A Quick One-Day Escape to Matheran - Beautiful Yet Exhausting

Located about 90 km from Mumbai and around 120 km from Pune, Matheran is famous for its scenic viewpoints, each offering a different perspective of the Sahyadri ranges. In 2013, without smartphones guiding every step, exploring these felt like a real adventure. It is being one of India’s few vehicle-free hill stations, already felt different from any destination I had visited before.

What started as a casual conversation suddenly turned into, "Let's go tomorrow!" Within a few hours, the plan was made, bags were packed, and we were ready for a quick one-day escape from the daily routine. The excitement of an unplanned trip is always different. There are no detailed itineraries, no hotel bookings, and no expectations, just the excitement of discovering a new place.

We started early in the morning, excited for a day surrounded by nature. The journey itself was refreshing as the city skyline slowly gave way to hills, forests, and winding roads. The trip began with a sense of excitement and curiosity, reaching Neral, the base point. Upon reaching Dasturi Naka, we quickly realized that Matheran is truly different from other hill stations. Since vehicles are not allowed inside, every destination requires either walking, horse riding, or a hand-pulled rickshaw.

We had two choices, take the toy train or trek up. Though the toy train is iconic, we chose to experience the trail on foot. The winding path, surrounded by dense forest and red mud roads, made the journey feel like stepping into another world. With every step upward, the air became cooler, fresher, and quieter.

Entering Matheran was like entering a place untouched by modern chaos, no honking cars, no pollution. Just horses, hand-pulled carts, and people walking at their own pace. The absence of vehicles wasn’t inconvenient, it was liberating. The calmness of the place instantly slowed us down. Life here didn’t feel rushed; it felt intentional.

The cool breeze and fresh air instantly made the effort worthwhile. As we walked through the red mud pathways lined with dense trees, it felt like stepping into a completely different world. The absence of traffic noise was perhaps one of the most refreshing parts of the trip.

We visited some of the most popular attractions, including Echo Point, Louisa Point, Charlotte Lake, and Panorama Point. Each viewpoint offered breathtaking views of valleys, hills, and endless greenery. The monsoon clouds drifting across the mountains made the landscape even more magical. Every stop seemed picture-perfect and provided a much-needed escape from everyday routines.

One of the highlights of the trip was simply walking through the forest trails. Those walks weren’t just physical; they felt reflective. Conversations flowed easily, laughter came naturally, and time seemed to stretch. The peaceful atmosphere, chirping birds, also explored the local market, enjoyed some delicious snacks, and picked up a few local treats before continuing our sightseeing. 

While Matheran's natural beauty is captivating, one thing visitors should definitely be prepared for is the monkey population. During our trip, we noticed that monkeys are quite active around popular viewpoints, the market area, and food stalls. They are surprisingly clever and can quickly grab bags, snacks, water bottles, or anything that looks like food.

At a few spots, we saw monkeys approaching tourists and trying to snatch plastic bags and backpacks. It can be a little intimidating, especially if you're carrying food items. The best approach is to stay calm, avoid feeding them, and keep your belongings securely zipped and close to you.

Carry food items inside your backpack, avoid holding snacks openly while walking, and maintain a safe distance from monkeys. A little caution can save you from unnecessary stress and let you enjoy Matheran's beauty without any surprises.

However, the reality of covering Matheran in a single day slowly started catching up with us. The distances between viewpoints, combined with continuous walking, made the trip physically demanding. We found ourselves constantly checking the time, trying to fit in every attraction before heading back. What started as a leisurely getaway soon turned into a race against the clock.

We had initially planned to stay until sunset and visit the famous Sunset Point, but after a full day of walking and rushing between viewpoints, we were completely exhausted. Since we also had to travel back home the same day, we decided to leave earlier than planned. Missing the sunset was a little disappointing, but it gave us one more reason to come back to Matheran someday.

Looking back, the trip was definitely worth it. The natural beauty, peaceful environment, and scenic viewpoints left us with wonderful memories. At the same time, the experience taught us that Matheran deserves more than just a day. To truly enjoy its charm, slow walks, and hidden corners, an overnight stay would be ideal.

Our one-day Matheran trip was a delightful mix of adventure, beauty, and exhaustion. We returned home with tired feet but happy hearts, already thinking about a future visit where we could explore the hill station at a much more relaxed pace. I didn’t realize how much this trip would stay with me. Over the years, travel has changed, more planning, more technology, more rush. But Matheran in 2013 remains special because it reminded me of Slowing down, Living in the moment and Enjoying simple joys.

Matheran is not a place of grand attractions, it’s a place of quiet beauty. It teaches you to slow down, breathe deeply, and enjoy simple moments. Whether it’s walking under tree canopies, watching the sun dip behind hills, or just sitting in silence, Matheran offers something rare, a chance to truly disconnect from the world and reconnect with yourself.

A glorious break in Guernsey (an island in the English Channel), United Kingdom

Guernsey is one of the great destination at British Channel Islands in the English Channel near the French coast. It is famous for its excellent dairy herd as agriculture and farming is done largely and effectively.  

