Elephanta Island is about 1 hour ferry ride from Mumbai. It is famed for its cave temples to the Hindu deity, Shiva. Sculptures were hewn from living rock between 450-750 A.D.
Once you arrive at the island you can either walk or take this little train to where the shops and caves are- we took the train
The crew and our tour guide- (he's in the orange shirt). The guide lives on the island and on Mondays when the island is closed to tourists he travels to Mumbai for supplies for the week- they have generator power and only have TV at 10:00 p.m. for a few hours
The caves are quite a walk up many stone steps- these chairs are used to carry people up to the caves- boy I wish I'd chosen this option!!
The Shiva sculpture
Entance to one of the caves- this one has most of the carvings
Whew!! We made it up the stairs- onto the caves!
Monkeys are all over the island- where as there are, and never have been any elephants...When the island was first inhabited a large elephant was sculpted from rock, years later the Portuguese found it and hence the name--Elephanta Island. The elephant is a symbol of good luck in India.
One can also see goats and of course cows...
This is a replica of the statue of Shiva- it is what greets you upon arrival on the little train
There are old women with pots on their heads--now they don't walk around like this all the time, but certainly do when the boats arrive in hopes of money for the photo opp.
Once you arrive at the island you can either walk or take this little train to where the shops and caves are- we took the train
The crew and our tour guide- (he's in the orange shirt). The guide lives on the island and on Mondays when the island is closed to tourists he travels to Mumbai for supplies for the week- they have generator power and only have TV at 10:00 p.m. for a few hours
The caves are quite a walk up many stone steps- these chairs are used to carry people up to the caves- boy I wish I'd chosen this option!!
The Shiva sculpture
Entance to one of the caves- this one has most of the carvings
Whew!! We made it up the stairs- onto the caves!
Monkeys are all over the island- where as there are, and never have been any elephants...When the island was first inhabited a large elephant was sculpted from rock, years later the Portuguese found it and hence the name--Elephanta Island. The elephant is a symbol of good luck in India.
One can also see goats and of course cows...
This is a replica of the statue of Shiva- it is what greets you upon arrival on the little train
There are old women with pots on their heads--now they don't walk around like this all the time, but certainly do when the boats arrive in hopes of money for the photo opp.
1 comment:
Love the shiva entrance sculpture...enjoying your photos and travels as usual. I'm glad you opted for the photo op, neat picture.
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