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Elephanta caves: A short trip to a past long gone

Elephanta Caves Island, is a famous and one of the oldest tourist attractions of Mumbai. Beautiful rocky stone carving on huge pillars, three-faced idols and sculptures of Lord Shiva and Trimurti are seen on the island.

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Elephanta Caves is among many other iconic sites in Mumbai. This cave was established more than 3,000 years ago, the Elephanta Caves is also known as the Island of Gharapuri which is rock-cut archaeological remains of the temples built on an island which is situated 10 kilometres east from the Gateway of India. The Elephanta Caves visiting timings are between 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. One has to travel by ferry to reach the island. The ferry leaves every half hour from the Gateway of India for Elephanta whereas it takes an hour to reach the caves.

Trimurti Sadasiva is one of the most prominent sculptures is 20 feet high. It is a three-faced image of Lord Shiva. The caves are dedicated to Lord Shiva. These caves were built between 400 AD and 750 AD, these are carefully carved out of giant stones made of basalt rock.

Many pillars and columns have a unique structure. Elephanta caves were named after the elephant statue found by Portuguese invaders when they landed on the island back in 1547. This massive stone-age sculpture was believed to be the guarding statue of the monument at the time. These caves have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage sites in 1987.

Elephanta Caves is one of the popular monuments and a huge tourist attraction of the city. Every year thousands of people from India and abroad visit the caves when in Mumbai.

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