Elephanta Island is one of a number of islands in Mumbai Harbour, East of Mumbai, India. This island is a popular tourist destination for a day trip because of the island's cave temples, the Elephanta Caves that have been carved out of rock.
The island is easily accessible by ferry from Mumbai which is about 10 kms from the south east coast of the island city. Boats leave daily from the Gateway of India, taking about an hour each way for the journey. On reaching the island, a walkway leads to steps that go up to the famous caves. Along the path, hawkers sell souvenirs that may be bought at a reasonable price. There are also stalls to buy food and drinks.
Known in ancient times as Gharapuri, the present name Elephanta, was given by 17th century Portuguese explorers, after seeing a monolithic basalt sculpture of an elephant found here, near the entrance. They decided to take it home but ended up dropping it into the sea because their chains where not strong enough. The area comes under the jurisdiction of the Raigad district in Maharashtra State. A narrow gauge train takes tourists along the 1 km pier to the base of the steps which lead to the caves.
The island is thickly wooded with palm, mango and tamarind trees. The island has a population of about 1,200 involved in growing rice, fishing, and repairing boats. It was once the capital of a powerful local kingdom.
