Matheran

Dated: January 07, 2012

My first trip to Matheran was as a student of St. Xavier’s College and since then I have been to Matheran several times. Every time I visit Matheran I find something new I had not seen or experienced before. When my friend Merwyn posted on Facebook his plans to visit Matheran on January 07, 2012 for a day trip I wasn’t sure if I’d want to go. More so since the trip was planned to start at 07:03 hours from Dadar station and I was scheduled for a night shift on Friday ending at 10:30 hours. Nevertheless when my cousin Savio expressed interest in going on this trip every other plan had to be dropped and the trip was ON. My wife Perpetua had a weekend off so she too agreed to join us for the trip.

The plan was to meet up at Dadar station and board the 07:03 local for Karjat. Merwyn and his friend were already at Dadar when we left from Andheri and we just about made it in time to catch the train. We switched compartments at Kurla to join Merwyn and his friend Fletcher and finally the group was together on its way to Matheran. We reached Neral in about 90 minutes and got to the business of getting ourselves a ride. A taxi booking counter is set up at 2 minutes walk from the station. Prepaid taxis cost Rs. 60 per head and each taxi (Maruti Omni Vans) would ferry 5 passengers per trip.

On the way up to Matheran

The way up is a beautiful ride and view is breath taking. During the monsoons this route is lined with beautiful waterfalls. These Taxis drop us at the Dasturi PT as vehicles are not allowed beyond this PT. We had Egg omelette and chai for breakfast at a restaurant run by an old couple.

Before leaving we picked up some water bottles and chips for the day ahead. The centrally located market place is 40-50 minutes’ walk from the Dasturi PT. If you are here for an overnight trip it is best to hit the market place first and get yourself a place to stay and cover PTs like Echo PT, Edward PT, King George PT, Cecil PT, Lord PT and Lumley Seat. These PTs are close to each other and if you start early you should be done before lunch. We however chose to visit the Garbut PT which was about an hour’s walk from the entry PT and would require us to walk back if we had gone to the market place first. With no intention of booking a place it made sense to visit Garbut PT first and then head to the market place for lunch.

Our trek to Garbut PT was long but the weather was perfect and no one seemed tired of the walk. The forest cover was dense and at times trail got us walking on the edge. The journey was exciting and the destination wasn’t any less.

On our way to Garbut PT we met Prakash and Anup who were also headed for Garbut PT. Prakash was a carrying a DSLR and was glad it was a sunny morning. He was enjoying his photography and offered to take some pictures for us. We exchanged emails and Prakash promised to send us the pictures later. I must state here I did receive the pictures and they have come good. Prakash is indeed a very good photographer.

We reached Garbut PT in an hour and half I believe. The PT offers a grand view of the plateau and the Garbut village below. We took some pictures, climbed a tree and then rested for some time.

We realised that we could see the Matheran market place across the valley and wondered how long it would take to get there walking.

Not sure of how long we would take to reach the market place we started on our way back. Our plan was to have lunch at a Vegetarian restaurant in the market area. Why Veg? Because Matheran not very popular for its Non Veg food. On the other hand local vegetarian food is awesome.

Our journey from Garbut PT to the market lasted a little over two hours and by the time we reached the market place it was time for lunch. The market place is a colourful sight with locals selling handicrafts, red hand pulled rickshaws parked all along and hotels banners on display on each side.

Merwyn guided us to a vegetarian restaurant he knew. The restaurant was packed but managed to get a table for us. The food like I said earlier was good and I especially liked the fruit salad. There was no limit on how much you can eat so the waiters would keep coming back to serve you more. It was a fun experience.

Refreshed we started on our way to Echo PT which s located southwest of the market. We walked for about an hour to reach the Echo PT.

The best time to be here is in the monsoon when mist covers the valley and gives you the impression of being over the clouds. But that’s not what Echo PT is famous for. People come here to scream out their name or their loved ones name and listen to its echo in the valley below. That’s how this PT gets its name. We noticed that a flying Fox cable was set over the valley adjoining the Echo PT and people were enjoying the experience.

From here we moved on to Charlotte Lake which is south of Echo PT and requires another 30 minutes of walking. This is a huge lake in Matheran and is the prime source of water supply in the area. When it overflows in the monsoon it results in a huge water fall which drops over the cliff somewhere between Lord PT and Cecil PT. There is river crossing organised here both over the water fall area which was now dry and over the Lake. The crossover distance over the lake was much larger than the one we had seen over the valley at Echo PT. However we did not see any participants here. Across the lake there are a few joints that serve refreshments. The trails to Lord PT and One tree hill start from here but go in opposite directions. An ancient Pisarnath temple is located at this junction.

Since Lords PT is closer we decided to cover that first and then return to head towards One Tree Hill PT. In terms of view this Lords PT appeared a lot similar to Echo PT. There were a couple of vendors selling cold drinks here and another chap had set up telescopes here offering tourists a view of the valley at a price. Peppy recollected being here before and having seen the Prabal fort through the telescope. We returned to the Pisarnath temple junction and halted for some fresh lime juice.

