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A Boat Ride to Elephanta Islands

21 October 2007 10 Comments

Western India is famous for a string of rock-cut temples ranging in date from the 2nd century B.C. to the 12th century A.D. Around Mumbai alone one can see several of them including the Buddhist rock-cut temples of Kanheri and Kondivita and the brahminical caves of Elephanta, Mandapeshvar, and Jogeshwari within a radius of 20 kms.

The Elephanta Island is the site of the magnificent Elephanta caves, one of the principal tourist attractions of the Mumbai city containing beautiful carvings, sculptures, and a temple to the Hindu God, Lord Shiva. It also has traces of early Buddhist culture and is now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A Boat Ride to Elephanta Islands
We took an early local train to Churchgate, then a cab to Gateway of India to reach there by 8:30 in the morning. The idea was to reach the island as early as possible since last ferry back from Elephanta is at around 4:00 PM.

While buying the tickets you are guided by them as which gate you should head for, to take the ferry. Once they start boarding, the mad rush to get the best-view seat starts. As I always try to get the experience of both options; while going we took the seats on upper deck (by paying extra) & on return tired as we were, wanted to sit in shade.

The boats stand one after another touching each other and most often than not the passengers are asked to go to the farthest boat. It requires jumping from first to second, second to third.. all when they are rocking furiously. :) Here also, we had to go to the farthest.

And then we started, leaving mesmerizing Gateway of India and the Taj behind.

Even if one is not interested in caves, let me assure you, the best part of the entire trip is the ferry rides to & fro Elephanta island.

Hum Saath saath hain. A row of boats holding hands together. ;)

A chugging ferry ride leaving the Taj and the Gateway of India, surpassing the fishing boats, large ships and oil tankers, small islands, enjoying the cool breeze and the surroundings.. I enjoyed every bit of it. It takes 45 minutes to reach the Elephanta Island.

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10 Comments »

  • Kalyan said:

    WoW…some very beautifully captured shots from a beautiful place & very nice descriptions…lovely!

    # 22 October 2007 at 12:24 PM
  • Priyank said:

    Haha! Hopping thru the boats is really funny (albeit risky, a little boy fell and got crushed).
    Waiting for you to hop onto the island now.

    # 23 October 2007 at 3:06 PM
  • Mike said:

    Look like a lovely boat ride.

    # 23 October 2007 at 8:12 PM
  • Ranjeet said:

    nice post – n – nice pics! liked the 3rd pic – looks like a lovely postcard!

    # 23 October 2007 at 10:15 PM
  • Ash said:

    Beautiful images. I’ve been to Ajanta and Ellora…and have always wanted to visit Elephanta!

    # 24 October 2007 at 2:49 AM
  • Cuckoo said:

    Kalyan,
    Thank you !

    Priyank,
    Yeah, funny for us but quite dangerous for kids and ladies in saris. I wonder what would have I done if I was in a saree. :)
    That was quite sad to know about the little boy.

    Ha Ha.. let the boat reach the island first. ;)

    Mike,
    Yes, it was a lovely ride. Thank you.

    Ranjeet,
    Thank you. You can see more pictures in my Web album. Yet to upload all.

    Ash,
    Thank you. My case is exactly the opposite !

    # 24 October 2007 at 8:16 AM
  • K M F said:

    wow..nice pictures and descriptions
    Have a nice day

    # 26 October 2007 at 4:23 PM
  • Sigma said:

    Nice post! I have been to elephanta caves once, and I loved the hour (or so) long boat ride. Luckily we didnt have to hop over rocking boats to get to ours :-) But it was a small one, single tiered. I loved the caves, though monkeys troubled us :-) And loved that toy train too, though we walked because it was over crowded :-)
    I specially liked two of the pics – of the gateway from the sea, and the boats stringed together.

    # 27 October 2007 at 10:34 AM
  • Cuckoo said:

    KMF,
    Thank you.

    Sigma,
    Yes, monkeys are everywhere near almost all the caves. :-)

    Thank you for liking the pictures. In all, I have around 200 pictures from this trip. Can’t post/upload all. :-)

    # 28 October 2007 at 2:52 AM
  • Sameera said:

    This brought back memories of the same ferry ride I had there two years back.Sigh!

    # 29 October 2007 at 7:12 PM

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