Elephanta Island still awaits much needed renovation
Posted On: Apr 3rd, 2016 at 12:54
India
Another place I have been very lucky to visit – the Elephanta Caves in Mumbai – is still awaiting its renovation.
The caves aren’t exactly in Mumbai, they are on an island of the same name – Elephanta Island – seven miles east and an hour’s boat ride from the jetty at the Gateway to India, near the Taj Mahal Hotel.
The island is a magical place with huge temples cut into the rock, similar to those at Ajanta and Ellora. Unfortunately the Portuguese used the island for target practice and damaged many of the deities. A couple of hundred years after the British “inherited” Mumbai (Bombay as it was then) from the Portuguese, the free standing, life-sized elephant that was located at the main Shiva temple entrance was removed for safety and transported to the Jijamata Udyaan zoo, where it still resides today.
The island is full of monkeys who will steal anything they can get their hands on, so keeping ones belongings close is a must!
Naturally I could write all day about this amazing place but I won’t. The renovations that have been proposed include upgrading the train that takes visitors from the jetty to the island entrance and, more importantly, extending the covered walkway all the way to the jetty. That would be a godsend as I remember the heat was so intense that I bought a hat at the jetty and took the train, just to get cover. Mumbai is the hottest place I have ever visited and the humidity is almost unbearable. I have been to Mumbai twice (April 2012 and May 2014) and both those months are the two hottest of the year. I visited the caves on my first visit.
