Mumbai Travel Information: Tours and Travels Advisory In Mumbai
Mumbai, previously known as Bombay, is the financial center of India. Mumbai is the capital of Maharashatra State. Renowned for it’s cosmopolitan population, which came from all over India to setup businesses and shops, Mumbai is predominantly a Maratha state. Although, the local language here is Marathi, people here speak Hindi, English, Gujarati as well as some other languages.
Mumbai is a bout 603 square kilometers (233 sq miles). The suburbs (northern Mumbai) comprise of areas like Borivali, Goregaon, Andheri etc, whereas the town side southern Mumbai comprise of Churchgate, Colaba, Nariman Point to name a few. Until about 10 years ago, most of Mumbai’s business houses and industries were located in the central to southern areas of Mumbai. With the rising real estate prices and the booming economy demanding more space, industries have been migrated to cheaper locales within India and also abroad (in some cases to China). The real estate prices in Mumbai (in the year 2010) are said to be among to the top 10 most expensive cities in the world.
Traveling in Mumbai is a challenge. For the Mumbai resident who lives in the suburbs and travels to the town side (southern part), going by train is the best option – but he has to bear the crowds and somehow manage to reach his destination. Going by road is an option too, but only if you have a lot of time and patience. Fighting the pollution and the noise on the way also will keep you amply busy.
Now, for the visitor or a tourist in Mumbai, there are a number of things you can see and visit. It would be nice if you have an air-conditioned chauffeur-driven car along with a local tourist guide. You can also get some tourist buses and go on day long tours. That works well too.
Here are some of the places to tour in Mumbai:
- The Gateway of India: This is stone archway situated in the south of Mumbai along the Arabian Sea. It was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to India in 1911.
Photo Gateway of India in Mumbai
- The Haji Ali Mosque: The tomb of a Muslim saint who died while on pilgrimage to Mecca. It is believed that a casket containing his mortal remains floated and came to rest on a rocky bed in the sea, where devotees constructed the tomb and mosque. Can be visited only at low tide.
Haji-Ali-Mosque-Mumbai
- Juhu Beach (Santa Cruz) and Chowpatty Beach: For those of who from the non-coastal regions, beaches may be an attraction. Mumbai has 2 commercialized and popular beaches, Juhu Beach located in the Suburb called Santa Cruz and another beach called the Chowpatty located more towards South Mumbai.
Juhu Beach Mumbai
These are some of the pictures we have from these popular tourist spots. There are other places such as the Taj Mahal Hotel which is located right across the road from the Gateway Of India. If you are the adventurous sort and would like to take a boat ride from the Gateway of India, you might as well visit the Elephanta caves. It’s about an hour from the Gateway and you can spend about an hour or two exploring the caves.
Some of the other tourist attractions could be the Malabar Hill, Nehru Center in Worli and The Victoria Terminus Railway stations which is now called the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus or CST.
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