Mumbai

All inclusive Elephanta Caves Guided Tour

Mumbai, India

From $45.00

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

4 to 5 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Situated on an island, a short boat-ride out from Mumbai's iconic Gateway of India, the Elephanta Caves feature some of the most beautiful and well-preserved cave structures, dating back to the 6thand 7th centuries. With this tour, you and your guide will take a ferry out to the caves, where you'll spend a couple hours seeing the Hindu and Buddhist religious sculptures, including a huge three-headed Shiva.

See the historic religious sculptures in the UNESCO World Heritage Elephanta Caves
Take a round-trip ferry ride from Mumbai to Elephanta Island
A professional guide will take you through the caves
Entrance fees to the caves are free for guests up to 15 years old

What's Included

Tour guide
Ferry Tickets and Elephanta caves entrance fees
Entrance free to caves for Children under 15 years old

Food and drinks

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

PizzaExpress
Dhanraj Mahal, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Marg, Apollo Bandar, Colaba, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001, India
outside Pizza express restaurant, near gateway of India

End point

Elephanta Island
XW8Q+P76, Gharapuri Village, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001, India
The guide will help you get in the ferry from Elephanta Island

What To Expect

Gateway of India

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Elephanta Caves

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 2 hours of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Starting point : Outside Pizza Express Restaurant, Opposite Royal Bombay Yacht Club, Colaba
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
If pick-up drop option selected, we will pick you up from your hotel
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

54 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 54 reviews

Easy Way to Visit Elephanta Island

Scott_G, May 2024

Easy to find meeting place in front of the Pizza Express. Simple walk down past the Gateway to India and onto the ferry. The ferry ride takes about 1 hour out to the island. First guide hands you off smoothly to the island guide, who ha actually been born and grew up on the island. No one better to tell you about the place then. The climb up to the caves is a little taxing but there are plenty of opportunities to stop along the way. The cave itself is quite spectacular and to see the work that must have been done to carve it out of the solidest of rock is quite impressive. Watch out for the very cute monkeys that will attempt to take anything you are not hanging on to. The ferry back took a little over an hour as we seemed to be into a headwind. This tour makes the visit to Elephanta Island go very smoothly.

Our guide was great!...

Zachary_M, Apr 2024

Our guide was great! Super easy to meet and get on the ferry. The caves were amazing and was very nice to have someone explaining the history and construction

Gorgeous

Ashanti_C, Mar 2024

The hike up the hill was worth it to see such beautiful artwork. Just remember to bring ice cold water.

Well organised and managed value for money

Oliver_F, Mar 2024

Great tour we were extremely well looked after by our excellent guide Krupesh. He was most informative and catered to our needs wonderfully. Just did not get the opportunity to say goodbye as our ferry left. Really recommend this trip

Great experience.

aubreybarker, Mar 2024

It was a great experience. We took the ferry to the caves and our very knowledgeable tour guide ( Said at Vishnu Patil ) made it fun by explaining the story of everything to us and he was a local in the area just making it better.

An insightful view of centuries old history!

Lydia_H, Mar 2024

What a fascinating tour of this UNESCO site! I ended up going on the busiest day of the year, Mahashivratri, but Daviat and Krupesh made sure we were able to navigate the crowds, stayed hydrated and gave excellent explanations of the carvings within the cave. That added to a delightful ferry ride back and forth, 10/10 recommend!

Worth the effort to visit.

Benjamin_R, Mar 2024

Guide was born on the island which added some interest to the usual overload of Hindi stories and legends. Caves were a nice respite from the mid day sun. Good indirect lighting for photography.

Very Easy, Very Memorable

Peter_G, Feb 2024

Mr. Daivat was a great guide--not only knowledgeable about the specifics and the overall cultural/historical context, but also always watching out for everyone and making sure we were okay. He helped with all the small logistical issues every step of the way. The one caveat I'd make is that because the meeting time was not until 10:30 and we ate a (quick) lunch after the caves, this was not the half-day excursion you may see mentioned here and there, but fills up most of the day, so plan accordingly.

Elephanta caves worth a visit

Stephen_J, Jan 2024

Our tour guide David was born on the island and therefore his insight into the structure itself and his explanation of the various carvings and idols was facinating. Pity about the slow boat but definitely worth the visit. 120 years to complete starting from the top and working down in solid rock using hammer and chisels, incredible workmanship..

Our tour guide was really...

