Elephanta Caves
Elephanta Caves
4
Points of Interest & LandmarksCaverns & Caves
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Elephanta Caves are situated on Elephanta Island about 7 kms from Mumbai’s mainland shore. The caves can be reached by an approx. 1-hour boat ride from Gateway of India.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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  • Fran-Svk
    India223 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Like it
    Fortunately, we went there, and it was very nice trip. Firstly excellent ancient construction 'work', i like it. Secondly along the staircase one can buy some little gifts ;) Just cant understand that such famous tourist spot has not proper internet coverage, so entrance tickets must pay in cash... and again, fee for Indians is 40,-, for foreigners 600,- perfect, "like" it.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 24 October 2023
  • bekoubetts
    Zurich, Switzerland2,091 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    The journey is better than the destination.
    Two hundred and sixty rupees gets you a return boat trip from Mumbai. It’s about a 70 min trip each-way. What a lovely way to see Mumbai harbour and the dozens of commercial vessels on route. When you disembark, you’ll be harassed immediately by folk claiming to be tour guides. You don’t need a guide at all. But they are persistent. A different kind of persistence on the island from the usual Indian approach. Less cordial. More full on. You’ll pay the officials some ridiculous fee to progress. I think it was something like 15 rupees. Once you’re ’in’ you have a choice of walking the length of the pier or talking the model train. I took the train there. It was around 25 rupees. The train journey is around 300 - 400 meters. It terminates at the base of the steps you’ll need to climb to get to the entrance of the caves. Believe it or not, but you’ll be offered to be carried up the stairs on a rudimentary wooden chair. Looked a bit colonial to me. It’s quite ridiculous and unless you have mobility and / or imperialist issues, totally unnecessary. Again, the chaos offering the service are pests. The climb up is leisurely. There’s hawkers and some restaurants on both sides of the stairs. The restaurants looked ok to me but I wasn’t hungry. Once you get to the top of the stairs you’ll pop out at the kiosk to pay entry into the caves. I wasn’t too impressed by the caves. I think I’d seen enough stunning sights on my travels and felt a bit let down. However, I enjoyed the troupes of monkey and I saw a wonderful lizard who was a good two feet in length. The mangrove swamps and the jungle delighted me. As did the boat trip.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written 2 December 2023
  • Cedric N
    Mumbai, India693 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A UNESCO World Heritage Site
    Had been to this ancient rock cut caves near Mumbai a long back ago. It is located at Elephanta Island. These caves are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is famous for the rock cut sculpture of the Trimurti. There are 5 rock cut caves on the western hill that are visited by tourists. There are 2 rock cut caves on the eastern hill that are unexplored by tourists. One can get views of the surrounding area and the other side of the Island. Beware of monkeys that roam around in the vicinity. One can trek up the hill for 15 mins to get a good view and see 2 large British era cannons. Earlier, the entrance fees were Rs. 10 per Indian and Rs. 300 per foreigner. But, now, it is Rs. 40 per Indian and Rs. 600 per foreigner. There are restaurants nearby. There are small shops lined on the steps. One can walk or ride a toy train to reach the foothill. It takes an hour to reach the island by ferry from the Gateway of India. These caves are an ideal place for families as well as history lovers. It is a must visit and should not be missed.
    Visited March 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written 2 February 2024
  • Maxim H
    Birmingham, United Kingdom17 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent Tour with Avinesh
    Avinesh (+91 98693 16041) is a dedicated tour guide who lives on the island and has an intimate knowledge of the caves. The caves are stunning and rich in history. Would recommend booking g Avinesh as a guide.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 3 February 2024
  • Daydream66879483621
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    AVENISH is the Man!
    AVENISH is The Man! His father was a tour guide & he is the Best Tour Guide in Mumbai (+91) 98693 16041 He is professional & very informative! The Island was amazing & we were very blessed to have him with us! 10 Stars out of 5. Thank you AVI!! We’ll reach keep in touch!
