Elephanta Caves, 5th Century Beautiful Place In Mumbai

Elephanta caves or also the Gharapurichi Leni located about 11kms away from the Mumbai city is a cave that is in ruins but the charm of the caves is still alive. Once upon a time they were the most art worked to place in and around the area, it is now marked by the UNESCO heritage sites in the world. Check out everything about the Elephanta caves tour.

Elephanta caves tour is one of the best things you can do in Mumbai City.

Overview of the Elephanta Caves

The caves are known for its Lord Shiva shrines inside, some also say that the caves are dedicated to Lord Shiva, the carvings inside the caves are all about lord shiva, the three-headed Shiva sculpture is marked. The caves are spread across 60,000 sq ft land.

The caves are rock-cut which makes them attractive and also very historic, there are 5 caves alongside and two of them are Hindu related caves that embrace Lord Shiva while the other three caves are said to be Buddhist caves.

Fragments on History of Elephanta caves

These elegant caves were built during the 5th – 6th centuries AD. Who built it? It is a controversy on who built these caves, there are many theories regarding it. After the shrine of Lord Shiva was found inside the cave, it was confirmed that it was a Hindu King’s cave, some evidence suggests that King Kalachuri could have built this cave, some also say that the Chola -Chalukya dynasty prince could have built this cave. Pulakeshi King 2, from the Chola- Chalukya dynasty is said to have built this.

The caves are destroyed by the Portuguese in the 16th Century, they took over the place and then ruined the entire place, destroyed the Hindu god’s shrines inside.

In the 1970s the caves were said to be restored and then it became a popular tourist spot in Mumbai.

Best Time for Elephanta Caves Tour

These caves are on an island, therefore it is suggested that the monsoon season better be avoided for Elephanta caves tour due to the travel requirements to reach there.

Caves exploration could be limited due to rainy season and hence winter or summer season is more a preferable and flexible time to visit the Elephanta caves.

June to August months, best be avoided and rest of the year is just good to go.

How to reach Elephanta caves?

These caves are best visited through Mumbai. Once you are in Mumbai one can always hire private cars or even cabs or to experience the local train rides in Mumbai one can always use the local trains to reach the CST station or the Church gate station or use a local bus to the gateway of India, or even cabs. From the gateway of India, one must need a ferry ride to reach the Elephanta caves as the Elephanta caves are on an island. 

Ferry rides to these Elephanta caves Mumbai

One of the reasons for the Elephanta caves tour is ferry rides. The ferry rides are the amusing parts of Elephanta caves, the excitement of Elephanta caves start from their ferry rides, going through water bodies as the Elephanta caves are on an island.

The ferry rides are available from the gateway of India from 9 am and the last ride is at 2 pm. The rides will no longer be available after the last time of the ride so one must plan their day accordingly.

The cost of these ferry rides depend upon how many people are riding and what type of a ride one chooses there are many fancy rides as well, the travelling in itself is a event.

The minimum rides that are available are from Rs130- Rs150.

MumbaiTourist Attraction

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