Mumbai

West India · Maharashtra

Mumbai, Maharashtra

Maximum city, sea-facing and sleepless · India's financial capital, a major national and international air and rail hub

Plan this trip

Getting there

By road

India's financial capital, a major national and international air and rail hub

By rail

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CST) and Mumbai Central, both in the city

By air

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, in the city

Best time to visit

November to February — the sea breeze does its best work

Don't miss

Gateway of India

CST station

Kanheri Caves

Haji Ali

Banganga Tank

Things to do

Marine Drive nights

Elephanta ferry

Mill-district art walks

Street-food crawls

Where to eat

Trishna's butter garlic crab

Kyani & Co.

Ram Ashraya (Matunga)

Vada pav everywhere

Sources: wikimedia, Photo: Sailko · CC BY 3.0

What to pack

Walking shoes, local-train agility, monsoon gear June-September

A quieter corner

The 5am fish auction chaos at Sassoon Docks

About Mumbai

Coastal

Where it is

Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra, occupies a peninsula on India's west coast, where seven original islands were joined by land reclamation, facing the Arabian Sea, with Thane Creek and the mainland to the east.

History

The seven islands were home to Koli fishing communities and passed from the Gujarat Sultanate to the Portuguese in 1534, and then to England as part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry in 1661. The East India Company made Bombay its western base, reclamation joined the islands, and trade and industry turned it into India's commercial capital; it was renamed Mumbai in 1995.

People

Mumbaikars speak Marathi, the state language, along with Hindi, Gujarati, English and many others, in a city built by people from across India. The Koli fishing community still lives in coastal villages within the city, and Ganesh Chaturthi is one of its biggest festivals.

Known for

The Gateway of India and Marine Drive
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
Bollywood, the Hindi film industry
Vada pav and street food
The Elephanta Caves

Did you know?

Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and its Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as are the Elephanta Caves on an island in the harbour.