The city of Mumbai, whose sights are known not only in India, but also around the world, is remembered for its beauty and diversity. That is why tourists who have come here only for a few days can not even imagine what places to get acquainted with in the first place. To make it easier for you to choose, we have compiled an overview of the TOP 10 places that you can see both independently and as part of a tour group.
Gateway to India
The Triumphal Arch, built in honor of George V and Queen Mary, who visited Mumbai in 1911, combines elements of several architectural styles – Indian, European and Muslim. Despite the great desire of local residents to finish work on the monument as quickly as possible, the construction took more than 10 years.
The Gateway of India walls, which together with the central dome is 41 m high, are made of reinforced concrete and yellow basalt. The foundation of the arch literally touches the water’s edge – for its construction, the workers had to not only strengthen the coastal line, but also almost completely rebuild the old marina. The facade of the gate is decorated with openwork carvings and numerous pilasters, and the roof is crowned with 4 pointed turrets. On both sides of the structure are spacious corridors, each of which can accommodate up to 600 people. The arch is especially beautiful in the morning hours, when the rising sun paints it in golden tones.
- Location: Apollo Bandar, Colaba.
- Official website: https://goo.su/02r1.
Colaba District
When considering what to see in Mumbai in 2 days, don’t forget to visit Colaba, the most touristy area of the city that stretches along the entire length of Marine Drive. Once upon a time, when Colaba was still a separate island, rich European colonizers settled here. Now only old pseudo-Gothic mansions remain, contrasting with huge skyscrapers, which house the best hotel complexes, luxury restaurants and cozy cafes.
Currently, Colaba is considered the most respectable and perhaps the greenest corner of Mumbai. With the onset of the evening, its streets are filled with shopping stalls with clothes, souvenirs and jewelry, among which many tourists like to walk. In addition, it is here that the most famous city attractions are located – the Taj Mahal Palace-hotel, the Rajibai Clock tower, the Secretariat building, the Prince of Wales Museum, the famous Leopold Cafe, mentioned in the novel “Shantaram”, and many others.
Marine Drive
Marine Drive, which stretches along the Back Bay for 4 km, is one of the city’s most visited attractions. Passing through Chowpatti Beach, which is not intended for swimming, but is ideal for leisurely walks, it opens onto the Malabar Hill, inhabited by the wealthiest residents of Mumbai.
Among other things, there is the Raj Bhavan, the current residence of the governor of the state, the monument to Balu Gangadhar, erected at the beginning of the last century in honor of the famous national leader, and the Taraporevala Aquarium, containing more than 100 species of fish and bearing the title of the best aquarium in India since 1961.
Here you can also take a walk in the Nana-Nani Park, created for the older generation. In addition to newsagents and benches with special awnings, there are many shops, cafes and restaurants on its territory. When the sun goes down, thousands of lights are lit on Marine Drive, also known as the Queen’s Necklace, which resembles the glow of real pearls.
Elephant Caves
Looking at photos and descriptions of Mumbai’s attractions in tourist catalogs, you will probably notice Elephant or, as they are also called, Elephant Caves, located in the middle of a small island of the same name. Created more than 1.5 thousand years ago, they are considered the oldest and most revered monument of the Hindu religion.
The sacred temple complex, carved by monks in a solid rock, contains a huge number of rock carvings and carved stone sculptures dedicated to the god Shiva. At the same time, in each of them, the deity appears in a completely new image, so it is better for the uninitiated to get a good audio guide or a professional guide. The main one of these figures is a massive five-meter bust depicting the supreme deity in 3 of his guises at once-the Creator, the Destroyer and the Guardian.
To see the city of caves with your own eyes, you need to take a ferry that runs between Elephant Island (old name –Gharapuri) and the city pier throughout the day (there-from 09: 00 to 15: 00, back-from 12: 00 to 17: 30). The journey takes about an hour. Tickets are sold directly at the marina. You can take one ticket in both directions. On the island itself, it is customary to move not only on foot, but also on a small locomotive or a special chair (this was previously worn by rajas).
- Where to find: Maharashtra State, Kolaba District (Island of Elephanta). Coordinates: N18 58 0.012 E72 56 8.988
- Entrance fee to the island: about$4.
- Official website: https://goo.su/02tD.
Vippasana Pagoda
Talking about the sights of Mumbai in India, which you can see in a couple of days, you can not help but remember the world Vipassana Pagoda, a symbolic monument of peace and harmony, located almost on the outskirts of the city. The foundation stone of this temple, which is an exact replica of the Shwedagon stupa from Myanmar, was laid in 1997, and the construction, which lasted almost 11 years, was carried out exclusively on human donations. Interestingly, in the course of work, parts of the relics of the Buddha, donated by the then Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, were walled up in the walls of the structure.
Initially, the pagoda was built so that it would stand for more than one millennium. Because of this, there is not a single supporting column in its design – their place was taken by stones with grooves, made with truly jewelry precision. For reliability, both the base of the pagoda and the entire lower level were overlaid with black basalt, so there is a huge probability that in many thousands of years this wonderful structure will be admired by our great-great-grandchildren.
The Global Vipassana Pagoda itself consists of 3 domes built on top of each other. Both the diameter and total height of this structure reach a kilometer, and about 8 thousand parishioners can simultaneously meditate in the central hall. The pagoda also has an art gallery, library,and lecture rooms.
- Location: Near Essel World, Gorai Village, India.
- Opening hours: daily from 09: 00 to 19: 00 (entrance is only possible until 18:30).
- Official website: http://www.globalpagoda.org.
Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Sanjay Gandhi National Park, named after the deceased son of Indira Gandhi, is a huge protected area, on the territory of which a huge number of all kinds of animals grow, fly, run, walk and crawl. The most famous inhabitants of the park are sika deer, pythons, porcupines, cobras, macaques, hyenas, antelopes and a small population of African leopards. The entire reserve is covered with quite dense vegetation, in the shade of which you can hide even on the hottest day.
Popular activities in this park include rock climbing, river boating, tiger safari and visiting the Kanheri Caves. The latter are a temple and monastery complex, carved out of a volcanic rock in the 3rd century BC. e. For many centuries, Buddhist hermit monks lived here, but now Kanheri Caves is considered one of the most unique sights of Mumbai.
The scale of this complex is really impressive. To date, archaeologists have managed to find 109 grottoes connected to each other, but with different purposes (temporary rooms for pilgrims, monastic cells, prayer halls, etc.). The walls of most of them are engraved with images of the Buddha and scenes that tell about the life of the Great Teacher. Kanheri also has its own cemetery consisting of several thousand urns, as well as a unique system of cisterns designed to collect rainwater.
- The caves are open daily from 07: 30 to 17: 30. You will hardly be able to see all 109 of them, so it is better to use the services of professional guides – they will guide you through the most interesting places.
- Location: Borivali East, 400066.
Railway Station
Looking at the map of Mumbai with attractions, you can not help but notice the main railway station, the prototype for which was the British St. Pancras station. The construction of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus lasted about 10 years and was completed only in 1888. The result of such painstaking work was a luxurious building, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Initially, the station was named after Queen Victoria, but a few years later it was successfully renamed. Since then, its name, associated with the name of another national hero, has never been changed. Today, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, which accepts both commuter trains and long-distance trains, is the busiest station in Mumbai. At the same time, the building itself, made in the style of Victorian architecture, bears little resemblance to a traditional railway station. It looks more like a palace or some exotic castle, decorated with a huge number of arches, spires, domes, columns and carved borders. The central arch of the building is crowned with a female figure symbolizing progress, and the pilasters at the main entrance are statues of a tiger and a lion, representing India and Great Britain.
- Location: DN Road, Mumbai CST Area.
- Official website: https://goo.su/02r2.
Gandhi Museum in Mani Bhawan
If you don’t know what to see in Mumbai, head to the Mahatma Gandhi Museum, the man who changed the course of Indian history forever. The house, which houses a unique museum collection, belonged to a friend, with whom the politician stayed every time he visited the city.
At first glance, this museum, which occupies an ordinary wooden building, does not represent anything interesting. Without being distinguished by any architectural excesses, it fully characterizes the ideology of Gandhi himself, who never aspired to wealth and did not want to stand out among the common people. But once you step inside, you find yourself in an atmosphere of years gone by, imbued with a passionate desire to win back Britain’s right to its own independence.
The museum building includes 2 floors. The first of them contains clippings from old newspapers, elements of the interior of the study, as well as writing materials and handwritten works written by the leader in various years. Here you can also view a collection of photos that tell about the life of a famous politician. On the second floor of the house, which managed to preserve the original interior, there is Gandhi’s bedroom and an outdoor terrace, where the great Indian leader was arrested.
Currently, the Gandhi Museum in Mani Bhawan is included in the list of iconic city attractions, the most famous visitors of which were the Obama couple.
- Address: 19 Mani Bhavan Gandhi Museum Laburnam Rd, Gamdevi, 400007.
- Opening hours: daily from 10: 00 to 17: 30.
- Official website: https://goo.su/02R2.
Dhobi Ghat
Dhobi Ghat Laundry, located on an area of 10 hectares and consisting of several levels, can be called without exaggeration the most unusual attraction not only in Mumbai, but also in all of India. It is home to several hundred hereditary Dhobi, male washerwomen belonging to the untouchable caste.
Dhobi Ghat, which serves the entire city, takes up to 3 days to complete the laundry process. At first, the laundry is soaked and carefully beaten off against narrow concrete baths, then hung on ropes or laid out on roofs, and then smoothed out with old coal irons. For each stage of washing, a specialist is responsible for a narrow profile, and either soap or soap nuts are used as detergents. This hard physical labor is paid for more than modestly, but for the Dhobi, this is the only way out, they are not given another.
Tourists are not welcome in Dhobi Ghat, so you should only take photos from afar (for example, from the nearby railway bridge). But you can look at the laundries both independently and accompanied by local residents. At the same time, you will have to pay a voluntary fee for admission – about 100-200 rupees ($1.5 – $ 3).
- Location: Dr. E. Moses Rd., near Mahalakshmi Station.
- Official website: https://goo.su/02r3.
Basilica of Our Lady of the Mountain
Mumbai, whose sights can only be viewed with great difficulty in 1 day, will delight you with another iconic place. We are talking about the Gothic Basilica of Our Lady, built by the Jesuits in 1579. Having come a long way from an ordinary house of worship to one of the main city sanctuaries, it pleases the eye with its elaborate decoration, which is present in both external and internal design.
So, on the facade of a beautiful four-story building, you can see the initial letters of the welcoming phrase “Ave Maria”, uttered by Archangel Michael when meeting the Virgin Mary on the day of the Annunciation. The third level of the temple is complemented by a carved date of its foundation, and the central entrance is “guarded” by two huge towers with openwork windows. The walls of the sanctuary are decorated with wooden panels depicting scenes from the life of Our Lady, between which are narrow wrought-iron balconies.
Well, the greatest pride of Mount Mary Basilica is the statue of the Virgin herself adorning the main altar. Over the long years of its existence, the sculpture, brought from Portugal at the very beginning of construction, managed to lose its right hand, which was later replaced by a marble Jesus Christ.
- Where to find it: Mount Mary Road, Bandra West, 400050.
- Site of the tourist attraction: https://goo.su/02R3.
