Souvenirs

All the way to the top, you will not get bored, as you will have these shops on either side of the steps selling beautiful souvenirs. Bargain hard and you will pick up some real treasures!

Palanquin

If, for whatever reason, you feel you are unable to climb, there are these makeshift palanquins in which you can sit and be carried all the way up for a small price.

Steps to the Cave

This is the beginning of the gentle climb up to the Elephanta Caves. Because of the shops on either side and their awnings there is shade all along.
The cave temple, which is the pride of Elephanta, sprawled over an area of approximately 5000 square metres, is reached by climbing a flight of more than 100 steps, to the top of a hill. Inside the temple, is a large pillared hall with rows of columns, that appear to hold up the roof of the cave.

Toy train

The toy train takes passengers from the jetty to the footsteps of the Elephanta Caves. This journey takes a couple of minutes and costs only Rs.10/- for a return ticket per head.

Crossover

After having reached the pier, to alight from the boat and set foot on land to go to the Elephanta Caves, we had to crossover through another boat..
Hewn out of solid rock, the Elephanta Caves date back to 600 AD. These rockcut temples were created by carving out rock, and creating the columns, the internal spaces and the images. The entire temple is akin to a huge sculpture, through whose corridors and chambers one can walk. The entire complex was created through a process of rock removal. Some of the rock surfaces are highly finished while some are untreated bare rock.

The pier

A crowded pier at Elephanta. Elephanta Island was known in ancient times as "Gharapuri" or The Place of Caves. The Portuguese took possession of the island and named it Elephanta after the great statue of an elephant which they found on the seashore. At present, the statue of the elephant is housed at Jijamata Garden in Mumbai.

Elephanta Ahoy!

Elephanta Ahoy! Yes, now we can see the Elephanta island and should be there in another 15minutes...

Boats

Some more boats off the Mumbai harbour. Elephanta island is nearing now. My next post should be a view of the island from a distance.