Discover Elephanta Caves a UNESCO World Heritage Site by ferry from Mumbai

Elephanta Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. They are on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally "the city of caves"), in Mumbai Harbour, 10 kilometres east of Mumbai in the Indian state of Mahārāshtra. The island, about 2 kilometres west of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, consists of five Hindu caves and a few Buddhist stupa mounds that date back to the 2nd century BCE, as well as a small group of two Buddhist caves with water tanks. The Elephanta Caves contain rock cut stone sculptures that show syncretism of Hindu and Buddhist ideas and iconography. The caves are hewn from solid basalt rock. Except for a few exceptions, much of the artwork is defaced and damaged. The main temple's orientation, as well as the relative location of other temples, are placed in a mandala pattern. The carvings narrate Hindu mythologies, with the large monolithic 6.1 m Trimurti Sadashiva (three-faced Shiva), Nataraja (Lord of dance) and Yogishvara (Lord of Yoga) being the most celebrated.

Elephanta Island is one of a number of islands in Mumbai Harbour, east of Mumbai, India. This island is a popular tourist destination because of the island's cave temples, the Elephanta Caves, that have been carved out of the rock.

Mumbai is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the most populous city in the country and the seventh-most populous city in the world with a population of roughly 20 million. As per the Indian government population census of 2011, Mumbai is the most populous city in India with an estimated city-proper population of 12.5 million living under Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. Mumbai is the center of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the sixth most populous metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 23 million. Mumbai lies on the Konkan coast on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbor. In 2008, Mumbai was named an alpha world city. It has the highest number of millionaires and billionaires among all cities in India. Mumbai is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Elephanta Caves, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, and the city's distinctive ensemble of Victorian and Art Deco buildings.