Mychelle_B, Jan 2024

Our tour guide was really great, very friendly and informative! The island is beautiful and has a lot of history

A tour worth doing

Anila_G, Jan 2024

Really good experience. Our tour guide was really knowledgeable and didn't waste time. Really on point with everything and loved the short cut back against the high holiday traffic trying to leave the caves

A fantastic tour

Yutaka_N, Dec 2023

I joined this tour as solo. Although nine persons joined the tour totally. When we got on a ship and cross the Elepanta Island from the Gate of India Mumbai, we were excited because the scenery was good. On the ship on the way to the island during 1.5 hour, some persons bought snacks and fed to seagull. After we arrived at the island, we separated into two team with a tour guide. We went to walk on the railway track. It was not so long. After we went up stairs took about twenty minutes, we found a plate named 'World Heritage' with many people. The tour guide told overview and history of this place. He could answer anything when we asked questions. In the Caves, we found many Sculptures made of volcanic rock. These Sculptures shows Hindu gods. We found some destroid sculptures dameged by people who came here about five hundred ago. They should have saved everything because they have been created in this Caves during thousand years. We watched four Caves. The tour guide told some Caves are used for meditation. On the way back to the port in the island, we got on a train. We felt well with a cooling sea breeze. We recommend to join this tour.

Awesome

Emma_R, Dec 2023

The caves on Elephanta Island are a must see!!! They are truly spectacular. Probably the most impressive caves and carvings I've ever seen. Go early in the morning as the crowds start to build up around 11.00am. Our guide Samir was so great and so knowledgeable! AND he's something like 4th or 5th generation born and living on Elephanta Island. So I'm really glad he was our tour guide. It's a must see! Great half day tour. We left at 9.30am and I arrived back to my hotel at 2.30pm.

Interesting and fine for a half day.

Stephen_C, Dec 2023

The guide was very informative, and we spent just about the right amount of time in the caves. They weren't as spectacular as I had imagined, but worth a short visit.

Worth the effort. I will always remember this trip

Karen_B, Nov 2023

Great trip. Well organised and reassuring to get texts straight after booking - made arrangements very clear and gave good advice about travel time and potential for rain. Local island guide met the group on time - pickup point easy to find. Crowded getting to boat and busy on the other side but boat trip peaceful and enjoyable. A 10-20 minute walk up steps to reach Elephanta (30 degrees!) but a large part in shade as all the stall holders along the steps have it covered and not too steep.. But you do need to have a basic level of fitness to do this. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Caves and sculptures out of the rock are awesome, some badly damaged but some not. And wonderful to be up there with views over the island. Guide was very informative and no rushing - plenty of time to wander.

Excellent tour

yasmin_g, Oct 2023

Daivat was absolutely amazing! Very knowledgeable and friendly! The tour was on time and just need to make sure to plan any tours with plenty of time as the boats only leave when full! So far this has been the best tour in Mumbai!! Super recommend! Went solo and felt very safe!

Elephanta Caves

Luis_C, Nov 2022

Solo tour was exceptional, Harish (tour local guide) didn’t gave me a tour but share to me part of his life/religion which was even better. Really a satisfactory experience. Dinesh also made sure I was accompanied at all time.

Local guide makes it more interesting

Relax39029408009, Feb 2019

This was a delightful trip with a native that grew up on Elephanta Island. Not only did Mr. Khan give us a tour of the main caves, he provided information on the boat ride over about the ships and islands on the way. After touring the caves, he invited us to visit his village and home. There are three villages with about 1600 people living on the island. We enjoyed being exposed to the local way of life. We then all shared a meal at a local restaurant before returning across the bay. I highly recommend this tour if you are interested in getting to know the people of India.

Certainly, the Elephanta Caves, a...

Scott L, Mar 2018

Certainly, the Elephanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site, are amazing. The tour delivered as advertised. We party of 4 meet our guide at the rendezvous site at the appointed time. We were joined by 4 more folks the tour is limited to 8 people. Our guide led us through the Gateway of India to the ferry R/T included to Elephanta Island where we boarded a narrow gauge train to get from the very long pier to the entrance to the monument which is up 120 steps. Admission to the caves is not included as clearly stated in the tour description: 500 rupees per person. Our guide provided a detailed narration though the principal cave and the one immediately adjacent there are 9 total. Because of our time constraint, we left after about 75 minutes at the cave. It would have been possible to take the next ferry an hour later...this was our decision. All in all, a good value for the money 26/pp and you don't need to sweat the details yourself.

La visita alle grotte di Elephanta è certamente da raccomandare

Giuseppe_D, Jan 2019

La guida (abitante di Elephanta con la famiglia, originaria proprio di quest'isola) è andata oltre ogni aspettativa con le sue spiegazioni che andavano decisamente al di là delle più rosee aspettative. L'amore per la propria isola e per la sua storia ha voluto condividerlo con il nostro gruppo eterogeneo di sei persone con una grande naturalezza e con altrettanto amore, dandoci infinite spiegazioni sull'Induismo e sui vari ruoli e rappresentazioni della Trimurti. Da non perdere!