pleasant.

We set off to see Garbut Point. This point is isolated like the Panorama Point in Matheran. It is a good 1½ hour journey to Garbut Point passing through the jungles and the edges to reach this point. Finally we were here.

The view was amazing; we could see Matheran i.e. the market area of Matheran at one end and many other hill ranges. Just the five of us were here. We were totally isolated and the feeling of being on top of the world gripped me.

Hamlets below the Gabut Point

From there we could see another village a few feet below on another hill range with an access road from there. Someday I’ll go camping there, I thought to myself.

After a few photo shoots we headed off the Market area. Again it took us another 1½ hours to reach the Market. Market area, as the name goes, means a place where everything is available, i.e. footwear, fast food joints, crafts etc and places to stay.

As it was lunch time we headed off to Gujarat Bhuwan Hotel, to have our lunch there. As we were going to do a lot of walking I chose this place as it serves unlimited veg thali for just Rs. 200. But the timings are 1130 hrs to 1400 hrs.

Our lunch consisted of 3 vegetables, dal, rotla (type of chapati), puri, rice, papad, and samosa and fruit salad, unlimited servings. The food was very good. We enjoyed it.

Flying Fox at Echo Point

We then set out to see the other points nearby. All the points are far away from one another. It is to be noted that all of Matheran cannot be viewed in one day. But it was ok. We then headed off to see Echo Point.

One the way to Echo Point we met another school friend of mine, Hansel who happened to be Flature’s first cousin. He had come there with another friend. He told us that they had trekked for 3 hours from Neral to Matheran.

The view is the same from most of the points; it’s just the angle which changes, but if you love hills and panoramic views then you will surely enjoy Matheran.

The locals have put up flying fox, valley crossing and Burma Bridge facilities all over the place. But the rates charged are extremely high. I don’t think the ride is worth the cost. But for first timers it ok if they want to do it.

View from Echo Point

There was a huge crowd at Echo Point. People were trying to see if their voices really did echo. We passed up the opportunity and walked on the edge of the cliff to reach Charlotte Lake. We walked on the dam. The water level was quite low. During the rainy season, the water overflows from the dam into the valleys below.

After crossing the dam we went on to see Lords Point. The view from here was also good. There were some rowdies here, who were a competition to the monkeys as they kept swaying from the trees for their photo sessions.

On the way we kept ourselves refreshed by having lemon juice. The locals charge extremely high for the same. We had one at a price of Rs. 20 per glass. But it was ok, need of the hour.

After inquiring with the locals we headed off to see some more points. It was around 4 pm. As it was winter when we visited Matheran, we knew that it would get dark by 6 pm. That meant that we had only another 2 hours at our disposal. Then we would have to head to the market. There are no street lights in Matheran other than the market area.

Charlotte Lake

We walked and walked, to meet a group coming from the front telling us that they couldn’t locate any point and so they had turned back. That did not dampen our spirits and we headed off to see the points. After about 45 minutes we reached Belvedere Point. We checked the same on our map to find out how far we were from the Market area.

Again we were rewarded with an amazing view of the hill range all around. Quickly we moved ahead to see the other point at One Tree Hill.

One the way to One Tree Hill we met two foreigners on horseback who overtook us. One Tree Hill is beautiful. It is a very small hillock on the edge of the cliff with one tree on it. I saw the hill and thought that no one could climb up there.

But I was wrong. One of the foreigners who had overtaken us climbed up there; though it was steep she still managed to go up there. What was mind blowing was that, she was dressed in a kurta, and wore glares on her eyes and chappals on her feet. And she carried a handbag. Later she told us that climbing up was easy, but while getting down she had to rely on her rock climbing skills.

View from Lord Point

She told us that just a small patch of rock was difficult on the way. None of us dared to follow in her footsteps. Savio and Flature were keen to go, but we dissuaded them as they didn’t have any rock climbing skills. I told myself that the day I learned how to do rock climbing, I would come back here.

Finally after covering One Tree Hill we decided to head back to the Market area as it was 5.30 pm. After walking for an hour we were finally at the Market Area.

Perpetua, Shawn’s wife, was tired from having walked for 7 hours and so she along with her husband Shawn and Savio decided to stay back. We respected her decision and Flature and I headed off to Dasturi Car Parking.

Now it was dark and we didn’t have any torches with us. But it was a full moon day so we went off to the car parking area under the moonlight. We walked to the train tracks as we were under the impression that the trains don’t ply at that time.

View from Belvedar Point

All of a sudden we heard the sound of engines. We wondered where the sound was coming from. Suddenly we saw the train approaching us and we stood by the side to watch the train go by.

Soon we were at Dasturi Car Parking and from there we boarded a taxi to Neral station. Again within 30 minutes we were down. We picked up some food and water for our journey back to Mumbai.

One Tree Hill

Up there we had seen Garbut Point, Echo Point, Lake Charlotte, Belvedere Point and One Tree Hill. Though it took its toll on our legs we still enjoyed the trip.

Thanks to Shawn, Perpetua, Savio and Flature for making this trip a memorable one.