Fifteen years ago, we climbed the steps to the grand caves with a baby in tow. In January, we went back—this time with two teenagers. As we hiked up, I could hear the familiar whines of tired teens (and feel the ache in my own knees!), but I knew what was waiting for us at the top. Seeing the ancient deities carved into the stone walls of the Elephanta Caves is a marvel that transcends time. Standing at the entrance of this UNESCO World Heritage site, it was clear: the climb was just as worth it now as it was then.
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Elephanta Island
Elephanta Island was named by the Portuguese explorers who landed on the island and saw the giant statues of an elephant near the entrance. The reason to visit the island is to see the exquisite Elephanta Caves. Carved into the mountain, the temples were created in between the 5th and 9th century CE, and contain massive reliefs of Shiva, his wives, Bhrama and more. During the colonial period, the Portuguese tried to deface and damage the caves, to stop the locals from praying there and convert them to Christianity. In the late 1970s the Government of Indira restored the main cave to help increase tourism. Today you can take a ferry over and see these beautiful ancient works of art in all their glory.
Ferry Over
There are two ways to Elephanta Island. You can get on the ferry that takes off from Belapur Jetty in Navi Mumbai, or (the more popular way), is get on the first come/first serve ferry that leaves from behind the Gateway of India. Make sure to go all the way to the back and pay from one of the vendors holding the tickets. You will be guided down to a boat. There is no set schedule, generally the will wait to fill the boat and then go off.
The ride over takes roughly 30 minutes. During the ride you can buy drinks and snacks. Lots of families purchased snacks specifically to feed the seagulls that would fly by the boat. Several kids on the boat loved feeding the seagulls, and they were crowding around us, all the way to the island.
Entering the Island
The ferry lands at the northern side of the island, and there is a long walk on the jetty towards the market and caves. Here we found several licensed tour guides that offered to guide you through the caves. We chose Nikhil who was fantastic. He took us on the toy train (yes, that’s what it’s called), which saves you the walk on the pier. This will be important for later. As we were riding the train towards the entrance to the market, Nikhil told us about living on the island, a bit about the history of the island, and a bit about what we were about to se.
Market
Once you land, you need to hike up 127 steps to the entrance of the Elephanta Caves UNESCO World Heritage Site. All along this stairways are vendors and stores selling their wears. We came early in the morning, so saw them opening up. On They were active when we were on the way down, shouting out encouraging you to come and view what they had. We visited a cute shop at the bottom of the hill that had beautiful wood and granite souvenirs we bought to bring home.
Main Cave
Once we climbed the 127 steps and sat to catch our breath, we paid the entrance fee and then headed into the Main Cave. This is the cave you see the most pictures of and massive statues.
Shiva Linga: The main religious area of the temple that was not destroyed by the Portugues is the Shiva linga. Our guide informed us that the Portuguese deliberately tried to destroy the Hindu deity statues because they wanted people in instead convert to Catholicism. However they did not realize that the Siva linga was the representation of a deity, and it is the only one that was saved from destruction. People today still remove there shoes, walk around it, and worship Lord Shiva.
However, though the Portuguese tried to destroy the statues, they did not succeed in completely removing them. One the key ones:
Shiva Nataraja: Depicted in his traditional dance pose, this shows Lord Shiva in his classic 18 arm dance pose, right near the entrance
Kalyanasundara Murti: One of my favorites, this is a panel that depicts Shiva on his wedding day to Pavatri, his wife. He is surrounded by other gods and goddesses celebrating including Vishnu and Bhrama.
Trimurti Sadashiva: This is the big one everyone comes to see. This is a beautiful statue showing the 3 faces of Shiva, the creator, the preserver and the destroyer. It’s a fantastic relief that stands over 5 meters high.
Side Caves
Once you leave the main caves, you go to visit the four other caves on the island. These were not as built out, and often have little to no adornment. However, many still have the Shiva linga, and our guide showed us how the acoustics worked in the caves, and how the priests chants could carry through. We also saw a relief of Shiva with all his wives in all their forms. Praviti was the nice one. Watch out for Kali, she is the one who comes out when she is mad.
Tips
- Go early in the morning: The crowds grow as you go, and if the market is open when you are going up the stairs, the vendors will reach out to you both up and back. Ferries leave as early as 9 AM, and it’s worth it to go earlier. You also avoid the most of the warm mid-day sun.
- Comfortable Walking Shoes: Did I mention the 127 steps?!?! It’s a long hike up, and a lot of walking. We all wore our Sketchers Go Walk Step In Sneakers. Not only were they comfortable for the long walks, but you could easily slip them on and off when going around the sacred portions of the caves.
- Hire a Guide: If you want someone to manage the whole process, consider using GetYourGuide or another tour aggregator to organize a half day trip to Elephanta Island with hotel pickup, ferry rides, and all. However, if you decide to get to Elephanta Island on your own, there are plenty of local, licensed guides at the ferry that you can hire for a reasonable price. A guide will help you and your family understand the history and the stories behind what you are looking at so much better. Even though my husband grew up in this religion, he still learned new and interesting history when we visited these caves.
- If you don’t have GPay, bring plenty of cash: Most the guides and shops do not take credit cards. They will take GPay, but you need an Indian bank account to use it. Otherwise, be sure to have cash on you.
- Bring a good camera: It should be fine with a regular phone, but if you like photography, this is a place to bring the good camera. My husband took pictures with Nikon Digital SLR. I wish I had my Insta360 Go Ultra camera for video of the inside of the caves, and the walk up.
- Beware of the Monkeys: These guys are brave souls. And if you have any food they will try to get at it. The guide helped keep them away, but we wary. And never look them in the eye
When leaving the island, the teens were talking excitingly about seeing the giant statues, trying to figure out how they were able to carve them from pure stone, and wondering if any monkeys were going to try and board the ferry boat back with us (they did not). We rested on the ride back, looking at the seagulls and the waves, and let the moment soak in. This was one of the many heritage sites we were able to see on this India trip, and we took the time to appreciate how lucky we were to have such a rich history be a part of our family legacy.
* Starred Photos taken by Atma Photography