While we waited for the juice to arrive we inquired about the trail to One Tree Hill (OTH). We asked a couple of locals and were informed that its only another 15 minutes from here going by my past experience a villagers 15 minutes equal our 60 minutes.

With that information we set off on our trail to One Tree Hill PT. The trail was long as expected but beautiful nevertheless. On the way to OTH PT we made a halt at Belveder PT.

Most points in Matheran are clearing on the edge of the plateau and so was this one. However compared to the Echo PT and Lords PT this was one was a much larger clearing and yet without any fences. As you enter this area there is a water fall on the left and towards the right there is a clearing with huge rocks on the edge. It was nice and sunny so we stopped by for some pictures. I did a little exploration and found a tiny fresh water spring in the vicinity.

It was now getting close to evening and we realised that we not only had to reach OTH PT before sunset but we also had to return to the market place before it gets too dark. Those who have been here for overnight stays know that in Matheran it gets dark immediately post sunset due to the dense forest cover. Also there is not lighting on the trails beyond the market place and it gets difficult on the trails at night.

We started towards OTH PT in a hurry and hoped we could get there before sunset since it was already past 1700 hours. It had been almost two hours now since the villager had told us its 15 minutes from the junction and we were hoping it wasn’t too far away now. And it wasn’t. We reached the OTH PT in another 10 minutes as we walked out into the clearing we noticed the sun wasn’t too far from the horizon.

Getting back was still on our mind until we saw something we couldn’t believe. A young 20 something girl was climbing the One Tree Hill as if she was a mountain goat. I rushed in for a closer look and noticed another foreigner sitting at the base of the hill. He was here with his girl friend who was a trained mountaineer and although he was climber himself, he didn’t want to risk climbing the hill. He was honest to admit he wasn’t as good as his girl friend at mountain climbing. I decided to capture her descent on video and am posting it here for all to see. I’d like to place one piece of warning here: If you are not professionally trained in mountain climbing, you shouldn't try this yourself.

Soon after her descent the South African couple left and we didn't have much time on our hand too. We left soon and hoped we make it to the market place before it’s too dark. We knew our way back and we walked fast enough to get back in time. At the market place Peppy, Savio and I discussed and decided to stay back for the night since both I and Peppy had Sunday offs and Savio was anyways on a vacation. Merwyn and Fletcher had other plans so they continued homewards to Mumbai. We parted ways with Merwyn and Fletcher and immediately got to the task of getting ourselves a place for the night. We managed to find one that cost us Rs. 400 per head excluding food. The room was fine and after refreshing was set out for dinner. Savio and Peppy were keen on having Non – Veg for dinner so we inquired and found ourselves a restaurant that looked decent and we hoped the food was good. It wasn't and we cursed ourselves for even taking the chance. It was a waste of money. We headed back to our room with no intention of eating anything now. I remember the first time I had come to Matheran we had stayed at a hotel with Muslim owners the food there was defiantly good. That’s however a long time ago and I don’t remember that place now. Until I find out which hotel that was that I am not eating non vegetarian at Matheran.

We then retired to our room and exhausted by the trek all day we were soon sound asleep. We woke up early next morning and checked out at 0930 hours. We had omelette for breakfast at a nearby restaurant and were soon on our way back to Mumbai.

This was my third trip to Matheran and I am already planning my forth trip scheduled for this weekend if I get some company. This time however I plan trek up from Karjat. This it would be my first trek on this route and am looking forward to it. Let me know if you are interested. Join me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rogaciano.fernandes and of course follow my blog.

CiaO! Will get back soon from another trip with another tale.

Mandapeshwar Caves

Dated: November 20th 2011

Our next stop for day was at the St. Bonaventure Church, Erangal followed by Mandapeshwar Caves. St. Bonaventure Church is an Old Portuguese Church located on a beach at Erangal village. I had planned to revisit this Church on second Sunday of January, since the Church celebrates its annual feast on the day and then post a detailed blog on the feast. However I couldn't make for some reason and now will have to wait until next year.

We then returned to Malad station taking the same bus route that took us to Madh fort and from there took a rickshaw to Mandapeshwar caves. These caves are probably the smallest I have seen so far and are located on S.V. road just behind I.C. Church. Although it not clear to me but my Google research tells me these caves were probably built by Buddhist who at some point deserted these caves. The Caves were then under Portuguese, Maratha and British, rule and occupation at different times and all have used these caves for varied purposes both religious and military. It was a few Bandraites who built the Immaculate Conception Church in 1888 at its present location.

I managed to capture a few pictures before the onsite police security stopped us from clicking any further pictures. When asked we were informed that the caves are under a religious dispute and therefore no pictures were allowed.

Below is an informative article that appeared in Times Of India with some interesting details of Mandapeshwar Caves.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Mandapeshwar-caves-still-in-the-dark/articleshow/29460030.cms