A Trip to Elephenta Caves

Date of Travel : 19 April 2022 

Mode of Travel : Train, Bus, Boat

How to reach by public transport

• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus is the nearest station if you want to visit Gharapuri - Elephanta Caves from Mumbai, Pune, Nashik or anywhere else in the country. 
• From outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus you can get taxis to the Gateway of India or walk south for five minutes to the bus depot where bus number 111 goes to the Gateway of India. 
• Boats leave for Elephenta from the back side of the Gateway of India.
• It takes 45 to 60 minutes to reach Elephenta by boat. 

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👉 Important Notes 

Travelogue

    I had been hearing about the Elephanta Caves since childhood, so was curious to see them. While watching videos on YouTube, came across a video related to Elephanta Caves. After watching the video I decided to visit. With the help of Google I planned the trip and discussed it with my friends Kaushal and Vinayak. Both liked the idea of ​​visiting Elephanta Caves and fixed the date of 19th April.

A famous statue at Elephenta caves

    Decided to meet everyone at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus on 19th at 8:30 am, so left Goregaon at 6:30 am but due to change of platform numbers at Goregaon station, instead of boarding Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus train, I took train to Churchgate and all the confusion! Then I got down at Bandra and changed the train, due to which I was delayed by twenty to twenty five minutes. Kaushal, who always comes late, arrived on time today and was waiting for me and Vinayak. I reached CSMT station around 8:40 and Vinayak also reached there just ten-fifteen minutes after me. The three of us came out of CSMT station and walked for ten minutes to reach the bus station, took bus number 111 and got down near Gateway of India. Spent some time at the Gateway of India and taking pictures of it, the urge to take a selfie was irresistible when we got close to the Gateway of India. Meanwhile, Vinayak got a call from his colleague from his office, hence he was busy on the phone for twenty to twenty five minutes, meanwhile we inquired where to get the boat ticket to Elephenta and when Vinayak was free, we three went to the back side of Gateway of India and stood in a queue waiting for the boat to Elephenta. After waiting for 5 to 10 minutes the boat came, tickets were given while entering the boat, 260 rupees if you want to sit on the lower deck of the boat and 10 rupees extra if you want to sit on the upper deck. We paid an extra ten rupees for the ticket to go to the upper deck despite the heat, as it was the first time for the three of us to travel in the deep sea.

Note 

• Boat service from Gateway of India to Elephanta runs from 09:00 AM to 03:30 PM. 
• Also the boat service from Elephanta to Gateway of India runs from 12:00 PM to 05:30 PM. 
• It should be noted that this boat service is closed on Mondays. 
• The most important thing is that you have to do the boat journey at your own risk, the ticket states that the boat company is not responsible for any accident. 
• The return journey is also done with the same money so keep the receipt safe with you.

A selfie on the boat

 

    We started our journey towards Elephenta, as the boat moved forward, we could see a huge cargo ship, we wanted to keep seeing it, and further on, we saw two Indian Navy ships (destroyers) standing in the Mazgaon Dock, looking at the Navy ship with pride bloomed. There was no stopping the temptation to take pictures on the boat but the boat swaying on the sea waves made it difficult to keep the balance, We managed to hold onto the railing and stand, took nice pictures and went back to the seat. We were surprised to see some German tourists sitting on the side seats, as it was Summer season and was 10:30 a.m in the morning and the sun was shining overhead, but the German tourists didn't care, they were enjoying themselves and we Indians were suffering from the heat. In just 45 minutes we reached the island of Elephenta. Got down from the boat and stood in the queue at the toy train ticket counter. Tip: Keep the receipt as the return journey is also in the same amount. As it was time for the train to leave, We ran and grabbed the coach and got inside. The train started and within five minutes it dropped us near Elephenta gate. We were hungery, so went to a hotel for breakfasy and ordered pav bhaji, pav bhaji was not worth the price we bought it, pav bhaji had less vegetables and more tomatoes, were just looting the tourists. After finishing our breakfast, we came out of the restaurant and booked the guide who was standing nearby. Along with the guide we headed towards the Elephenta caves, climbed some steps and buy the tickets from the ticket counter of the archeology department.

    Elephenta Caves are carved into the mountains on Gharapuri, a small island in the sea, 6-7 miles from Mumbai in Maharashtra. These rock-cut caves were built between the 9th century to the 13th century AD. In 1987, these caves were given the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Near the entrance to Gharapuri Caves there is a gigantic sculpture of an elephant, hence the name Elephanta Caves. This sculpture is currently in Rani Bagh, Mumbai. The ancient name of this village was Sripuri. Gharapuri must have been the capital of the Mauryan dynasty in Konkan. After that, Chalukya, Rashtrakuta, Yadavni Mogul established their power there in order. In the first half of the sixteenth century, this island was under the control of the Portuguese. During the period of Shivaji Maharaj, it was captured by the Marathas and in the year 1774, the British established their dominion over it. There are five caves dug into the mountains on this island. The sculpture here belongs to the Shaivite sect. Many interesting and selected Shiva stories are included in it. Among these stories, Shiva-Parvati marriage, Gangavataran, Tandavanritya, Andhakasur slaying etc. are very characteristic. The scenes are very picturesque and literally bring Shiva's life in brief before us.

Carvings in the Elephenta caves

    It was twelve o'clock in the afternoon. The guide told us about the sculptures, idols and their context in Elephenta cave. We walked with the guide for almost half an hour. After seeing all the caves we paid him his money and set him free. Apart from the caves, we wandered around the rest of the island to see if there was anything else to see. We came back to the main caves and spent time looking at the carvings again. The Trimukha statue there is very beautiful, we took lots of pictures and left to go to the higher part of the island, as there were two big cannons that were to be seen. Passing the archeological department check post, we came forward and took a left turn towards the cannons, While looking at the cannon, we saw a foreign woman coming down from the top of the mountain. When asked, she said that there is another cannon at the top, so we went further two hundred and three hundred meters. The special feature of these guns is that these guns are made of a special metal and the salt air of the sea does not affect these guns at all. Even today, if you fire the canon, it will aim accurately! While watching the cannon, a tourist came and started taking pictures by sitting on top of the cannon, taking it down with a proper understanding. The design of the gun and the provision for keeping it and the underground provision for storing the ammunition are amazing! After seeing them all, we turned back again. The surroundings of JNPT, seen from the vicinity of the cannon, were very beautiful. We came down around 3 pm, decided to go to Mumbai for lunch because of the experience we had during breakfast, but we were very dehydrated due to walking in the sun, so we drank lemon juice at a nearby shop and started our way back.

A big canon at Gharapuri fort

    While going down the stairs, we were looking at the items in the shops. Just then we saw a wind chime in a shop, it was made of clams, we three bought and headed towards the toy train. The toy train had left five minutes earlier, as we had plenty of time, we walked to the dock. After ten minutes of waiting the boat arrived, we boarded the boat and started our journey towards Gateway of India. We reached Gateway of India at around 05:00 PM. Spent some time at Gateway of India and went to nearby Delhi Darbar restaurant for lunch. By 7 pm finished the lunch and we all three headed towards home.

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