To save us some hassle, we hired the same driver on Sunday as we’d used on Saturday. Ted had made his decision as to where he wanted to go, and we headed off to the Gateway of India (aka India Gate) once again so we could make the trip to Elephanta Island.

As with the day previously, our driver went a little off route to show off his city. He drove us to the Ferozeshah Mehta Gardens, also known as the Hanging Gardens. The area is comprised of terraced gardens perched at the top of Malabar Hill.

It was a beautiful area, tranquil and quiet at 9am. A few locals were walking and jogging on the paths but tourists didn’t start arriving in the area until we were preparing to leave at 10am.

After visiting the gardens we headed back to the Gateway of India to get tickets for the boat to Elephanta Island.

The Elephanta Caves have been declared an UNESCO World Heritage site, making it the forth such site we’ve visited in India. Elephanta island is located 10 km away from the Gateway of India at Mumbai. The caves house rock cut temples dating back to the 5th century CE. Elephanta island was named by the Portuguese, after the statue of an elephant near the landing area of the island. These rock cut temples dedicated to Shiva are amazing, although our photographs do not do them justice.

While purchasing our tickets for the boats, we met up with an Indian gentleman also heading to Elephanta for the day. Ted has a knack for making new friends and we quickly had a partner in our journey. Amresh was living and working in Mumbai while his family lived in a small village a number of hours away. He was thrilled to meet foreigners who were interested in learning more about his country and his culture.

The boat ride to Elephanta was approximately an hour in length and the rocking of the boat nearly put me to sleep. Amresh recommended that upon arrival on the island, we all take the mini train to the ticket purchasing area, but the train wasn’t working when we arrived. 2.5 kms later – mostly uphill on knee killing steps, we reached the caves.

Along the way we were continually asked to stop and purchase items by villagers posted beside stalls overladen with goods. I had a feeling I’d be stopping their on the way down.

Amresh told us he mainly visits the main caves, but since we wanted to see more, he made the trek to the other, less visited ones.

One of the entrances to the caves

Shiva, carved from solid rock walls.

Ted had read that there was an old British cannon on the island – left over from WWII – and so we continued our trek up the hill. Few tourists make this part of the journey and I can understand why. The sheer pathways are full of monkeys and Ted quickly gave up his snack of bananas when they growled at him.

Everyone who knows my issues with heights will understand when I say it was no simple feat for me to make it to the top of the hill and view the cannons. It was like climbing Whistler’s mountain all over again – except this time I didn’t have to turn back to take children to the bathroom!

On the way back down the mountain, we encountered a man making Paan. Both Ted and I had tried paan on previous visits to India. While I’m not fond of it, Ted quite enjoys chewing paan so we stopped to get him some.

Ted’s original plan was to spend only a half day on the island, but that would not have done it justice. Instead, we ended up staying until almost 5pm. I’m sure a lot of that was due to not wanting to end the excellent conversation we’d been having with our new friend.

Leaving Elephanta.

Taj Mahal Hotel and India Gate from the boat.

All in all, it was a fun, educational, and exhausting day. After returning from Elephanta, both Ted and I were beat and dreaming of heading back to the hotel for some sleep.

If you’re going to visit Elephanta, make it a day trip and carry lots of water. If you don’t have a hat, buy one from the vendors selling them at India Gate – you’ll be glad you did.

Technorati Tags: Mumbai, India, hanging gardens, Elephanta Island, paan

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