ALL DESTINATIONS / India / Mumbai
Elephanta Island
Elephanta Island lies southeast of Mumbai, about an hour's launch away (leaves from Gateway of India). It contains enormous caves with amazing statues and frescoes carved right out of the rock. Take a cap or hat for the trip over and back and pay the extra 10 rupees to sit on the top deck of the launch. Buy your photo guide ahead of time - you'll pay 2-3 times as much if you buy from the many street sellers. There's a long walk up countless steps past even more vendors up to the caves, but the hike is worth it. You'll also want to allow time to hike to the top of the hill to see the gun emplacements from when the island guarded the harbor. Grey monkeys galore will grab food right from your hand, so be careful if you have kids with snacks. TIP: Pay admission in USD rather than rupees - it's cheaper. Also, some natives will expect to be paid to have their picture taken (water bearers). Allow at least three hours on the island - latest launch is around 6:00 or 6:30 pm.
- Overall Rating:
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- 1 Vote
- Tipper:
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Greystoke77
- Date:
- 04-01-2008
- Destination:
- India, Mumbai
- Subjects:
- Sightseeing
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COMMENTS
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Posted by expert4travel on Apr-13-08 04:25
Excellent! It takes over an hour to get to Elephanta caves in a packed ferry, leaving from the Gateway to India (if you want to sit in the upper level, be prepared to be charged $10 rupees extra on board). There's a short walk to get to the caves and admire the 3-face Shiva sculpture and some other half-destroyed figures. That's all is worth to see, unless you are into the monkey-watching mode and souvenir-shopping.I've been to elephanta a couple of times ...its a good place for a day trip with