An important word in Matheran is "side"

Before leaving South Africa I’d hurriedly planned an itinerary, but Matheran wasn’t on it. It was only when we had arrived in Aurangabad that Craig told me about what is said to be one of India’s most beautiful, and the smallest, hill station, Matheran located on the Western Ghats range. But it was too late to backtrack so we decided to spend a few days there on the way back to Mumbai.

Matheran is a plateau with a reasonably dense forest cover of 8 square kilometers in Sahyadris.

Venice and Matheran are probably the only places in the world where motor cars are banned.

Matheran literally means jungle on top, and at 805m, resting atop the Sahyadris Mountains the cooler temperature, less humid climate and dense jambol forest made it the perfect place to end our journey. Matheran's proximity to the two cities of Mumbai and Puné makes it a popular weekend getaway for urban residents.

And what makes it even more special is that vehicles are banned, with the exception of emergency vehicles. Not even bicycles are used. The only modes of transport are on horseback, by man-pulled rickshaw, or on foot.

To get there is an adventure in itself and the most exciting way is on the toy train. According to the guidebook the line was closed when, on July 26 2005, heavy rain and landslides caused around 70 percent of the railway lines to be damaged.

The so-called toy train is rated in the top five scenic train journeys in India so I didn’t want to miss it.

The roads of Matheran are not tarred and are made of red laterite earth, the dust getting into everything. In fact I came home to South Africa with red dirt ingrained into my feet.

Each road leads to a number of breath-taking points, about 33 of them, looking out from sheer drops to the plains below.

Buildings are scattered across the hilltop with the old, British-style architecture being preserved. Many of them have been declared heritage structures and Matheran has been declared an eco sensitive region by Unesco.

Matheran was discovered by Hugh Malet in May 1850 while he was climbing a path known as the Shivaji’s Ladder. He was the collector of Thane district.

Lord Elphinstone, who was the governor of Bombay, visited Matheran in 1855 and was mesmerised. He laid the foundations of the development as a future hill station. But it was the British who developed Matheran as a resort, to beat the summer heat in the region.

It is located about 100 km from Mumbai and has a population of about 5 250, however, the monkey population is higher, of both the red-faced and black-faced breeds.

Our overnight bus from Mapsa in Goa to Pune in Maharashtra, the capital of which is Bombay/Mumbai arrived 12 hours later at 7.15am.

The roads were coming alive and we were greeted by taxi drivers, unhelpful when it came to giving directions.

Bursting for a pee and crouching behind a car in the next road, I fortuitously came across the bus office. They were more helpful and gave me directions to the train station. Because of Craig’s heavy backpack we caught a taxi for the short distance, purchased our tickets and we had enough time left for breakfast.

The train left at 9.15 and thankfully there weren’t too many people on board, although there was a constant stream of food vendors passing by.

It was a fantastic journey, climbing hills with spectacular views and passing through tunnels. We arrived in Karjat at 11.15am and waited for the next train to Neral at 12.10.

Arriving in Neral at 12.35, the good news was that the Matheran line was re-opened in April 2007 after repairs at a cost of Rs2-2.5 crore. The bad news was that the next train would be leaving at about 5.30pm.

Reluctantly, we left Neral Station, which lies at the base of the hills, and caught a share-a-taxi service for the 21km drive to Dasturi Naka in Matheran, the last point at which cars may be left.

Being a seasoned traveller I took no notice of the blind turns and foot-to-brake co-ordination, but enjoyed the breathtaking views as we climbed.

The road turned out to be an engineering feat in its own right. It’s a steep climb, winding backwards and forwards, all the time gaining altitude with grinding, hot gears.

Having arrived at the entrance to Matheran we paid the Rs25 entrance fee. The town council is eco-minded and have banned plastic bags and they’re conscious of clearing other rubbish too, but sadly local people don’t have a civic sense and take no notice. The entrance fee is apparently used to keep the place clean and for water, roads and street-lights.

By this time, Craig and I had had enough of dirt, garbage and litter and we told many people to pick up what they threw away. Often this was met with a laugh, a smile or just plain rudeness. Even our hotel dumped the garbage down the hill at the back. I got into the habit of taking our rubbish to the dumpster on the main square.

Apparently the sewerage goes into soak pits.

