In December some of us went to India and decided to have an outing with the folks from here who have moved to India permanently. Everyone who was in India at that time was contacted. Some could make it and some could not make it.
The date was Sunday, Dec 27 2009. Samir/Amisha did the planning and investigation and feasibility of a trip to Elephanta Caves. It seemed doable and would be a fun trip for kids with boat ride involved, etc.
We picked up food to go. The menu was Falafel sandwiches from www.falafels.in which is near Colaba (3 blocks from Gateway of India). We met at Gateway of India with everyone else. There was a big line for Elephanta Caves boats. But the lines were moving quickly. After some 15-20 mins we got into a boat. There was lot of crowd at Gateway of India due to Xmas holidays.
Boat Ride to Elephanta
The boat ride was about an hour+. WE got down at the island and there was a long walk to the village where the shops are and the climb to elephants caves begins. They have a small train which takes you to the foot of the climb, but we preferred to walk. Along the way we found several folks selling yummy stuff like Awala, Bor, Kakdi, etc.
They had a nice restroom at the foot of the climb. Pay and Use , but nice.
We climbed up the steps and reached a garden where we had lunch.
Lunch in the park
This garden was full of monkeys. And these monkeys were pretty brave too. Ayush was drinking his frooti and he was distracted for a short time and left his frooti on the bench. And in no time a monkey came and took away his frooti.
Monkey drinking Frooti
Later we realized the monkeys in this area just love Frooti. There was a nice hand pump also for water. A good lesson for the kids about how to draw water from the ground.
Hand Pump in Park
After having lunch we climbed up further. Now there was too much crowd. Our pace was slowed down due to the crowd. After about climbing 20-25 mins we reached the Caves. We wandered around and looked at the various murtis. Was shocking to see that there is no railing on most of them to prevent people from touching etc. Some people were climbing on some of them to take photos. There were security guards who use to whistle and order people but how many can they handle.
Elephants Caves
At Elephanta Caves
Anyway it took us about 45 mins to see everything. Its possible to still go higher than the caves. Some of us went a little distance further and there was a nice view from the top. We then headed back to catch the return boat.
At Gateway of India
After returning to Gateway of India, we had dinner at Shiv Sagar and Ice Cream at Rustom’s. Overall it was a great trip with boats, hikes, monkeys involved. Thanks to Samir/Amisha for the planning. Thanks to Sanjay/Parul, Samir/Amisha, Ajay/Amita, Jiten/Sonal for some great company.
If you have not gone to Elephanta Caves (And many Mumbaikars have not), its worth a visit. I wish the govt would take steps to improve this tourism destination.
The whole photo set of Elephanta Caves trip can be found at :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dimprash/sets/72157623106724193/