Trek to Matheran via Ladder Route with TMI On 24th Feb 2013

Place: Matheran

Height: 2516 feet.

Base village: Varosa

Time: 5 hours approx

Trek Leader: Vikram singh

Matheran is situated in the Matheran range of sahyadris at a height of 2516 feet. With more than eight to ten different routes, Matheran (2516 feet) is the ultimate destination for the trekker, naturalist and outdoor enthusiast. It is literally a forest on top of the hill (mathe means head and raan means forest). The dense forest cover, teeming bird life, long walks and flora and fauna make this an all-time favorite. The best part is that it’s pollution-free as no vehicles are allowed in the hill station.

While trekking up to Matheran hills from chowk, it’s a long flat walk and then steep ascend which in turn also have some risky rock patches. There are three ladders fixed on those patches. First ladder is made of iron while other two ladders are of wood and bamboo, thus making it very risky affair especially in Monsoon.

According to local legend, Shivaji rode up this route on horseback. Locals also call this route as Shivaji Ladder route.

About Shivaji S Ladder Information-Matheran

A path down to the valley from One Tree Hill point, which is a scenic spot, it offers picturesque views of the surrounding hills and is an ideal place for trekking. It is said that Chhatrapati Shivaji, the great Maratha ruler had usedthis path and hence the name Shivaji s ladder. It was discovered by Hugh Malet in 1850.

Matheran

Matheran is a popular place, both for the tourists and the trekkers. There are many routes to Matheran, other than the road or rail route from Neral. For example, one can climb up the Bhivpuri Hill from Bhivpuri station and go on to the Garbat plateau of Matheran.. One can also climb up the Shivaji Ladder point of Matheran, which can be approached from Panvel-Chowk-Varosa. But probably the most interesting route to Matheran is to climb Peb fort and then traverse to Matheran. This route goes all around Peb fort and then on to the saddle between Peb fort and Matheran, and then after a 6m rock climb, which can be quite slippery in the monsoon, one reaches the railway line from Neral to Matheran, under Panorama Point. From there one can walk on the railway line towards Panorama Point.

There are many popular "points" on Matheran. Some of them are the Echo Point, Louisa Point, Sunset Point, Monkey Point, Panorama Point and the One Tree Hill. The road from Neral to Matheran goes upto the car park area of Matheran. Beyond that motor vehicles are not allowed. From there the main railway station and the bazaar area (called Bazaar Peth) is 2.5km away in the south. Echo and Louisa Point are 3 and 4km respectively from Bazaar Peth, and One Tree Hill is a further 1km away from Louisa Point. All these points are south of Bazaar Peth. Panorama Point is on the northern tip of the Matheran, about 4km from the car park and 6.5km from Bazaar Peth. It gives a great view of the surrounding mountains. The entire north-south length of Matheran plateau is about 13km.