Elephanta Caves and the Fascinating City of Mumbai: A Cultural Tale

Once you arrive, at the airport, our driver will pick you up. Then you can go to the hotel to keep your luggage before proceeding towards the Gateway of India jetty for your ferry to the Elephanta Caves.

The Gateway of India is built using yellow ballast and reinforced concrete. The building is a convergence of Hindu and Islamic styles of architecture.

The Elephanta Caves, which is located off the coast of Arabian Sea in an island, is an architectural wonder. The entire area is sprawling over 60,000 sq feet. Among other things, this place is famous for amazing rock cut caves, which depicts cult of Lord Shiva. So, when you are in the Elephanta caves, you can see Maheshmurti, which is the three headed Shiva, Nataraja and Ardhanarishvara. If you have time, you can also trek up to Cannon Hill. No doubt, the Elephanta Caves is accredited as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

In the evening you can take a guided Street Food Walk. Its all fun as you smell the aromas of the typical Indian food and keep tasting everything from the spicy Indian food to the sweet dessert….from the vegetable pakoras to the pav bhajjis from the chicken kebabs and tandoors to the famous Mumbai kulfi

You can also take a drive along the Marine Drive. It is a 3.6-kilometer-long Boulevard in Mumbai. The contrast of the Arabian Sea on one side and skyscrapers on the other of this road is what makes it so special.

When you are in Mumbai, take a a Few days off for Mumbai Sightseeing and Elephanta Caves. As part of Mumbai Sightseeing you can visit Dhobi Ghat, Dabbawala, Kanheri Caves, Flower market, Bollywood Studios and much more.

Today you can experience the following things:

Dabbawala: The word “dabbawala” means “lunchbox carriers”. In fact, this is a network of person in Mumbai, who carries and delivers freshly made food from home to the working professionals in Mumbai. The beauty of this network of dabbawala are the perfect coordination among themselves. They are very punctual and work with extreme efficiency. Coming from so-called lesser educated strata of the society the precision of the service is studied by leaders and reputed management schools across the globe.

Dhobi Ghat or Open Laundry: Have you ever thought of a washing tour that would take you inside the world’s largest open-Air Laundry? The internationally famed Dhobi Ghat of Mahalakshmi is an open-air laundry, which is more than a century old in origin. Dhobi Ghat area is lined with rows of open concrete wash pens which features a flogging stone on which the dhobis beat the clothes to dry them.

Kanheri Caves: The Kanheri Caves are a group of caves and rock-cut monuments which are cut into a massive basalt outcrop. These caves are, in fact, are located in the western outskirts of Mumbai, India and you can very well enjoy as part of your trip to Mumbai. They contain Buddhist sculptures and relief carvings, paintings and inscriptions, dating from the 1st century CE to the 10th century CE.

The cave complex comprises one hundred and nine caves. The oldest are relatively plain and unadorned, in contrast to later caves on the site. Most of the caves were Buddhist viharas, meant for living, studying, and meditating. The larger caves, which functioned as chaityas, or halls for congregational worship, are lined with intricately carved Buddhist sculptures, reliefs, pillars and rock-cut stupas.

Today wake up early in the morning to go to the famous flower market. The Dadar flower market is one of the most colorful parts of Mumbai and blooms like buds at dawn. The market is a labyrinth of 600 stalls selling multiple varieties of flowers in cane baskets. The beauty of roses and the fragrance of jasmine are what is the most fascinating about the Dadra flower market. The hours from 4 am to 9 am is the prime time to see heaps of flowers, feel the intensity of a fragrance. The Dadar Flower Market is the only one of its kind in the city and a sensory delight worth experiencing.

So, if you are willing to experience this, you need to be here before the sunrise. However, it is worth waking up so early!

Then you can visit the Dharavi Slums, the largest slum in Asia. It supplies a chunk of the huge labour that runs the city of Mumbai. It houses about one million of Mumbai’s inhabitants. Thus, in your guided tour you will see many small-scale industry workshops where people produce leather goods, plastic goods, running pottery business etc. As you walk along the streets of Dharavi slum and explore the working culture, you know the  get a glimpse of the people and how they live. Thus this trip will make you familiar with the harsh realities of a slum.

Once you are done, you can leave for the airport.

When you are in Mumbai, Take a a Few days off for Mumbai Sightseeing and Elephanta Caves. As part of Mumbai Sightseeing you can visit Dhobi Ghat, Dabbawala, Kanheri Caves, Flower market etc.