Archaeology

Elephanta Caves

Elephanta Island, Mumbai

Managed byArchaeological Survey of India (ASI)

CategoryArchaeology, Religious Heritage

Rock-cut cave temples on Elephanta Island in Mumbai Harbour, carved between roughly the 5th and 8th centuries CE and dedicated to Shiva. The main cave's centrepiece is the towering Sadashiva (Trimurti) sculpture, considered one of the finest examples of Indian rock-cut art. Portuguese colonists who found stone elephants at the landing site gave the island its European name. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, the caves are reached by a roughly hour-long ferry from the Gateway of India.

Did you know? Elephanta Island earned its name from the Portuguese, who found a large stone elephant statue near the shore when they arrived in the 16th century, the statue has since been moved to Mumbai's Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan, but the island kept the name.

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