Elephanta Island

4.4

Location: Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra

Estimated Visiting Time: 2 hours

Elephanta Island is one of the most famous islands in Mumbai. It’s also called Gharapuri. The city of caves or Pory Island is one of several islands in Mumbai Harbour, east of Mumbai, India.

Attraction

This island is famous for its Attractions. You can do many things after visiting this place.

Like: Main Cave Shrine – Stop for some quiet reflection and learn a thing or two about this site’s religious importance.

Maheshamurti Cave – Escape the concrete jungle and get in touch with nature at this beautiful place

History

Known in ancient times as Gharapuri the name Elephanta island was given by 16th-century Portuguese explorers, after seeing a monolithic basalt sculpture of an elephant found near the entrance. They decided to take it home but ended up dropping it into the sea because their chains were not strong enough after this sculpture was moved to the Victoria gardens and then the Victoria and Albert Museum. There is a note in which he says “Map of Elephanta in India which Antonello the haberdasher has and It is unclear who this Florentine traveler Antonello might have been.

Inside/Outside Views

Elephanta Island has an area of 4 to 6 square miles, varying with the tide. In the early 16th century, Portuguese navigators named the island Ilha Elefante (“Elephant Island”) after a large stone elephant that was found there and the statue was later moved to Victoria Gardens, Mumbai. This island’s Hindi name, Gharapuri, derives from a small village at its southern end.

Opening Hours

9.30 am to 5.30 pm is the visiting time of this place.

Entry & Others Fees

INR 40 is the entry fee for this place.

Near Restaurants

Elephanta Port Restaurant & Bar
Elephanta Restaurant
Rajmahal Restaurant
Santosh Restaurant
MTDC Elephanta Resort and Chalukya Restaurant

Near Hotels

How to Reach

By air: Mumbai international airport is the nearby airport to this place.

By rail: Mumbai railway station is the nearby railway from this place. You can easily reach there by rail.

By road: By road is the best way to reach this place. You can take a bus to firstly reach Mumbai. Otherwise, you can hire a car or cab to reach this place directly.