It turned out to be a long walk to the centre of town and we stopped along the way for a drink before continuing. No wonder most visitors’ hire a porter or ride horseback, although the horses cause clouds of dust.

Sadly it was only towards the end of our stay that we learnt the important word “side”. When people hear this, they immediately move to the side of the road in fear of being trodden by a horse.

The horses are licensed and many are thoroughbreds who race in Mumbai. They looked in very good condition. The costs are: porter Rs160, cart Rs200, horse Rs120.

We negotiated a good deal for two rooms for four nights in a non-descript hotel just behind the main street, and this included the busy time of weekend.

As the muezzin called the men to worship, Matherna is very Muslim, we wandered along the main road to a park, immaculately clean and well-kept.

The Main Mahatama Gandhi Road is lined with shops of all shapes and sizes, that form the main bazaar. called Kapadia Market, it was set up by Mr. P.N. Kapadia in 1919, in the memory of his wife. You could shop around for the famous "chikki" sweet and local honey. There are other things of interest too, especially the footwear. Master craftsmen take orders for sandals, shoes or riding boots and are quick with their service. You could buy walking sticks, snacks etc. from the bazaar around.

At its centre is a statue of Hatatma Annasaheb Kotwal, honorary vice-president of Matheran Hill Station Municipal Council, 1941 to ‘42. He was a great patriot and selfless worker of the poor and downtrodden, being revolutionary by nature. He was shot in the jungle of Siddhagad in 1943.

The main square is a fascinating place with many restaurants from which there is always something to watch. We spent many hours here, playing cards while watching dogs threaten cows, ponies loaded with flour, building supplies, fish and more.

There are plenty of stalls selling footwear, chiki, fudge, honey hats and gambling. Behind all of this is a small but colourful marketplace.

Next day we bought goodies for a picnic before setting off on a long walk south, joined by a dog, to Chouk Point.

The forest is dense and beautiful, the trees lining the red road covered in fine dust, dotted now and then with large blue mormon butterflies - fairly common here to our delight.

The hiking here is plentiful with many forest walks leading to various 'points' but the best, that is those unfrequented by others, are Garbut Point, Panorama Point, Mary Point, Simpson Spring and Mount Berry. Coronation Point, to the south, marked the ceremony of King Edward VII in 1903.

At Prabal Fortyou can hear your own voice thrown back at you at Echo Point. One Tree Point, Shivaji's Ladder and Chowk Point are also worth a look. To the east, Rambagh lies just two kilometers away, looking straight onto Khandala and Karjat. You can see Chowk valley and the Ulhas river from Alexander Point. Khandala Point and Mount Barry are a couple of other worthy sight seeing spots.

There are lots of dried wildflowers lining the paths, which must be very colourful in season, with accompanying butterflies. Birds can be heard everywhere but they’re hard to spot through the dense foliage.

The panoramic vistas are a series of quixotically named points that are popular, if isolated, good sites for picnics.

We followed the red dirt road with a group of noisy kids close on our heels. Reaching the point we enjoyed the pollution hazy view across to Garbut Point, which we could see from our hotel, before the kids descended on us.

We decided to move on to enjoy our picnic in peace. However this was not to be. No sooner had we found a piece of shade with a view than we were surrounded by monkey’s intent on sharing/stealing our lunch.

It was at this point that the dog gave up on us, or maybe she felt threatened by the monkeys. We made our way to One Tree Hill with fantastic views, also hazy, to a dam below and a fingertip hill in the distance.

On our return journey we somehow came to be invited to see the ruins of a house from a bygone era, sadly neglected and yet still guarded.

On the way back we stopped at the Olympia racecourse where men played cricket. We then went on search of Charlotte Lake, the main water source for Matheran, but not a pretty place.

Passing through myriad roads in the central area we eventually found ourselves back in the heart of Matheran and purchased beer for our nightly sun-down routine of sorting out the worlds, and our problems and snacking on chips, nuts or whatever.

Eating was a problem because the restaurants cater to locals and are mainly vegetarian, a problem when you crave eggs.

We became regular visitors at Lord's Central Hotel, a wonderful place to stay with a swimming pool overlooking Garbut Point but way out of our budget.

It may not be the most luxurious and modern hotel around but it has charm and the owners bend over backwards to make you feel at home.

