Elephanta at 52...

Mondays Elephanta is closed

This visit was long long long over due... was worth the wait for me... I am a person who suffers from motion sickness and so does  my friend who agreed to come with me 


We managed to get our seats on the ferry to Elephanta very easily and quickly... it was an hour's ride to the place and tkt cost ₹260 (return)
The ride on the boat was smooth sailing...

the life jackets are on the roof !
a cherished family holiday on Costa cruise line in Dec of 2018 (Maldives to Mumbai)

Toilet with a view

happy memories with SCI...

that is Elephanta island... the elephant is not there any more.

Docking in at the jetty

Once there you can take the train ride for (₹18) and some govt. entrance tkt (₹5) 

Train ticket
At this place We purchased the guide book (₹ 180) instead of hiring a guide.

You can borrow the book from me if you plan to visit 

Had a wada pao before we started the small ascent of less than 100 steps...

The place can do with a good clean up...
For the actual caves visit tkts for Indians (₹40) Foreigners (₹600) and there were plenty of them around hiring guides who I noticed were quite fluent in spoken foreign languages.

So once you reach the top there are 2 options you can either firsr visit Canon hill view point on the rt.which is close to a 1kms walk...

this reptile startled me by brushing past my foot ...shooed it away with my stick...

Canon hill walk is through a bit of rough patch of  land ...

We were the only 2 first visitors for the day...

first view of the Canon

first visitor on the canon

Please carry a stick to ward off the monkeys who can turn aggressive without provocation... (saw it on many occassions) the person it was attacking was not for food as he had none...it kept going for his knapsack.

Embossed on the canon
one heck of a long cannon neck ...

The walk was otherwise quite neutral and like I mentioned earlier the authorities can do a much better job of maintaining the place.

Good green cover... back in those days it would have been advantageous to shoot from this point... (I am guessing)

Return back to the caves the same way we came... was absolutely worth the walk

the first view of cave 1

The lord here is depicted as both male and female
Shiva's marriage to Parvati is depicted here.

finally here to behold the art of the ancient ones...
Makes me always wonder how could they be so precise and accurate without any mistakes at all...
Was it some alien force guiding them with some out of this world instruments and measurements ?


The caves nos.1 and 2 are the well preserved caves and sculptures are to marvel at...


The trinity of Shiva carving was magnetic for me...

this pic is of the female face of Shiva


The fine intricate nuances of the faces, jewels, expressions were amplified and a feast for my eyes...


I have visited a lot of places in India but this one sculpture was Magnificient...


The symmetry of the rock pillars in places like these have always left me wondering how could primitive man be so advanced in his sculpting and precision with his primitive tools or was it alien intervention guiding them all along?



The last cave has been shut for public viewing as rocks keep falling I was informed by the guard.




Many shops selling stuff like this


My ride back home...

Almost home


Overall a funday...

Completed 10000 steps too...

Comments

  1. Anonymous9 November 2023 at 07:34

    Very well documented.
    A good combination of visuals and documentation in a story like form including the animal life.
    Felt as if I visited the place.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous9 November 2023 at 07:35

    Above comment by Hoshi Irani

    ReplyDelete

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