Matheran Ghat road is a short 9 km ghat which starts near Neral at about 50m asl and climbs till Dasturi at 710m asl. Thus this ghat gains 660m of altitude. It takes appx 25 mins to climb this ghat. This is a short but very beautiful ghat in Matheran. The beauty of this ghat is shown in monsoon where clouds and waterfalls adds to its beauty. However this ghat is short and gains height quickly, hence it is very steep for vehicular traffic. As a piece of history the first tracing of Matheran Ghat road was done by British Major Peacock with his fellowmen.
Local Taxi rates from Neral railway station to Matheran is Rs 100 per person and same rates for return. Taxis start from 7:00 in morning tll 10:30 at night.
There are three parts of the ghat as shown in map. The first stretch till Jummapatti is gradual like other ghats shown in green color. After this the climb gets moderate for a while shown in orange patch. After this the ghat is very steep and engine roars. First and second gear are suitable only at the red patch. The last patch has almost horseshoe turns. One has to drive very carefully at the red patch owing to very sharp turns and steep gradients.By far Matheran has the steepest ghat road. Also it is better to avoid stopping at ghats due to its narrow section. There are around 15 sharp turns in overall ghat section. The last red patch section of ghat gains 380m of height in 3.7km stretch which is quite steep.
Matheran ghat road can be challenging for driver's with basic level of skill. One can even hire drivers from the base if one is finding difficulty in driving uphill. The toytrain tracks crisscross the road at multiple points. During monssoon there is chances of rockfall, hence one has to be vigilant while driving.
There are many sceninc views points all alongside the ghat road where one can stop and enjoy. One suck stop is Jummapatti where one can see waterfalls and can get refreshments. However stopping at the high gradient and narrow road can be dangerous. The road is densly covered in fog at the top most part during monsoon making visibility barely few meters.
