India
Mumbai and Maharashtra
Mumbai, the most energetic city in India, and inland, the rock-cut temples and painted caves of Ajanta and Ellora, among the greatest works of art in Asia.
Mumbai is India's commercial capital and the home of its film industry: Victorian Gothic and Art Deco streets, markets, galleries and some of the best restaurants in the country. Many flights from Europe land here, which makes it a natural start or end to a trip to the south or to Goa.
A short flight inland, the caves of Ajanta and Ellora were carved out of the rock between about the 2nd century BC and the 10th century AD, by Buddhist, Hindu and Jain communities.
Written by the TravelZeg team in New Delhi.
In short
- Best for
- City life, food, architecture, early Buddhist and Hindu art
- Less suited to
- Peace and quiet in the city
- Best time
- November to February.
- Ideal length
- 2 or 3 nights in Mumbai; 2 nights for Ajanta and Ellora.
Where to go
Where to go
- South Mumbai
- The Gateway of India, the Victorian buildings of the Fort area, the Art Deco seafront of Marine Drive, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station.
- Markets and neighbourhoods
- Crawford Market, the old lanes of Bhuleshwar, the fishing village of Worli, and the galleries of Kala Ghoda.
- Elephanta Island
- A cave temple to Shiva, an hour by boat from the Gateway of India.
- Ellora
- Thirty-four caves side by side, with the Kailasa temple, a whole temple carved from a single rock from the top down.
- Ajanta
- Buddhist caves with paintings up to two thousand years old, in a horseshoe gorge.
Our view
What we rate, and what we would skip
What we rate
Mumbai's food
From street snacks on Chowpatty beach to some of India's best restaurants.
A morning walk in the Fort area
Before the traffic, with a guide who knows the buildings.
Ellora early in the day
Before the coach groups and the heat.
What we would skip
Ajanta on a Monday
The caves are closed on Mondays; Ellora is closed on Tuesdays.
Mumbai in the monsoon
June to September brings very heavy rain and flooding.
Only one night in Mumbai
Two nights let you see the city rather than its traffic.
Practical
Getting there and around
- Getting there
- Nonstop flights from Paris and London to Mumbai. Fly or take the train to Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) for Ajanta and Ellora.
- Combine with
- Goa; Kerala; Rajasthan (a short flight to Udaipur).
Plan my journey
Tell us roughly what you have in mind
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