Matheran

Matheran, perched at about 800 metres on a forested spur of the Sahyadris in Maharashtra's Raigad district, is India's only vehicle-free hill station — and one of the very few in Asia.

• No cars, no buses, no motorbikes, and no horns are permitted anywhere within the town limits; visitors arrive on foot, on horseback, or by hand-pulled rickshaw along red-laterite forest paths, and the result is an atmosphere of birdsong, rustling leaves, and clean mountain air that has all but vanished from Indian hill stations.
• The most romantic way to arrive is the Matheran Hill Railway, a 2-foot narrow-gauge heritage "toy train" built by Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy and his son between 1901 and 1907, which climbs 21 km from Neral through more than 230 curves and dense forest to the hilltop — a journey on the UNESCO tentative-list line that is an experience in itself.
• The town's great pleasure is simply walking its forest trails between a remarkable forty-odd named viewpoints, each looking out over the Konkan plains and neighbouring ranges: Panorama Point (a 360-degree sweep, the classic sunrise spot), Louisa Point (overlooking the Prabal and Vishalgad forts), Echo Point, Charlotte Lake (the town's water source and a serene forest lake), and One Tree Hill.
• Monkeys are everywhere, the silence is total, broken only by birdsong, and the red earth stains your shoes a cheerful rust.
• For vegetarian travellers, Matheran is famous for its chikki (sold by long-established family shops along the main market road), its honey and fudge, and a relaxed selection of Maharashtrian and North Indian vegetarian food at the market eateries — hot vada pav, bhajia, thali, and chilled buttermilk after a long walk.
• The best season is October to May; the June-September monsoon is dramatic and green but the toy train usually suspends service and many trails turn slippery.