A unique place called the Island of Elephanta, also known as the island of Gharapuri, situated East of Mumbai, in one of the many Islands in the harbour. This mysterious island is a true magnet for tourists from all over the world. Because its the biggest attractions are the underground stone cave temples are decorated with a huge number of beautiful statues. The whole temple complex in 1987 was included in the list of UNESCO world Heritage site.

Its present name Elephanta island in the XVII century by the Portuguese explorers, after them near the entrance to one of the caves temple complex was discovered carved from a single piece of basalt sculpture of an elephant – an elephant). They decided to take her to Portugal, but this venture failed because they dropped it in the sea. It was later raised from the bottom by the British, and at the moment this stone statue is in the Museum of Dr. Bhau Daji, a former Victoria and albert Museum.

The island can easily be reached by ferry, which runs between Elephanta and harbour of Mumbai. He daily, 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., departs from the pier right next to the historic gateway of India, and all the way to your destination takes about an hour. From the pier of the island to the caves leads straight road. Also, to get to the temples, you can use a small tram that takes visitors right up to the steps leading to the caves. All along the road there are shops and stores where you can purchase a variety of jewelry, Souvenirs, food and drinks.

The size of the entire island is only about 16KB km, earlier it was the capital of one of the local principalities. Today it is home to about 1,200 people, mostly engaged in agriculture – cultivated rice, as well as fishing and repairing boats. At Elephanta are three settlements: Shetlander, Morabaha and Rajbhandari, the latter is the original capital of the island. The temple cave is located on the territory of Sinbandera.

The exact date of creation unknown caves. It is assumed that this is approximately the VII century ad, when the ancient Indian Gupta Empire experienced its Golden age, and culture flourished and developed. Then we got the idea of building the temple in honor of the Hindu deity Shiva.

The caves can be accessed through the main North entrance that leads into a large hall supported by several massive columns. It was in this hall is a huge statue Maheshmurthy. Its height is 6, 3 meter, and it depicts the God Shiva in his three roles: Creator, Protector and Destroyer. Other sculptures near the entrance and on the side panels, represent the achievements of Shiva. As, for example, a sculpture depicting the process of creation Shiva Ganges.

While visiting the island should remember that tourists are not allowed to remain on Elephanta overnight, so you need to catch the last return ferry.

Each February, on the initiative of the Development Corporation of Maharashtra Tourism, the island is a festival of dance.