Matheran
| Matheran | |||
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 India
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| State : | Maharashtra | ||
| District : | Raigad | ||
| Sub-district : | Karjat | ||
| Location : | 18 ° 59 ′ N , 73 ° 16 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 760 m | ||
| Area : | 7 km² | ||
| Residents : | 4,393 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 628 inhabitants / km² | ||
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Matheran ( Marathi माथेरान Mātherān ) is a hill station in Maharashtra , India , which was founded by British colonial rulers. Due to the location on a small table mountain at an altitude of about 800 meters above sea level, the climate there is significantly cooler than in Mumbai, 30 km away (as the crow flies) . Even nowadays, Indian weekend vacationers from Mumbai, Pune and other major cities in the vicinity enjoy the refreshing climate.
Car-free place
Matheran is a car-free place and has been declared an "eco-sensitive region" by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Due to the absence of motorized vehicles of all kinds, not only is the air free of emissions - in Matheran there is also no vehicle noise, which is particularly noticeable in India, where horn signals in particular are part of the background traffic noise.
nature
The plateau is completely covered with forest, so that even otherwise hot summer days can be spent in the shade. At the edge there are 38 developed viewpoints with spectacular views of the other hills in the area.
history
The table mountain on which Matheran lies is geologically one of the remains of the Dekkan-Trapp . The Dekkan-Trapp is the deposit of an extinct volcano and, next to the Chicxulub crater on the Gulf of Mexico on the Yucatán peninsula , is suspected of the great extinction of species on the Cretaceous-Tertiary border , in which the dinosaurs also died out.
Matheran was discovered in May 1850 by Hugh Poyntz Malet, the then district collector of the Thane district . Lord Elphinstone , then governor of Bombay , founded the development of their future Hill Station . During the British colonial rule, Matheran became a popular holiday resort because many Europeans tried to escape the summer heat here.
Transport links
Matheran is connected to Neral by the Matheran Hill Railway . This railway line was inaugurated in 1907. Neral is located at the foot of Table Mountain and has a train station on the main Pune-Mumbai line. The S-Bahn from Mumbai also runs on the main line.
In addition to the 20 km long narrow-gauge railway, there is also a 10 km long road connection to Neral, which overcomes the difference in altitude a little faster.
