Weekend In Black and White : 14 [Trip To Elephanta Island #9 ] # Nests In The Tree

We saw these nests on the tree while climbing up to Cannon hills to see the two cannons up here.

What you see in the background is the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, also known as Nhava Sheva. It is located in the Arabian Sea, it is the largest container port in India.

City Daily Photo Monthly Theme March 2015 : Aging - Elephanta Caves [ Trip To Elephanta Island #8 ]

Aging of Elephanta Caves

The Elephanta Caves and the island (originally called Gharapuri island) were named so by the Portuguese rulers after a huge rock-cut black stone statue of an elephant they found installed on the island. The statue is now installed at the Victoria Gardens (Jijamata Udyan) in Mumbai.

After climbing the flight of stone steps, you will finally reach the entrance area to the caves, and need to pay an entrance fee here, which is Rs. 10 for Indian citizens and Rs. 250 for foreign nationals. The caves are closed on Mondays - so do not buy boat tickets even if you see the sellers selling them at the Gateway of India.

This is the main cave of Elephanta Caves and called Cave 1. It is carved in solid basalt and has some magnificient stone carvings and artwork known to be made in ancient times- somewhere between the 6th and 8th century. 
The cave is a massive hall, supported by pillars and houses the famous Maheshmurti statue of Shiva in his 3-headed aspect - Creator, Protector and Destroyer. It is also in partially ruined state like many other sculptures here. The caves were regular places of worship of Lord Shiva in the ancient times.

If we could imagine what the caves and the sculptures of Hindu gods really looked like when they were formed, we can see the richness of ancient history, art and culture here.

The aging of the caves and the sculptures is natural, and due to neglect under rule of different Indian rulers and also caused by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, who did shooting practice on these sculptures in the caves. 

MAHESHMURTI AT ELEPHANTA CAVES

The Elephanta Island has more caves and sculptures, and also two old cannons at the hills called Cannon hills.

Trip to Elephanta Island #7 : The Way Up - Shopping, Adventure & Surprises

Before the steps that lead up to the caves, there are a few stalls having some exquisite pieces of jewellery, art, souvenirs and some also have memory cards, camera batteries and stuff that tourists might need. 
I simply loved these necklaces.

While you are shopping or looking around, Beware!!!
You're being watched.
By notorious nasty hungry monkeys. They are looking for food and could grab your handbag if they suspect or see some food in it.

And by goats and cows too.
Who want a bite of your freshly roasted sweet corn, and will walk behind you till you finish it and throw the cob away.

This hungry goat wanted the corn, and was chasing the lady all the way up. She finally turned around and tried to shoo it away.

The climb up may be tiring for some, and you may want to stop and sit for a while on the rocky walls of the steps. Another option is the ride up on the 'palkhi' for a few hundred rupees - the blue seat you can see here. Once you are seated, it is carried by 4 men and within minutes, you are at the top. We saw a few senior citizens being carried on the palkhi very comfortably.

Blue tarpaulin sheets cover the whole place to protect you from the scorching sun, and get you into the mood of shopping.
There are interesting stalls on both sides and you can buy if you wish on your way up, or leave it for later.

You can also grab a cold drink or a freshly prepared vadapav from one of the stalls on the side, if you are planning lunch after visiting the caves.

Mumbai Weekend Snapshot by Krrish - 10 : Trip To Elephanta Island - 6 # Toy Train at Elephanta Island

TOY TRAIN AT ELEPHANTA ISLAND -CLICK TO VIEW IN LARGER SIZE

We ate snacks in the boat, clicked pictures of ships and seagulls, each other too, enjoyed the cool breeze and finally reached the Elephanta Island.

As we climbed the stairs up the jetty, this cute little train was waiting for us. It is a small ride to the base of the hills where the caves are located. You can walk if you like but don't miss this cute 5 minute ride atleast one way. The train moves slowly and you can take pictures easily.

Here's what we captured along the way.

VIEW FROM THE TOY TRAIN -CLICK TO VIEW IN LARGER SIZE

These pretty wooden cars and other wooden toys were displayed in the tiny stalls along the train tracks. There were many shops selling caps and hats too.

The train turned here after a while and the track ends a little ahead after the turn here. See how far we have come from the jetty after taking a right turn. Again there are some souvenir shops just before the steps to the hill.

These interesting magnetic stickers and the wooden toys were the best buy for children. I did some shopping too :-)

Weekend In Black & White : 12 # Trip To Elephanta Island -5 # Seagulls Again

Click photo to view it in larger size

Hungry seagulls waiting to swoop down on food tossed by the boat passengers to attract them. The sad part was that they were tossing spicy chips like Lays and Kurkure that were harmful for the birds.

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Skywatch Friday 2015 - 8 : Trip To Elephanta Island - 4 # Seagulls In Flight

SEAGULLS IN FLIGHT

We spotted a flock of seagulls who were attracted to some food that the  passengers were throwing in the air. They were trying to catch the food and I managed to get them really close.

These are my first ever proper bird shots and I'm so happy I went to Elephanta island.

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Trip To Elephanta Island -3 # Ships & Vessels

THE SHIP ANKLESHWAR

We saw the ship Ankleshwar and other big ships and vessels and boats on the boatride to Elephanta island. Krrish was very excited as he was seeing a real ship for the first time.
By now we were almost halfway to Elephanta island.

Skywatch Friday 2015 - 7 : Trip To Elephanta Island - 2 # Seagulls & Speedboats

As we moved away from the fast fading Gateway of India, we could see seagulls flying around us and some sitting on some floating foam-like material and enjoying the high tide. We also saw quite a few speedboats zooming past us in the wintry haze. All cameras were out and hardly anyone was seen seated in their places
We were now looking forward to see some ships and rigs in the sea.

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ABC Wednesday - 'E' for Elephanta Island

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The Elephanta Island is a forest covered island off the coast of Mumbai, and a quiet and interesting getaway from the chaos of the city. It can be accessed by ferry from the Gateway of India. The island is famous for its Elephanta Caves ( a World Heritage Site), which are cave temples carved in the rock of the island. The temples date back to somewhere between the 5th and 8th century.

To go to Elephanta island, go to Gateway of India, an impressive structure facing the sea, and board the ferry to Elephanta, tickets for which are available at the Elephanta ticket counter, or from a person officially distributing tickets to passengers in queue at the jetty for the next boat to Elephanta. The first ferry leaves at 9 am and the last one at 2 pm and the frequency is every half an hour.

After getting off the boat, there is a walkway that leads to the base of the hill, where there are steps leading to the caves. There is also a mini toy train that will take you to the base of the steps.

There was a lot to the trip besides the sculptures in the caves which are in poor condition. The ferry ride was one of the attractions.
In my next few posts, I will show you around the island, caves, sculptures, the huge canons, shopping for sculptures, souvenirs and handicraft and not to forget the monkeys grabbing food from visitors and drinking Pepsi straight from the bottle. And also the speedboats and the ships and the seagulls we saw during the fascinating breezy boat ride.

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