Elephanta Island is a famous place in India located one hour away from Mumbai. The island is mostly known for its caves, truly interesting and eye catching; for this matter, in 1987 the spot was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, visited by thousands of tourists annually.

While traveling with the ferryboat, from Mumbai to Elephanta Island visitors will have at their disposal a tourist guide who will talk a bit with the people about Hinduism and what they should expect at their arrival. Once you’ve reached your destination you’ll come across beautiful rocky sculptures on the island.

Inside Elephanta Caves, the sculptures were created during the 5th and 8th century but the very first designs are still a mystery. Featuring 2 groups of grottos, the island is truly fascinating to explore. Made of solid rock and cut with tremendous architectural style, travelers worldwide will definitely enjoy this magnificent Indian landmark. The main cavern is called the Shiva Cave, or the Great Cave and it has over 27 meters in dimension. The creation of the beautiful place includes rock carving and column creation; in fact, the entire temple is like a huge stone sculpture with corridors and chambers.

The whole cave complex covers over 6.000 square feet and apart from the main chambers, there are 2 additional ones. Furthermore, travelers will also have at their disposal a courtyard to esteem and several auxiliary shires. If you’re a fan of the Indian religion and you want to find out more information about its culture and tradition, visiting Elephanta Caves is a great activity. Out of all the sculptures present throughout the caverns of Elephanta Island, Trimurti is the most important one. The flawless carving is a “masterpiece of Gupta- Chalukyan art” and it has a Shiva with 3 heads representing the most essential Hindu aspects- Creation, Protection and Destruction.

At this point, the beautiful attraction is preferred by thousands of tourists who come to Mumbai for the first time. And although they’re truly dazzling, Elephanta Caves are considered in danger. Because of their location, within the Mumbai port, the attraction is predisposed to several types of calamities like earthquakes, excessive tourism and urbanism. Nevertheless, it’s one of India’s finest places of interest. Because of their ancient history and overall look, Elephanta Caves have become the milestone of India in terms of culture and tradition.

Right after being named a World Heritage Site, UNESCO invested $100.000 to exploit the site and uncover out as much as they could about its formation and past historic meaning. If the place seems interested to you but you can’t get to there in person, feel free to read a book about Elephanta Caves published by UNESCO. Overall, the island itself is mesmerizing and it’s just a few kilometers away from Mumbai. Travelers who want to esteem the wild side of India should definitely take the ferry and have a closer look. Other sites worth seeing on the island are the historical Shivji Temple, Gaodenvi Temple and Elephanta Dam.