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One of the major metropolitians in the world,the city moves on a fast pace. Life in mumbai is fast & busy. It is excellent place to visit having good beaches,pleasent parks & much more more...

The Gateway of India

When George V and Queen Mary arrived in India on a royal visit in 1924, they were greeted by the Gateway of India, vaguely reminiscent in shape of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. But the shape is where the resemblance ends. The Gateway is based on 16th century Gujarati architecture. There was, as always, a colonial agenda to this construction. It was supposed to be a monument to the indestructibility of the empire. And so perhaps it was ironic that a stone throw away from the place where the Empire first gained control of Mumbai, the last British troops (a contingent of the Black Watch) departed in 1948.

The Elephanta caves

(Allow four hours) Ignore the somewhat less than ideal safety measures on the boat out to Gharapuri or the Elephanta Island. You are, after all, headed to an island devoted to the God of Destruction. Ignore the domes of two of India's nuclear reactors, which can be seen across the water at Trombay.Shiva in the Trimurti waits for you. The first impressions are of a murky, quiet rock cave until your eyes get accustomed to the gloom and the spectacular faces of the Trimurti emerge from the shadows. This is always a moment. Savour it. Your first view of the Trimurti will not come again in this lifetime. Move on to Shiva as Nataraja, Lord of the Dance; Shiva as Gangadhara, catching the holy river as she plunges towards the earth; Shiva as Ardhanarishwar, half man, half woman, all God.

Town Hall and Asiatic library

Aldous Huxley called his building a gentleman among so many - architectural cads and pretentious bounders. It is a classical building and although you have to be a member to gain access. A tedious process and impossible for foreigners. It is worth peeking in at the old statues, columns and skylights which can produce some very dramatic effects. The huge flight of steps is illuminated by night and is used by the city's poor students as an open-air study.

Marine Drive

A great walk along the sea front. The reclaimed land of Nariman Point is to the south and as you turn your back on it. And you should for it is an ugly concrete mess. You will be walking towards Chowpatty beach. This is a typically Indian beach. It is deserted during the day when the sun beats furiously down on the city, middle-class in the evening when hordes of parents bring their children to play by the sea and distinctly seedy at night when the masseurs (Mumbais gay rough trade) and prostitutes take over.

Sanjay Gandhi National Park

This park is one of the smaller ones and already it is under threat from human encroachments. However it does have the Kanheri caves, which were Buddhist viharas in the eighth and ninth centuries. The most impressive is Cave 3, which has a colonnade of pillars and a 5m high dagoba (pagoda) in the back. The park also has a lion safari, which allows you to see some remarkably somnambulant big cats.

Malabar Hill

The name comes from the South Indian coastal pirates (who were from the labar Coast) who dumped their contraband among the trees. Now corporate pirates live in its high-rises. But it does lead to Banganga, an intriguing temple complex where a village and a city and some medieval temples coexist uneasily. And to three gardens, including the Hanging Gardens of Mumbai. Huge chunks had been excavated out of the hill in order to fill in the land. That left an unsightly red scar for years until someone had the idea of turning it into a terraced garden. The Kamala Nehru park opposite has some lacklustre topiary but a good view of the city, pollution and high-rises permitting.

Mahalakshmi temple

Dedicated to Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and wealth, this is one of Mumbai's ruling temples. A temple has stood here for the last 1,000 years, and at one point of time was said to have been destroyed by Muslim invaders. It is said that when the British began work on a sea wall joining Malabar hill and Worli island at the end of the 18th century, the goddess appeared to a contractor and told him that the construction wouldn't go smoothly unless her idol was installed in a temple. In the next few days, idols of the goddess and her two sisters were discovered and a temple built where it still stands. The street approaching the temple is lined with flower stalls

The ISKCON Temple Complex

an acronym for International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Krishna along with Balaram and Shubhadra are the resident deities. The society was formed by Shri Prabhupada Bhaktivedanta who achieved enlightenment in the sixties. His movement to spearhead the message of Krishna - love, peace and brotherhood got off to a good start in the early seventies. The ISKCON temple in Santacruz West is the largest society in western India. The marble temple complex has friezes of scenes from the Mahabharata and also houses a guest house. Check out the amazingly life-like mannequin of Prabhupada.

Kala Ghoda area

The area was called Kala Ghoda (Black Horse) because of the huge statue of King Edward VII on a black horse. The statue has been pulled down. Although some concerned citizens feel the empire has been gone long enough for the horse to be restored -- but the name remains. Begin at the Prince of Wales Museum which has a good collection of Rajput miniatures and two remarkable Assyrian friezes besides some interesting sculpture. The museum also has a quaint little shop.

The Taj Mahal Hotel

Industrialist J R D Tata was a visionary. He knew there was not a good hotel in Bombay so he built one. And no, it wasn't built back to front and so no, the architect who built it did not kill himself in an agony of repentance. There are two hotels spliced together but the old Taj is the atmospheric hotel, full of stuffed tigers (well, one, and you have to hunt for him), modern art and lovely meeting places from where the city looks manageable.

Walkeshwar temple or the Temple of Sand

This Hindu temple borders the Banganga tank complex near the Raj Bhavan (residence of the governor of Maharashtra). It is said to have been built around 1000 AD. In legend this was a resting point for Ram on his journey to Lanka to free Sita from the demon king of Lanka, Ravana. The story states that Rama's younger brother Lakshman would bring a lingam from Benares for Rama to worship every day. One day he failed to do so in time, which is when Rama constructed a lingam of sand to perform his puja. The original temple is said to have been built by Umbaji Rana (or Rane), a Maratha sardar. Over time, the legend of the shrine grew in popularity. It was even venerated by the feared Malabar pirates who menaced the islands. The present day structure probably dates from 1715 after the original was said to have been destroyed by the Portuguese. The nearby Banganga tank is said to have been formed when Rama shot an arrow into the ground and the Ganga gushed out. The tank holds fresh water although the complex is very near the sea. There are smaller temples around the tank that also attract a stream of worshippers

The Haji Ali Dargah

A narrow causeway leads out to the dargah, one of the most popular Muslim shrines in the city. The mosque can only be reached at low tide. Illuminated at night, it can look quite spectacular. Do not eat the kababs sold outside the mosque. They are really quite sad.