 |
Elephanta Island (also called Gharapuri Island or place of caves or Pory
Island) is one of a number of islands in Mumbai Harbour, east of Mumbai,
India.
History
Known in ancient times as Gharapuri, the present name Elephanta, was
given by 17th century Portuguese explorers, after seeing a monolithic
basalt sculpture of an elephant found here 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 was moved to
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. |
|
Orientation
The island has an area of 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi). It is located at
approximately 18.95°N 72.93°E. The area comes under the jurisdiction of
the Raigad district in Maharashtra State.
Agricultural Makeup
The island is thickly wooded with palm, mango, and tamarind trees.
Inhabitants
It has a population of about 1,200. The inhabitants are mainly involved
in growing rice, fishing, and repairing boats. There are two British-era
cannons at 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. Morabandar has a thick forest.
Tourist Attractions and Accessibility
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 the south east coast of the island city.
Boats leave daily from the Gateway of
India, taking about an hour each way. |
 |
The tickets can be purchase at the
Gateway itself with 150 Rupees (round-trip ticket) for "luxury
boats". There is also a narrow-gauge toy train from the boat area on 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 key chains. There are also stalls to buy food and drinks.
Small monkeys play along the sides of the path, occasionally thieving
items from the hawkers or trashcans.
The first ferry leaves at 9.00 am, the last at 2.00 pm. From the boat
landing stage on the island, a walkway leads to steps that go up to the
famous caves. The first return ferry leaves at 12:30 pm and the last at
5:30 pm.
The Island
is
50 minutes boat ride away by ferry.
Staying overnight in the Island is not permitted for tourists.
Sources: Wikipedia
|
