Location of Mumbai : Southwestern India, Maharashtra 
Formerly Known As: Bombay
Famous As: Financial And Commercial Capital Of India
Best Time To Visit Mumbai: October To March

A MULTI FACED CITY - MUMBAI (BOMBAY)
Its young, its lively and a confluence of varied cultural currents and cross 
currents have given Mumbai a unique position of the most multi-ethnic city 
of India. The capital city of Maharashtra State , formerly known as Bombay 
lies in the southwestern part of India and occupies a peninsular site originally 
composed of seven islets lying off the Konkan coast of western India. 
Oozing with the cocksure self-confidence of a maverick moneymaker 
and "Bindass" (carefree) attitude, Mumbai is also country's financial 
and commercial hub and has a principal port on the Arabian Sea. 

Yet, there's another face of Mumbai too that is of the most densely populated 
cities in the world. Mumbai is located on a site of ancient settlement and took its
name from the local Goddess "Mumba" - a form of Parvati, the consort of Shiva, 
one of the principal Gods of Hinduism - whose temple once stood 
in what is now the southeastern section of the Mumbai city.

Tourist Attractions/ Places to See
Gateway of India : Mumbai's principal landmark, the Gateway of 
India is a huge archway on the water's edge at Apollo Bunder.

Juhu Beach: Juhu is one of the largest and frequently visited beaches of India. 
Located 18-km north of the city centre, it's a beckoning beach on the 
shores of Arabian Sea and is one of the posh localities of Mumbai.

Marine Drive : Marine Drive located in the central Mumbai, built in the 1920s
and 1930s on land reclaimed from the sea, is Mumbai's most famous thoroughfare. 

Essel World : Perfect for a one-day holiday, Essel World offers over 40 exciting rides, 
games, and attractions. The Water Kingdom is said to be the largest of its kind in Asia. 

Bollywood - The Film City : "Bollywood", as it is called, produces the second
most number of pictures in the world every year, next only to Hollywood, U.S.A.
Mumbai claims to be the world's largest production centre for films.

HOW TO REACH MUMBAI

Air: Sahara International Airport is an important point of entry for many foreign 
airlines, and nearby Santa Cruz Airport serves domestic flights. 
Mumbai handles about 60% of the international and nearly 40% of the 
domestic air traffic in India. International flights connect Mumbai to all the major cities of the world. 

Mumbai Airport has two terminals, Terminal I for domestic operations and 
Terminal II for international operations. Both terminals are situated about 4-km apart. 
Terminal I has two distinct terminal facilities viz. Terminal I-A and Terminal I-B which 
are situated approximately 750m from each other. While Terminal I-A caters to 
all domestic flights operated by Indian Airlines and Alliance Air, the 
Terminal I-B caters to all other domestic airlines. 

Terminal II is one block of buildings, which has two units viz. Terminal II-A and 
Terminal II-B and are on either side of the Visitors Concourse. 
All Air-India flights are operated from Terminal II-B. 

Rail: Mumbai (Bombay) is the railhead for the Western and Central Railways, 
and trains from the city carry goods and passengers to all parts of India. 
Two suburban electric train systems provide the main public transportation 
and they daily convey hundreds of thousands of commuters in the metropolitan region. 

Road: Mumbai (Bombay) is well connected by a network of roads to the rest of India. 
There is also a municipally owned bus fleet over here. 

Water: The facilities provided by its harbor, make Mumbai, India's major western port. 
Though other major ports have sprung up on the West Coast - Kandla to the north
and Goa and Kochi to the south - Mumbai still handles more than 40% of India's maritime trade. 

Local Transportation in Mumbai: Unlike most other Indian cities, there are no auto-rickshaws 
(three-wheeler vehicles) in the city center. Rickshaws do ply at the suburbs. 
The minimum fare is Rs 7.50/-. Mumbai has a huge fleet of metered black-and-yellow taxis, 
it can be flagged down at any street corner and fares are paid by meter. 
Cool-cabs are also in, they are the blue and white air-conditioned ones. 
The fares are reasonable enough. 

Mumbai's Local Trains And Taxis 
The lives of millions of people who live in Mumbai and suburbs opens with the 
starting of the local trains, namely the Harbour, the Central and the Western,
which awaken the city to a new day. They are not as fast as the Bullet Train
or as smooth as the trains plying on the magnetic tracts. But Mumbai's 
local trains are considered to be one of the most efficiently run commuter services in the world. 

There are as many as 961 local train services plying on the Western line carrying 
over 23 million commuters everyday while the 1070 services on the Central and the
Harbour play hosts to over 30 million commuters daily. The railway tracks in the 
entire city rest for a meagre four hours a day. It is during these night hours that the 
working staffs of the railways, repairs and services complete the network for the next day. 

The local trains are the main arteries of Mumbai. A halt or a disruption of 
the local train services would mean an imminent standstill to the thriving activities 
of the entire communication network, a near complete motionless city. It is stated
that over eleven million people travel by the Indian railways every day. 
And interestingly, out of these eleven million, over five million travel every
day by the local trains in Mumbai and its suburbs, in all directions. 

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) formerly known as Victoria Terminus (VT) 
makes a striking sight with its cathedral-like spires, arches and turrets. 
Local and outstation trains ply from here. CST and the Church Gate station 
are the busiest centres right from the wee hours until the last service. 
Located at the heart of the city, these stations are a part of Mumbai's pictorial encyclopaedia. 

