Elephanta Caves
Rock-cut Shaiva temples of the sixth century, including a three-headed Shiva six meters high, an hour across the harbor.
Closed Mondays. Take the first ferry from the Gateway; ferries can stop in heavy monsoon weather.
4 hrs
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Mumbai
A Portuguese dowry handed to the English crown in 1661, filled in causeway by causeway, then rebuilt in Gothic and Deco by the merchants the mills made rich.
Arabian Sea
1661
Dowry
Bombay passes to the English crown.
1784
Hornby Vellard
The islands begin to be joined.
1860s
Cotton boom
Mills and Gothic public buildings.
1930s
Deco coast
Marine Drive built on reclaimed land.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
Finished in 1888 after ten years' work, Victorian Gothic carved with Indian motifs and still running suburban trains under it.
The heritage gallery tour runs on weekdays; the building is best photographed lit at night.
45 min
Gateway of India
A basalt arch completed in 1924 to commemorate George V's 1911 landing, through which the last British troops left India in 1948.
Go early morning or at night to avoid the crowds.
30 min
David Sassoon Library
Built in 1867–70 with funds from the family of Baghdadi Jewish merchant David Sassoon and named for him, this Venetian Gothic building remains a functioning library and reading room in the Fort district.
Visitors can look in at the reading room and garden.
30 min
Banganga Tank
Built in 1127 by a minister of the Silhara dynasty and rebuilt in 1715, this sacred stepped tank is among Mumbai's oldest surviving sites.
Go early morning; the Banganga music festival is held here each January.
45 min
Haji Ali Dargah
The tomb of a fifteenth-century Sufi saint on an islet off Worli, reached by a causeway that floods at high tide.
Check tide times. Cover your head inside.
60 min
Kanheri Caves
More than a hundred Buddhist caves cut into the hills between the first century BCE and the tenth century CE, inside the national park in the north of the city.
The park is closed Mondays; allow half a day including travel.
3 hrs
Mount Mary Basilica
A 1904 church on a hill above the sea in Bandra, rebuilt on a much older Portuguese shrine.
Visit during the Bandra Fair in September for a week-long festival.
45 min
Siddhivinayak Temple
Built in 1801 as a small brick shrine by Laxman Vithu Patil with money from Deubai Patil, it is now one of India's richest temples, its Ganesh carved from a single black stone.
Tuesdays are the busiest day, with queues of hours; go on another weekday morning. Security checks are strict, so travel light.
60 min