Everything about Matheran totally explained
Matheran is a city and a
municipal council in
Raigarh district in the
Indian
state of
Maharashtra. It is a
hill station in
Karjat Tahsil and is also the smallest hill station in India. It is located on the
Western Ghats range at an elevation of around 800
m (2,625
feet) above
sea level. It is located at, around 90
km from
Mumbai and about 120 km from
Pune. Matheran's proximity to the two cities makes it a popular weekend getaway for urban residents. The name
Matheran means either "forest on top" or "mother forest".
Matheran was discovered by
Hugh Poyntz Malet, the then
district collector of
Thane district in May
1850.
Lord Elphinstone, the then
Governor of Bombay laid the foundations of the development as a future hill station. The
British developed Matheran as a popular resort to beat the summer heat in the region.
Matheran is connected to the town of
Neral which lies at the base of the hills. A tar road connects Neral to Dasturi Naka which is 11 km (6.8 miles) from Matheran. In order to maintain Matheran's uniqueness, no vehicles are allowed beyond this point. The other
mode of transport is a gauge
narrow gauge railway, which links the town to Neral. Neral also has a
broad gauge station which is on the busy Mumbai-Pune route.
Neral is well connected by railway line with
Karjat being the nearest Junction. The
Matheran Hill Railway was built in
1907 by Sir
Adamjee Peerbhoy and covers a distance of 20 km (12.4 miles), over large swathes of forest territory.
In the floods of July 2005, around 70% of the railway lines were damaged and didn't reopen until April 2007 after repairs at a cost of Rs 2-2.5
crore.
Matheran has been declared an
ecosensitive region by the Union Environment Ministry and can be called a Health
Sanatorium in itself. The main form of transport within Matheran are
horses and hand-pulled
rickshaws.
Matheran lying in an elevated region, it enjoys a cooler and less humid climate which makes it popular during the summer months. Temperatures range from 32 °
C (90 °
F) to 16 °C (61 °F). Matheran has a huge number of medicinal plants and herbs. The town also has a large
monkey population, of both the red-faced and black-faced breeds. The nearby
Lake Charlotte is the main source of Matheran's
drinking water.
Languages spoken include
Marathi,
Hindi, and
English. There are a lot of Parsi Bungalows.Beautiful old British-style architecture is preserved in Matheran. The roads are not metalled and are made of
red laterite earth. There are many "points" (viewpoints) in Matheran which give a panoramic view of the plains below. On clear nights, the lights of Mumbai are claimed to be visible.
Geography
Matheran is located at . It has an average elevation of 678
metres (2224
feet).
Demographics
As of 2001 India
census, Matheran had a population of 5139. Males constitute 58% of the population and females 42%. Matheran has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is 66%. In Matheran, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Matheran'.
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