BEST (BrihanMumbai Electric Supply and Transport) buses are the perfect alternative. 
Plying over 1,000 routes with an estimated 3,500 buses, of which 50 are special 
air-conditioned coaches, the BEST transports over 4.5 million commuters everyday. 

The city also takes pride in its honest and professionally run cabs and three
wheeler rickshaws. Without them the city would be void of the moving stagnant traffic life and the busy roads. 
Sight Seeing In Mumbai City

Gateway Of India

Mumbai's most famous landmark, The Gateway of India, is situated 
at Apollo Bunder. It was designed by George Wikket.

It was built to commemorate the visit of King George 
V and Queen Mary to India in 1911. 
Bombay Hotels List
Through this magnificent monument, numerous viceroys and governors were 
welcomed to India as they disembarked from their steamers, hence the name.

Flora Fountain (Hutatma Chowk)

This marvellous fountain was built in 1869, in honor of Sir Henry Bartle and 
Edward Frere. It is situated in the heart of the Mumbai city at a junction of five streets. 
The fountain has a figure of "Flora", the Roman Goddess of Flowers at the top.

Chowpatty Beach & Juhu Beach

Chowpatty beach is situated on Marine Drive. This beach is well-known for it's 
stalls selling "Bhel-Puri and Pani -Puri chat" a favourite fast food among the Mumbaites and visitors to the city. 

Juhu Beach is the most popular beach in Mumbai which is 30 kms away 
from the heart of Mumbai. It is a long stretch of sandy beach from
Santacruz to Vile-Parle. This is a very popular beach for picnic.

Both these beaches are crowded on week-ends. 

Haji Ali

Haji Ali mosque, and the tomb of a Muslim saint, is located off shore,
in the Arabian sea opposite Mahalaxmi temple. During high tide the walkway 
to the mosque is submerged in the sea and it can be visited only during low tide.

Kamala Nehru Park & Hanging Gardens

The giant Old woman's shoe in the Kamala Nehru Park  is very popular with 
children to play in.   One gets a panoramic view of parts of the city 
from these parks situated at the height of Malabar Hill. When seen at night,
the view of street lights of Marine Drive resemble a dazzling bejewelled 
"Queen's Necklace". At sunset, the waterfall and fountains in the park are 
lit with colorful lights which are worth seeing. The Hanging Gardens 
surrounded by beautiful flower beds and lush green lawns are very popular as picnic spots.

Mahalaxmi Temple

This temple is situated very close to the sea off Mahalaxmi. 
This temple has three beautiful images of  Hindu goddesses, Mahalaksmi, 
Mahasaraswati and Mahakali which are made of  gold. During Navaratri festival, 
devoted Hindus throng this temple in great numbers to offer coconut, flowers and sweets to the goddesses.

Mount Mary Church

This is one of most prominent and splendid churches in Mumbai, situated in
Bandra (West). During the month of September a week long fair 
is held which is attended by the people of all relegions.

Mahalaxmi Race Course

Situated in Mahalaxmi, this racecourse is one of the best in the world. 
The racing season is for six months from October to April. It attracts huge crowds for heavy betting.

Nehru Planetarium and Science Centre

This Sience Centre is named after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime-Minister. 
It is situated in Worli. It has a computer laboratory, mobile science exhibition units, 
a heritage hall, an auditorium, inflatable dome planetarium, science library and a children's science park.

The sky-show at the planetarium is very interesting with it's narration, sound 
effects and slide projections which combines entertainment with education.
It has a library containing a large collection  of books on astronomy, astrophysics and space sciences.

The Prince of Wales Museum

This museum  stands not too far from the Gateway of India. 
It has a priceless collection of art, sculpture, china and other antics. 
Carefully presereved, this mid-Victorian Gothic style building built in 
1904 with beautiful gardens surrounding it, is worth visiting  in Mumbai.

Taraporewala Aquarium

Situated on the Marine Drive, this aquarium has fish in varying shapes, 
sizes and colour. It's a delight for children as well as grown-ups.

Victoria Gardens (Veermata Jeejabai Bhonsle Udyan)

These botanical  and zoological gardens have an interesting collection of flora 
and fauna. Apart from these, it also has a beautiful    gateway, an arched architctural 
screen  and a museum building in the Greco-Roman Style. A large stone elephant 
at the entrance is also worth seeing. These gardens are situated in Byculla.

Sighseeing Outside Mumbai City

Elephanta Caves

The Elephanta Caves are located on an island  about 10 Kms. away from the
Gateway of India. These caves consist of temples carved from rock which date back to the 7th century.

The chief attraction is the three headed bust of Lord Shiva, popularly known as "Trimurti". 

One can reach there by taking a ferry from Gateway of India.

Lonavala, Khandala, Karla Caves
Bombay Hotels List
Situated atop Western Ghats ( Mountain range) on Mumbai-Pune highway 
are the twin Hill resorts of Khandala and Lonavala. During monsoon the beauty of 
Khandala is enhanced when the clouds envelope them and several gushing 
waterfalls can be seen from the lush green hills. At Lonavala the Valvan and
Bushy dams are worth visiting. When you drive a little further towards Pune from 
Lonavala, you reach Karla, where the famous Karla, Bhaja and Bedsa Caves are situated.