18-531: Elephanta Island (also called Gharapuri (literally "the city of caves") or Pory Island ) is one of a number of islands in Mumbai Harbour , east of Mumbai , India . This island is a popular tourist destination because of the island's cave temples , the Elephanta Caves , that have been carved out of rock. The island is easily accessible by ferry from Mumbai, being about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from
36-544: A UNESCO World Heritage Site . The group of five larger caves have intricate Hindu religious rock sculptures. Two smaller caves have Buddhist religious sculptures. The carvings date back to between 5th and 8th centuries. Middle Ground Coastal Battery is a small islet in the Thane creek. It features an antique coastal gun battery of the Indian Navy. The guns salute Indian naval vessels returning from deployments when they enter
54-582: A primary factor in the emergence of Mumbai as the commercial capital of India. Mangrove swamps line much of the northwestern and eastern shores of the harbour, and provide a rich habitat for wildlife, including thousands of migrating birds such as flamingoes . Due to immense population pressures from the Mumbai metropolitan region and the extremely busy maritime trade, the Harbour is considered to be heavily polluted. This includes reports of heavy metals flux found in
72-518: Is a natural deep-water harbour in the southern portion of the Ulhas River estuary . The narrower, northern part of the estuary is called Thana Creek . The harbour opens to the Arabian Sea to the south. The historical island of Elephanta is one of the six islands that lie in the harbour. Front Bay is the official name of the harbour , so named because the city started as a tiny settlement facing
90-498: Is a waterbody off the coast of Mumbai city, located to its (south) west and joins the Arabian Sea . The shore of Back Bay includes the famed Chowpatty Beach of Mumbai. Other landmarks are the office district of Nariman Point , which is an extension of the Back Bay Reclamation; Marine Drive , which is a promenade road along much of the foreshore , that is colloquially called The Queen's Necklace , and has been renamed as
108-501: Is covered with thick forest. Staying overnight after sunset on the island is not permitted for tourists as they are expected to leave before the departure of the last return ferry. The first return ferry leaves at 12:30 p.m. and the last return ferry leaves at 6:30 p.m. The ferry service is closed in the monsoon season for four months due to torrential rains at the sea. Mumbai Harbour Mumbai Harbour (also English ; Bombay Harbour or Front Bay , Marathi Mumba'ī bandar ),
126-538: Is located at approximately 18°57′N 72°56′E / 18.95°N 72.93°E / 18.95; 72.93 . The area comes under the jurisdiction of the Raigad district in Maharashtra . The island is thickly wooded with palm, mango, and tamarind trees. It has a population of about 1,200 people. The inhabitants are mainly involved in growing rice, fishing and repairing boats. There are two British-era cannons at
144-522: Is restricted to port employees, and not open to the public. Cross Island is a small, uninhabited islet just off the coast of the Dockyard Road. Though the remains of old fortifications are visible, the island itself is restricted to the public. Gharapuri Island , also known as Elephanta Island , is the best known of the islands in Mumbai Harbour. The Elephanta Caves located on the island are
162-504: The UNESCO World Heritage Site whereas currently ferry takes about an hour. Known in ancient times as Gharapuri (or, 'place of caves'), 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. Later, this sculpture
180-498: The city of Mumbai lies to the west on Salsette Island. The Gateway of India with its jetty for Elephanta is the most important tourist destination . There are six islands in the Mumbai Harbour. Butcher Island , also known as Jawahar Dweep , is used as an oil terminal by the Mumbai Port. It has jetties for tankers and various other infrastructure for offloading crude oil and for loading refined petroleum products. The island
198-448: The creeks adjacent to the harbour with the harbour acting as a sink for most of the pollutants. The abundance of fish in this area is recorded in a painting by Clarkson Frederick Stanfield of [REDACTED] Bombay Harbour—Fishing Boats in the Monsoon ., engraved by Edward Goodall and with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon . Back Bay (Mumbai) Back Bay
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#1732851992664216-478: The dock to the base of the steps leading up to the caves (about 600 meters). Along the path, hawkers sell souvenirs like necklaces, anklets, showpieces and keychains. There are also stalls to buy food and drinks. Small monkeys play along the sides of the path, occasionally thieving items from the hawkers, trashcans and tourists. Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) has plans to connect the island from Haji Bunder, Mumbai via Ropeway. Once built, it will take only 14 minutes to reach
234-573: The harbour. Oyster Rock is a small group of rock outcroppings in the harbour. The area has restricted access since it is used for naval exercises. Salsette Island is the large island on which the cities of Mumbai and Thane are located. It is separated from the Konkan mainland by the Vasai creek and the Ulhas river . Mumbai was originally a distinct island from Thane, but reclamation of land has long since merged
252-559: The harbour. The waterbody behind the original settlement, forming an arc between the former Colaba island and Bombay island, up to the Malabar Hill promontory or peninsula, was similarly called Back Bay . Front Bay is home to the Mumbai Port , which lies in the south section of the western edge of the harbour. Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Navi Mumbai lie to the east on the Konkan mainland, and
270-427: The islands. Powai Lake , Tulsi Lake and Vihar Lake are the largest lakes on the island. Mumbai Port (MbPT) lies midway ( 18°56.3′N 72°45.9′E / 18.9383°N 72.7650°E / 18.9383; 72.7650 ) on the western shore of Mumbai Harbour. The port was the pre-eminent commercial port of India in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is known as the gateway to India , and has been
288-502: The south east coast of the island city. Boats leave daily from the Gateway of India , taking about an hour each way. The tickets for these can be bought at the Gateway itself. The first ferry leaves at 9 am and the last at 2 pm. From the boat landing stage on the island, a walkway leads to steps that go up to the famous caves. There is also a narrow-gauge toy train from the boat area on
306-458: The top. Quite recently, a small dam has been built so as to hold rainwater but that part of the island is privately owned and not accessible for tourists. There are a total of three villages: Shentbandar, Morabandar and Rajbandar, of which Rajbandar is the capital. Caves and stalls can be seen in Shentbandar which is the first village accessed by tourists when they arrive on the island. Morabandar
324-833: Was moved to the Victoria Gardens and then the Victoria and Albert Museum (now Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum ) in Mumbai , by the British. This island was once the capital of a powerful local kingdom. In Manuscript F by Leonardo da Vinci (kept at the Bibliothèque nationale de France ) there is a note in which he says "Map of Elephanta in India which Antonello the haberdasher has." It is unclear who this Florentine traveller Antonello might have been. The island has an area of 16 km (6.2 sq mi). It
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