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled on business
    Written 4 February 2024
  • glycerine
    79 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    How to get there
    This review is more a how-to guide on how to get to the caves and the charges along the way. First off is the boat ride from the Gate of India which costs INR 260 return for double decker ones which are much more pleasant to ride on than the cheaper alternative. Once you're on the boat, it will cost another INR 10 to sit on the upper deck. A bunch of seagulls will flock around the boat as it departs and you soon understand why as people on the boat start feeding them snacks. Chips will set you back INR 10 for a small pack. When you arrive at the island, you can choose to walk the length of the jetty or take a train ride for INR 20 return. By this time, some local guides would have introduced themselves to you. We randomly went with Chandra Kant, an elderly gentleman who did a good job taking us around. He charged us INR 1000 for the effort, but we happily tipped him more at the end. If you're keen to link up with him, this is his number: +919870473673 When you reach the entrance, you first need to pay another INR 10 as some form of tourist tax. Then there is another INR 600 you need to pay as the entrance ticket. A visit to the toilet will set you back INR 5. I hope this gives you a good idea of the charges involved in visiting the island. Remember that you need cash for all of this. Overall it was a nice day trip and as some reviews have mentioned, the journey there is very much part of the adventure :)
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 14 February 2024
  • Rex W
    Perth, Australia52 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Guide for Elephanta Caves
    Avenish (+91) 9869316041 met us on the island as we disembarked the ferry. He was very helpful and knowledgeable in explaining the Elephanta caves. He was pleasant, took fantastic photos and made our experience definitely a memorable one. Would recommend to anyone wanting to know more about the Elephanta caves.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 21 February 2024
  • Kate M
    Royal Tunbridge Wells, United Kingdom168 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A great Trip
    The caves are definitely worth a visit, they are very interesting and were brought alive for us by the guide we hired on the jetty as we landed on the island. His name was Nitin Mali (and contactable on +91 97573 25881) if you would like a guide to meet you on arrival and take you round I would recommend him. He even showed us round his village nearby which was also interesting. He also knows where and how to take the best photos of the caves!! There is one main cave with carvings which is a walk up some steps (which are mostly flanked by stalls selling nik naks). The boat trip over to the island is also a great experience, we went for the top deck where you can feed the sea gulls as they flock round the boat! You can buy boat tickets next to the Gateway to India, so I would recommend doing this trip yourselves, arriving on the island and meet your guide there for a price you are both happy with! A fascinating look back into history at the World Heritage site, and a great day out away from the hustle of Mumbai.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 28 February 2024
  • Piotrek B
    Warsaw, Poland141 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Disappointing
    Elephanta Caves are one of the "must see" places when visiting Mumbai. The thing is that in our view it's overrated. Sure, there are some ancient structures carved in the stone and the boat trip is chilling experience allowing one to escape the hustle of the big city. The island itself is dirty with tons of garbage lying around and seems as if noone was taking care of it. It gets a little better behind the ticketed entry but IMHO entire path from the jetty to the gates are also the part of the experience.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 3 March 2024
  • Meghan P
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great tour!
    Highly recommend this tour. Harish did a great job explaining the caves and monuments. He also made pickup in Mumbai seamless and explained what life was like on the island as a resident himself. We did not tour any local village as the description mentions.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled with friends
    Written 9 March 2024
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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles2,029 reviews
Excellent
706
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350
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94
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61