Apart from the pool there’s a small library, bar, dining room and a giant chess board. Costs per head are Rs.600-800/day (R1 000), which includes three meals, visit http://matheranhotels.com/

There is a entry fee of Rs 25 for visitors entering Matheran. The proceeds from this is used for the upkeep of the place considering its fragile ecosystem.

Matheran is an undulating hilltop cloaked in shady trees, that sprawls languidly at an altitude of 800 m. The journey involves an adventurous two hour ascent in a toy train. With food and drink vendors and monkeys jumping on and off, as the valley glides by sedately! Or a tough 11 km. hike through thick and shady forests. Matheran’s cliffs with incredibly steep drops to the plains below create stunning viewing points.

After supper and a few games of cards we would retire to our rooms, either together or on our own, to gorge on a cable movie.

Alternatively I would watch the millions of stars from the balcony, shining clearly like diamond s above. A sight that is never possible from India’s light-polluted cities.

In the morning we’d be woken to birdsong and monkeys trying to break into our rooms and steal whatever food we may have.

Craig has never been on a horse – what kind of mother am I? I’m no horse woman, although I’ve tried. Galloping is like speaking French – it looks/sounds effortless but it isn’t.

Next day we searched out a good deal for an hour or so of horse-riding, deciding to go to the northernmost Panorama Point.

We hadn’t gone far when Craig’s horse Krish decided to go a different way, but what made it so funny was that Craig seemed to be quite happy to go along for the ride.

Our leader, Naresh Gopat Sonarane gave me a few tips and suddenly everything came back to me and I started to enjoy the ride.

Once we reached Panorama Point we were thankful to climb off our horses and have a break. Our bums were already taking strain. The ride had been good, all the time following the railway track. We passed through the park gate, where many luxury vehicles were parked, surrounded by litter.

Panorama Point is just that, with views along the ridge to Porcupine Point, also known as sunset point, the place we planned to go to that evening. We also came across a gateway and a fountain, but never did find out why they are there.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and trying not to sit on our sore bums.

Later we bought a bottle of wine and some snacks to take with us to Porcupine Point.

When we arrived the place was already filling up and it wasn’t long before monkeys started to hassle us. The sunset was disappointing, as it sank into a haze of pollution.

Finally, it was time to leave. After breakfast at Lord’s Hotel we spent the morning playing cards before it was time to board the train.

We’d booked our seats when we’d arrived because they are limited and there are only three trains per day, 7am, 1.40pm and 4.25pm, costing Rs208 first class and Rs22 second-class.

It was an exciting ride, an engineering feat, winding around the hilltop before zigzagging down the mountain, crossing and re-crossing the road. The quaint little train chugs slowly for miles along this track. The toy train journey takes you through spectacular grassy hills sides, plains, sheer cliffs, plateau and thick forest cover. The season of breathtaking waterfalls, mist covered valleys, dew dripped greenery and floating clouds.

At one point we entered One Kiss Tunnel and on the way we stopped at three stations on the way - two on the ghat - Juma Patti Station and Water Pipe Station, named because the old steam engines used to be refilled here, and one near Dasturi Naka - Aman Lodge Station.

The Matheran Hill Railway was built in 1907 by Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, 1845 to 1913, and covers a distance of 20 km over large swathes of forest territory.

The Matheran railway was constructed between 1904 and 1907 at a staggering cost of Rs16,000 000, financed by Abdul’s father, Sir Adamjee who also owned ships, textile mills and the largest tannery in Asia.

The railway runs for 21km on 610 mm (2-foot) narrow gauge railway ascending steep slopes and has the sharpest curves out of all the hill railways and a gradient of 1:20.

DETAILS Matheran is closed during the monsoon season, 15 June to early October. Over weekends the place is clogged with visitors and day-trippers.

Climate: Temperatures range from 32 °C to 16 °C.

Tip: Divide your day into early morning walk, lunch, afternoon siesta and evening walk, or go horse-riding.

Getting there: By Air - the nearest airport is in Mumbai, which is about 100km away; Pune Airport is about 120km away.

By Train - The Sahyadri Express that runs from Pune to Mumbai is the only long-distance passenger train that stops at Neral.

By Road – Mumbai is 108km away and Pune is 120km, they are two major cities connected to Matheran by road.

Temperature: 16C in winter to 32C in summer.

Clothing: Loose cotton attire is suitable and comfortable during summer; in winter light woollens are preferred, sturdy footwear.