Nestled within the emerald green mountains of the Western Ghats, Matheran is a hill station as pretty as a picture postcard, known for its magical misty weather, mesmerizing panoramas and well-preserved colonial architecture here and there.
Overview
TravelTriangle’s Matheran sightseeing tour package will take you on a journey to explore one of the most captivating hill stations of Maharashtra. The reason Matheran has been able to retain its pristine beauty is owed much to the fact that private vehicles are banned in the area. The most you can travel up by car and park it is Dasturi Car Point near Neral. From Neral Railway Station leaves the famous toy train that has been restarted on its 21km journey to Matheran once again. The 3.5 hours journey takes the passengers through breathtakingly beautiful hilly sceneries right up to the front door of your destination.
Highlights
- Visit Connaught Peak, Panch Ganga Shiv Temple
- Enjoy boating at the pristine Venna Lake
- Visit the famous Karla Caves and Bhaja Caves
- Enjoy the view from Sydney Point, Parsi Point, and Kamalgad Fort
Itinerary
Drive up to Mahabaleshwar from your hometown and enjoy an evening of leisure
Start your journey to Mahabaleshwar from Mumbai or Pune in the afternoon. The journey to this quaint hill station is picturesque and full of amazing beautiful vistas. Upon your arrival at the hotel, check-in and retire to your room to unwind after the day’s journey. You could relax for a bit and then plan for the day ahead. Since the evening is at leisure, you could do whatever your heart pleases. Stay back at the hotel to check and experience what the property has to offer or head out to explore the town on your own. Once you are done, return to the hotel for overnight stay.
Set out to explore the hill station of Mahabaleshwar
The 2nd day will be all about seeing what Mahabaleshwar has to offer. After having breakfast, drive through the morning mist to the temples, lakes and enthralling viewpoints that the town is so famous for. As the sun starts to peek through the fog, you will visit the confluence of the five holy rivers – Krishna, Venna, Savitri, Koyna and Gayatri and the Panch Ganga Shiva Temple located here. You can offer puja here if you want. Next stop will be the pristine Venna Lake, which welcomes you with its beauty and boating activities to enjoy. A major inclusion of the day’s trip is Connaught Peak, which is the second-highest peak of Mahabaleshwar and offers a spectacular view of the entire town. Return to the hotel after this and enjoy overnight stay.
Enjoy driving through Panchgani and taking in the most of the historic hill station
You will not be staying in Panchgani, but it is too awesome a town to give it a complete miss. You will drive through Panchgani on your way to Lonavala on the 3rd day of the Matheran sightseeing package. If you think you have time, you can see the major attractions of the town like the volcanic plateau Tableland, lookouts like Sydney Point and Parsi Point and the historic Kamalgad Fort. Do not miss to taste ice creams, shakes, and strawberries in one of the many joints you will come across on the way. Arrive at Lonavala and you will get the evening to yourself to take rest and recharge yourself for the next day.
Visit the local attractions of Lonavala before heading towards Matheran
Day 4 is divided into two parts. The first part involves visiting the Karla-Bhaja Caves in Lonavala. They are not as famous as some other similar Buddhist cave-works in Maharashtra and not even half as commercialized, which makes them perfect serene destinations. Dating back to 2nd century BC, Karla is an impressive single cave, while Bhaja has multiple. You will see Lonavala Lake and some other points too before having lunch, grabbing your luggage and making your way to Matheran.
Explore the beauty of Matheran before leaving for home with memories
The main attractions of Matheran are mostly viewpoints. Louisa Point, Alexander Point and sunset from Porcupine Point are most attractive, and so is the crystal blue Charlotte Lake. You can do some souvenir-shopping if you want before departing for Mumbai. It will take a little more than 2 hours to drive to Mumbai from Matheran, over and above the toy train down to Neral.
Cost Includes
- Pick up and drop from the airport/railway/bus station.
- Accommodation on double/twin sharing basis.
- All breakfast included at hotels.
- All transfers and sightseeing by private vehicle.
- Driver’s bata, toll, parking, road tax, fuel charges All applicable taxes.
Cost Excludes
- Service Tax – 5% GST Extra.
- Any train, bus, or air price any more meals not listed in the package's contents.
- Any other destination not mentioned in itinerary.
- Any personal costs like phone, minibar, room service, laundry, etc.
- Any fees for services or activities not covered by the included.
- Additional fees during high season, long weekends, or festival periods.
FAQs
The cost of your Matheran sightseeing tour depends upon the duration of your trip. An ideal 5 days holiday to Matheran will cost between INR 23,000 to INR 26,000. This will include getaways to Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala, along with Matheran. The package cost must include leisure stays at 3-star rated properties, breakfasts, sightseeing tours, and transfers. You will be visiting the following tourist attractions such as Panch Ganga Shiva Temple, Venna Lake, Connaught Peak, Sydney Point, Parsi Point, Kamalgad Fort, Karla-Bhaja Caves, Louisa Point, Alexander Point, Porcupine Point, Charlotte Lake, etc. on this tour.
Matheran, the refreshing hill station in the Sahyadri range, serves to be a quick getaway for holidayers. However, if you are interested in a 4-5 days holiday then you can also sneak peek at the nearby hill stations especially Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala. You can get your itinerary customized according to your preferences and enjoy holidaying on an exclusive itinerary draft for you.
Matheran is a vehicle-free zone. You can take your car up to Dasturi Car Point and park your vehicle there, from where it is a 40 minutes walk to Matheran.
By road, you can take the Mumbai-Pune Highway and turn to Karjat Road, which leads to Dasturi Car Parking Point. By train, you can book one which stops at Neral Railway Station. From Neral, there is a narrow gauge toy-train that zigzags through the hills for 21km to reach Matheran.
