Neral is a town in

Raigad district Raigad district (), previously Colaba fort, Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The headquarters of the district is Alibag. Other major cities in the district are Panvel, Karjat, Navi Mumbai, Khopoli, Sh ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency2011 Census Village code = 909444, It is 83 km+ developing city of

which is well connected to

Panvel Panvel () is a city and taluka in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is highly populated due to its closeness to Mumbai. Panvel is also governed for development purpose by the body of Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Panvel Municipal C ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...

and

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

. Local people from communities like Agri, Kumbhar, Brahmin, Muslim, etc. settled here because this place was key route to Matheran and Vikatgad which were politically important for Maratha empire, Mughal empire and East India Company. Neral to Matheran Train Route was developed by East India Company for trading and colonial purposes. Hutatma Veer Bhai Kotwal was a great hero who rebelled against British Police in Neral - Matheran. Villages followed the same in following years to safeguard themselves from regular floods affecting their homes, farms and animals.

Tourist Advisory 2023–2024

* Carry Umbrella as there is a lot of rain during rainy seasons * Carry Mosquito creams to the lush green area can have a lot of mosquitoes * Power/Electricity is a big issue in the region. Ensure you carry power banks etc. and take hotels with back up. Even hotels with backups may not be able to keep up with really long duration power cuts. * Cell coverage is not good in the region and in many areas you may require to use different cell services or very slow 2G or CDMA services which are good for calls but will not suffice for internet usage.

Geography

Neral is located at . It has an average elevation of 40 metres (131 feet). Neral is a place which is the center between

and

, Neral has State Highway which is connecting to

Karjat Karjat (Pronunciation: əɾd͡zət̪ is a city administered under a Municipal Council in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It forms a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and is located approximately from both Mumbai and Pune ...

NH4 NH4 or NH 4 or NH-4 may refer to: * Ammonium, the cation in chemistry * National Highway 4 (India), new numbering for a National Highway in India * National Highway 4 (India, old numbering) Route 4, or Highway 4, may refer to several highways ...

and Murbad, people who visits Neral from Mumbai-South takes via

route which is better, faster and easy to drive. Neral is at key location in the proposed Uran-Panvel-Neral-Bhimashankar SH-54 State Highway. It is popularly known as a railroad junction, with trains arriving from Mumbai and from Pune to the nearby and very popular hill station of

Matheran Matheran is a partially automobile free hill station and a municipal council in the Karjat, Karjat taluka of the Raigad district located in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Matheran is part of the Mumbai Metropo ...

. A narrow-gauge rail line, 21 km long, ("toy train") runs from Neral to

. Nearest major towns are Badlapur and

2005 rainfall

The heavy rains on 26 July 2005 ruined the rail tracks and it had stopped operating, but the train has successfully started operating from 5 March 2007. The other option available to reach Matheran is to take a taxi to a certain point (called Dasturi naka) just before Matheran city boundary, beyond which one may proceed only on foot or on horseback.

Matheran Toy Train

The famous Matheran - Neral Toy Train departs from Neral Station. This train goes from Neral to Matheran.

Photo gallery

File:NDM1 501 with rakes attached.JPG, Neral Matheran Toy Train File:Neral.jpg, Neral Ganesh Ghat and Matheran Hills File:Neral1.JPG, Neral Motor Hill File:Neral2.jpg, Neral Tapalwadi Waterfall File:TrainArrivesAtNeral.JPG, Toy Train at Neral Station

References