I got an opportunity to visit Guernsey for a month, although it was for the business travel I was happy that I was getting 3 weekends to explore a new place. Because this was my first international travel I was a bit nervous and the first time I have heard the name Guernsey. I was very excited as I was supposed to operate from the London office for a month but suddenly it got changed to Guernsey. 

Guernsey is one of the British Channel Islands in the English Channel near the French coast. It is a great place for a holiday or short break, with sandy beaches, castles, history and lots to explore. Guernsey is easily accessible by both air and ferry from London. 

It’s a picturesque harbour that offers views of neighbouring islands, quaint cobbled streets lined with continental style cafes and restaurants, lots of shopping centres of low duty goods such as perfume, wine and spirits and exclusive boutiques. It's a wonderful destination with lots of sightseeing attractions, the island can be visited at any time of the year and it won’t disappoint you. There is a neighbouring island Jersey which can be visited for a daily trip, Condor ferries offer fast ferries between St Helier (Jersey) and St Peter Port (Guernsey) in about 55 minutes.  

We (I, Rahul and Kautuk) hired a cab and travelled to Mumbai in the evening as we were having a flight in next day early morning at 4.00 am on 3rd August. It was connecting flights Mumbai-Dubai-London-Guernsey. Mumbai to London we travelled in Emirates and London to Guernsey it was in British Airways. We had arrived at Gatwick airport in London as we were further travelling natively to Guernsey. Kautuk is operating from London, and he is on long term assignment. I and Rahul took a flight from Gatwick airport and reached Guernsey airfield Sunday, 4th August around BST (British Summer Time). We hired separate cabs as staying arrangements for both were at different hotels. For me, the company booked La Piette Hotel which is at St Peter Port, which is the capital of Guernsey. The hotel is a seafront resto-bar and offers a very beautiful view of the sea and harbour. 

Hotel website - http://www.lapiettehotel.com/

The rooms are very clean and well presented, calm cosy place, very helpful staff and great food, definitely recommend if you are visiting the island. I was tired due to long air travel but very excited to explore the islet. 

My workplace (client office) is a short walk (900m from Hotel) in the opposite direction (from the harbour) is the Admiral Park business and commercial centre. I was going to the office on the walk. It is a coastal sideways which gives a beautiful view of the ocean.  

I decided to explore a beautiful place at a maximum. But things never go as planned! I got stuck in a heavy workload and had to work on the first 2 weekends too. I was very disappointed but had no option. However, we (I, Rahul and Gobinath who was working there 2 months before us) managed to visit Taj Hotel for dinner as we all are pure vegetarians and wanted to eat something really good there.  

Last weekend we decided on a day trip to Jersey but could not make it due to sudden meetings and we went to explore harbours, markets and surroundings. 

I was mesmerized by seeing the roads, traffic discipline and politeness of the citizens and of course houses and cafes there. One needs to press a knob at a signal for crossing the road then vehicles stop and allow you to cross over. It has a separate track for cycles, the things I liked the most. 

There is a bus that takes a tour to entire Guernsey within 2.5 hours, we went and enjoyed the ride. The bus has only a driver and no conductor! You need to get a ticket and stand in a queue for boarding the bus, driver check tickets and allows you to enter a bus. The passenger needs to press a button if he wants to get down at the stop, there are predicated stops for a bus. I liked the concept very much!! 

I enjoyed the stay over there, though I could sightsee only a few places, actually I did not travel to any of the tourist places except harbour there.  

At the harbour...waiting for a ferry

For the return journey, I was alone travelling as Rahul got the tickets for the next day. I was having a flight at 7.00 am from Guernsey to London. I booked a cab (5.30 am) through the hotel manager but forgot to get the phone number of a cab driver as I thought the hotel will arrange it. That day, I got ready by 5 am and got down at the reception and was shocked to see that hotel is locked from outside and there was no one at the reception. I waited for some time and called the manager but no luck, then I got tense and was unable to think of what can be done? Cook came and unlocked the hotel. I called Rahul and asked for the number of his cab driver which he was usually hired to come to the office. I called the driver and explained the situation, requested him if possible he came to pick up and drop me at the airport. He was having a drop at the airport but it was far from my hotel. He asked the commuter, fortunately, they agreed and he came to pick me up within 20 minutes and I reached the airport around 6.25 am. After reaching the airport I came to know that the flight was delayed by 15 minutes. Thank God! I managed to complete a security check and boarded a flight in the last 2 minutes as they were waiting for 2 passengers including me. It takes 2 hours to reach London from Guernsey by air, and need to travel by bus to the south gate to catch the flights for Dubai. My next flight for Dubai is at 11 am, and I had to complete immigration formalities so a similar marathon happened at the London airport and boarded a flight for Dubai. After reaching Dubai I was like coming back to my country as I could see lots of Indians and I was having plenty good amount of time to walk around and explore Dubai airport, as I reached on time and was having wait time of 3 hours to board a flight for Mumbai. Finally, I reached the Mumbai airport on Sunday, at 4 am IST.  

The ends sound a little filmy but it has exactly happened which scared me for some time and gave me the life lesson and memories. When you plan, you cannot think of everything that might happen.  

Indeed a wonderful experience for me!  

Thanks for reading the blog.