Ketaki K
3 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019 • Couples
The caves themselves do not take more than an hour to see, unless you visit the caves 6 and 7. The information provided about the things to do/see/expect at the caves is not consistent and not enough. I would recommend buying an information book for Rs.150 or get a guide at the cave directly, which offer way less rate than if you book one at the bottom/ferry terminal.

The ferry service itself sucks. It takes easily from 1 hr 15 mins to 1 hr 30 mins to get there. So expect to spend 4 to 5 hours if you are visiting only the caves 1 to 4, and more hours if you are planning to visit caves 6 and 7.
The ferries are not maintained well, and different ferries may charge different rates depending on the deck you choose to be on. So beaware of the fake rates and get it confirmed before you hop on a ferry from gateway of India.
Written 3 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sullyns
18 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Couples
Do not buy a tour!! Purchase a boat ticket behind the Gate to India for 205 rupees and pay an extra 10 rupees on the boat to sit on the top deck. The market stretches all the way up the hill, it is very enjoyable to look, barter and buy. We ate at a restaurant at the top of the hill on the left before entering the park, the food was excellent and also great value with the best view of any restaurant we saw. Locals pay 40 rupees but foreigners pay 600 this is still good value you only need 4 hours including the boat ride each way.
Written 2 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Aigoual
Norwich, Uk158 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
I caught the ferry to Elephanta Island (or Gharapuri) for R1.50 return – about a 1-hour journey, with great views looking back at the Gateway of India, though passing a huge complex of oil rigs/platforms and military vessels. It was an extremely hot day, and a long walk to the village where one commenced the very long climb up steps to the Elephanta Caves, negotiating market stalls on either side (some with attractive goods, others with tat), which there was little time to stop and admire. There was an alternative in the shape of a little tourist train, but I preferred the exercise, and felt smug to have arrived at the village before the train did!

The island is a World Heritage Site, built on to hills, and consists of 7 caves, carved out of the rock, dating from the 3rd Century BC. The carvings are Brahmanical and mainly devoted to the worship of the Hindu god, Lord Shiva. The stonework in the smaller caves is sadly quite damaged, but is amazingly well-preserved in the huge main cave, portraying Shiva (the destroyer of evil) Parvati (his wife), Ganesha (their elephant-god son), and Vishnu (the preserver god) among others. The boat trip back as the Gateway gradually comes into view, is most enjoyable.
Written 6 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

shan
2 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
I had an overtly high expectation from an UNESCO world heritage site, but i am ashamed to admit that the locals from that area have turned it into a cheap business unit and a garbage dump . you don't wanna peak outside the set path that leads to the caves or you will be surprised to see the amount of waste they dump there. The caves are still standing cause of Rock solid ancient architecture but the modern day pathetic maintenance will lead it to its ruins soon.
There is 0 maintenance involved and the guards have turned into guides with little to no knowledge about the caves or that area. i wish they stopped the tourists from eating spitting and having a free run at a 2000 yr old historic site.
caves are no doubt beautiful and have the architecture to give you goosebumps whilst thinking bout the amount of unprecedented hard work and perplexing technology our ancestors might have put in to build the caves.
hope the local government will at-least electrify and maintain the site in near future to save it for coming generations .
Written 22 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Libby in Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH1,215 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
This is a good trip for about 2 to 3 hours. You take a ferry from The Gate of India pier over to the island. You pay about $25 per person for the trip.The ride each way is an hour and costs 10 rupees per person each way. When you get to the island, don’t take the train. It doesn’t take you to the top of the hill as some websites suggest. You walk for about a mile and then pay to enter the park and then you pay 600 rupees per person to enter the UNESCO site.

You walk up a long path with a number of stairs past vendors on either side of the walkway to get to the caves. It is covered, but be mindful of all the monkeys around.

Some consider the 6th Century cave temple to be masterpieces of Indian sculpture. It was okay.The entire cave site can be seen in an hour. The first cave is the best.

