Mumbai, India
Top places to visit in Mumbai
6 places worth your time in Mumbai, with what each is actually like and when to go.
Last updated 2026-08-09
1. Gateway of India
Photo: Andy Hay · CC BY 2.0 · source
The basalt arch on the waterfront, built for a royal visit in 1911 and the point the last British troops left from in 1948.
- Where: Colaba
- Map: Open in Maps
- Best time: Early morning, before the crowds and the hawkers
Watch outBoat touts quoting a price for Elephanta that excludes the island entry fee and the return leg.
2. Elephanta Caves
Photo: string_bass_dave · CC BY SA 2.0 · source
Rock-cut Shiva temples on an island an hour out by ferry, with a six-metre three-headed Trimurti carved into the basalt.
- Where: Elephanta Island
- Map: Open in Maps
- Best time: First ferry; closed Mondays
- Cost: Ferry ~200 INR return, entry 600 INR
3. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
Photo: Laertes · CC BY 2.0 · source
A working railway station and a UNESCO site — Victorian Gothic crossed with Mughal domes, still moving three million people a day.
- Where: Fort
- Map: Open in Maps
- Tip: The interior is best seen on a weekday morning; photography is restricted on the platforms.
4. Marine Drive and Chowpatty
Photo: wallygrom · CC BY SA 2.0 · source
The seafront curve that lights up as the 'Queen's Necklace' after dark, ending at the beach where the city eats bhelpuri.
5. Dharavi
Photo: ToGa Wanderings · CC BY 2.0 · source
One of Asia's largest informal settlements, and a working district of leather, pottery and recycling rather than the spectacle it is often sold as.
- Map: Open in Maps
- Tip: Go with an operator that employs residents and bans photography of people. Several do; the rest are voyeurism.
6. Kanheri Caves
Photo: Bigul Malayi · CC0 · source
109 Buddhist caves cut into basalt inside a national park, quiet in a way nothing else in Mumbai is.
- Where: Sanjay Gandhi National Park
- Map: Open in Maps
- Best time: Weekday mornings
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