A two-day hill trip from Mumbai that cost us under 1,500 rupees each

Last November, between a unit test and a very long month of revision, five of us decided we needed one weekend that was not about marks. The rule was simple: it has to be cheap enough that nobody has to ask their parents for extra money, and close enough that we can be home before the exam pressure comes back.

We chose Matheran. It's a small hill station near Mumbai, famous for one weird fact: no vehicles are allowed inside. You leave your car (or shared taxi) at the entrance, and after that it's feet, horses, hand-pulled rickshaws, or the little toy train. That alone made it feel like a different world.

I'm writing this because I looked for "student budget" guides before we went and everything online was either a resort ad or a vlog by someone who clearly wasn't paying. So here is a real one, with real mistakes.

(Safety first, because my mom insists: we told our parents the exact plan, the stay, the dates, and my cousin brother, who is 22, came along. That's what made everyone's parents say yes. Share your live location, keep your phone charged, and don't go anywhere alone.)

The route

1. Local train from Mumbai towards Karjat, get down at Neral.
2. Shared taxi from Neral station up the hill to the entry point (Dasturi Naka). This is the winding road, it's beautiful, and if you get motion sickness sit in front and eat nothing heavy before.
3. Pay the small entry fee at the gate.
4. Walk. Yes, walk. It is a couple of kilometres on a red-mud path under big trees to the main market area. Or take a horse or the toy train for a bit if your legs say no.

What we spent (rough, per person, last November)

These are my approximate numbers. Prices change, so check before you go.

Item	Approx. cost
Local train to Neral and back	₹80
Shared taxi up and down	₹250
Entry fee	₹70
Night's stay in a basic lodge, shared by 5	₹450
Food for two days (simple thalis, chai, vada pav, fruit)	₹550
Miscellaneous (water, a small tip, chikki)	₹100
Total	about ₹1,500

We stayed on a weekday-ish stretch rather than a long weekend. Rooms are much cheaper then, and the paths are quieter. During peak holidays the same lodge costs double or more, so be flexible if you can.

Day 1

We reached by noon, left our bags at the lodge, and walked to the viewpoints. There are a bunch of them: Echo Point, Louisa Point, and a few others with names that sound like British officers. At Echo Point we all shouted nonsense into the valley and heard it come back two seconds later. Five almost-adults screaming "I will pass my exams" at a cliff. Embarrassing and deeply satisfying.

Lunch was a plain veg thali at a small place near the market. Enough rice, dal, sabzi and roti for about ₹100 each, much better than I expected.

Evening: chai on the porch of the lodge. No traffic noise, just crickets, a faraway horse and my friend's bad jokes. The sunset turned the red mud even redder.

Day 2

Early morning walk before the crowds. This was my favourite part. The forest is damp and green, the monkeys are awake (more on them below), and light comes through the trees in long beams. I took about two hundred photos and kept seven. If you like street photography, the market lanes at 7 am have everything: horse-keepers drinking tea, a boy delivering milk, chikki sellers setting up.

We checked out by 11, had one more breakfast, and started down. Home by evening, tired and happy.

What went wrong (so you don't repeat it)

• Monkeys. They are not cute. A friend left a packet of chips in an open bag and a monkey took the whole bag. Don't carry open food, don't show food, and never try to feed them.
• Wrong shoes. One friend wore slippery-soled shoes and fell twice on the red mud. Wear shoes with grip. Flip-flops are a bad idea.
• No cash. Network was patchy and some places don't take UPI reliably. Carry some cash in small notes.
• Not checking the weather. It drizzled on day 2 and the path became muddy and slippery. A light rain jacket would have helped.
• Taking selfies near the edge. I'll just say it: don't. A photo is never worth it. We kept a good distance from the cliff edges and watched each other.

Cheap traveller hacks I use

• Carry your own water bottle and refill it, so you don't buy a new bottle every time.
• Eat where locals eat, with the thali on the board and the crowd inside.
• Bring a few snacks from home (not in an open bag, see above).
• Travel off-peak if you can. Same place, half the price, double the peace.
• Split costs fairly and settle accounts the same night. It saves arguments.

Why do this at all

It was the first time in months that I didn't check a clock for 24 hours. I came back and slept for 9 hours, and the next day I solved a pile of questions in the time I'd usually spend procrastinating. You don't need a plane ticket or a fancy resort to reset your head. You need a small plan, good friends and a place with trees.

Next one I'm planning is a day trip to a fort near Pune. Suggestions welcome.