We enjoyed the ride over and the people watching as much as anything.
Written 9 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Deepak S
Dubbo, Australia12 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Friends
An hour long ferry ride from the Gateway of India will take joy to this island that hosts the UNESCO world heritage site. Its 7 th century set of temple mainly of lord Shiva. The temple were carved out of the mountain and host some lovely sculpture work ; though a lot of these carvings have deteriorated over the centuries. The main carving of trimurty (three idols) of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh is a well known Hinduism and cultural icon. After landing at the ferry site, a gentle climb with paved steps takes you up to the heritage shore. Totally 7 caves, our of which only 4 are accessible; others have become destabilised and are closed to visitors. Gives in idea about the well developed engineering skills of the time. The path leading up to the cave site is lined up with souvenir shops and food stalls, and is a bit narrow. Probably may benefit from some improvement like widening and landscaping and move the shops a bit away. Any one who is not used to lots of people around may feel a bit claustrophobic. But absolutely worth a visit.
Another thing I noted : the ferry ride though very enjoyable could be more comfortable as it looked to be in need of maintenance. Broken seats, no safety drill or life jackets. It's almost 11 km long journey in the ocean and some attention to safety may help ; but this is something that is unfortunately typical of the subcontinent. But for foreigners, a unique experience and the site is a great opportunity to sample one of the oldest civilisation in the history of mankind.
Written 5 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sudip Basak
5 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019
As it was holiday time, there was a big crowd. You have to stand in a long and meandering queue (like the body of a serpent), before you are allowed to board the boat. You won't find the start of the line, believe me. The best thing would be to just go into the line from the middle. And try to take place at the front, or else you will have to wait an hour or two before boarding the boat. Once you do get in the boat , you have a nice and peaceful and serene boat ride for an hour. You can watch seagulls flying pretty close to you or quietly floating on the water. After that, you come to your actual destination. However, the climb is sheer vertical. It is very cramped and the possibility of a fall (from the stairs) is very real. It is very exhaustive also. After reaching the top, you don’t feel it is worth it to come all this way to see some broken sculptures made out of the mountains. Simply not worth it.
Written 7 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Leonid
West Bloomfield Township, MI5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
This is must to visit place. Round trip ferry 205 per person. Entrance fee 1600 and it all worth it. No need to pay a guide 4000, read online, and just walk this place is amazing and clean. Bring cash for shopping and pay only 1/3 of asking price.But if you come on the 9:00 am ferry, I highly recommend it, you can bargain price to the 1/4 of asking price.
Written 24 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Payal G
Mumbai, India1,091 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019 • Friends
Mismanaged is the first word that comes to mind followed closely by sad. Recent years have seen lot of administrative focus on maintaining and presenting our heritage. However, found this absolutely missing on revisiting Elephanta after more than a decade.

First and the most important advice is to avoid going there on any public holidays. The steps leading to the caves have absolutely been covered up in tarpaulin sheets and shops line both the sides - resulting in a severely cramped space where people joustle for taking a step. It is creating a situation for a stampede. The lack of air is worse in the holiday crowd given Mumbai's muggy weather.

There are 2 separate charges one for entering the island and the other for the caves - one wonders why they can't be collected at the same time instead of lining up twice. The toy train is a sham in such crowds. It is faster to walk up rather than pushing in the scramble to get on like on a fast local train.

After all this trouble once one makes it to the main caves more disappointment awaits. For a UNESCO heritage site from which the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation derives it's logo there is absolutely no information provided about the caves and the features one must look for. Probably for the benefit of the sham guides pestering people to take their services. The caves are poorly maintained with the overpowering stink of bat droppings. There is no lighting inside. Nor is any information on the sculptures available.

With a return journey of atleast 3 hours on the ferry and another 2 on the island, one must keep atleast 5 hours in hand when planning a trip.

Contrary to many reviews there are lot of eateries around the steps with proper food and water available. The souvenirs are very pricey and cheaper in Mumbai.
Written 12 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Diane Lapworth
14 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022 • Couples
I hadn't really done a lot of research about this place before we went, more of a last minute trip once we'd arrived in Mumbai. This ended up being my favourite day of our whole trip! The caves were amazing and the statue carvings are incredible! I would highly recommend using a tour guide as there are no explanations or information boards once you go in. We got the ferry from The Gateway of India and were met by Chandrakant at the other side. I wasn't looking for a tour guide, but I immediately got a good vibe from him and took his offer of showing us around. It only cost £14 for both me and my partner and it was worth every penny. He took us through the crowds and past the busy shops, then he enthusiastically explained all the history of the caves. He also helped us jump the queue for buying tickets which was great. After that, he walked us to his village on the island, a really unique experience which was only 10 minutes away. He made us tea and we chatted about all sorts of things! We also met his daughter. Later, he walked us back to the main area and showed us a great place to eat! I cannot recommend this tour enough. A real authentic and once in a lifetime experience. I've even put his number on (with his permission) in case you want to book him too!

Chandrakant
+919870473673

Have fun!
Written 20 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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ELEPHANTA CAVES (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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