Mumbai, formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the most populous city in the world. It lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbor and Mumbai's port handles over half of India's maritime cargo.

Mumbai is one of the world's top ten centers of commerce by global financial flow, home to such important financial institutions as the Reserve Bank of India, the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India and the corporate headquarters of many Indian companies and numerous multinational corporations. The city also houses India's Hindi film and television industry, known as Bollywood. Mumbai's business opportunities, as well as its high standard of living, attract migrants from all over India and, in turn, make the city a potpourri of many communities and cultures.

The former name Bombay had its origins in the 16th century when the Portuguese arrived in the area and called it by various names, which finally took the written form Bombaim, still common in current Portuguese use. The name was officially changed to its Marathi pronunciation of Mumbai in 1995. Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (formerly, Sahar International Airport) is the busiest airport in South Asia.

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Gateway of India (Photo Stop Only) -

The Gateway of India is a monument in Mumbai. Located on the waterfront in South Mumbai, the Gateway is a basalt arch 26 meters high. The Gateway is traditionally the first thing visitors arriving by boat would see of Mumbai. It is located next to the iconic Taj Mahal Palace & Tower. Behind the Gateway steps lead down to the waterfront, where boat trips can be had to locations such as Elephanta Island.

The Gateway was built, as a triumphal arch to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary, from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete. Ironically, when the Raj ended in 1947, this colonial symbol also became a sort of epitaph: the last of the British ships that set sail for England left from the Gateway. While Indo-Saracenic in architectural style, elements are derived from the Muslim architectural styles of 16th century Gujarat. The central dome is 15 meters in diameter and 26 meters above ground at its highest point. The whole harbor front was realigned in order to come in line with a planned esplanade which would sweep down to the centre of the town. For lack of funds, the approach road was never built, and so the Gateway stands at an angle to the road leading up to it.

Elephanta Island & Caves - World Heritage Site

Elephanta Island (also called Gharapuri Island or place of caves) is one of a number of islands in Mumbai Harbor, east of Mumbai, India. This island is a popular tourist destination for a day trip because of the island's cave temples, the Elephanta Caves, which have been carved out of rock. The island is easily accessible by ferry from Mumbai, being about 10 km from the south east coast of the island city. Boats leave daily from the Gateway of India, taking about an hour each way for the journey.

Most of the sculptures in the Caves, visited by many domestic and foreign tourists, were defaced by the Portuguese, who used the sculptures as target practice in the 17th century. The caves are thought to date back to the Silhara kings of the 9th through 13th centuries (810–1260). The rock-cut temple complex covers an area of 60,000 sq ft consisting of a main chamber, 2 lateral ones, courtyards and subsidiary shrines. The site of these magnificent caves contained beautiful reliefs, sculptures, and a temple to the Hindu God Śiva. The caves are hewn from solid rock. The temple complex is said to be the abode of Shiva.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum (Prince of Wales Museum) -

The Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, Mumbai, India, was founded in the early years of the 20th century by some prominent citizens of Bombay with the help of the government, to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Barely a stone's throw from the Gateway of India, a magnificent but somewhat strange structure, was built in a confluence of Gothic and Moorish styles, and crowned by a sparkling white dome. It boasts a good collection of ancient Indus Valley artifacts dating back to 2000 BC, plus some priceless Tibetan and Nepali Art. There is an entire gallery devoted to Buddhist tankha scrolls and another to Tibetan bronzes, but the chief attraction here is the collection of over 2000 miniature paintings from the various art schools of India. Next to the Museum is the Bombay Natural History Society, which has an extensive collection of local flora and fauna.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Photo Stop Only) - World Heritage Site

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus, and better known by its abbreviation CST or Bombay VT) is an historic railway station which serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. It is one of the busiest railway stations in India, and serves Central Railway trains terminating in Mumbai as well as the Mumbai suburban railway. It took ten years to complete and was named "Victoria Terminus" in honour of the reigning Queen Victoria.

Municipal Corporation Building (Photo Stop Only) -

The Municipal Corporation Building houses the offices of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. It is also known as the Bombay Municipal Corporation Building, or BMC building for short. Completed in 1893, the building is known for its 255 feet tall tower. The building can be found just opposite the famous Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

Crawford Market -

Crawford Market (officially Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Market) is one of South Mumbai's most famous markets. It is named after Arthur Crawford, the first Municipal Commissioner of the city. The market is situated opposite the Mumbai Police headquarters, just north of Victoria Terminus railway station and houses a wholesale fruit, vegetable and poultry market.

Marine Drive (Drive Past Only) -

Marine Drive is a 3-kilometre-long boulevard in South Mumbai. It is an inverted 'C'-shaped six-lane concrete road along the coast, which is a natural bay, a part of the Arabian Sea. The highlight of Marine drive is the beautiful promenade along the road where many of the citizens take in a breath of fresh air and view the daily sunsets. The promenade is lined with palm trees. Marine Drive is also known as the Queen's Necklace because if viewed at night from an elevated point anywhere along the drive, the street lights resemble a string of pearls.

Girgaum Chowpatty -

Girgaum Chowpatti, commonly known as Chowpatti or Chaupati, is one of the most famous public beaches adjoining Marine Drive in Girgaum area of Mumbai. The beach is famous for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations when hundreds of people from all over Mumbai come to immerse the idols of Lord Ganapati in Arabian Sea. In the evening the atmosphere is more like a carnival: kids screaming on Ferris wheels or taking pony rides, monkey shows, and even the odd self -styled gymnast who will demonstrate amazing yogic postures for a small fee.

Juhu Beach -

Juhu Beach is the most famous beach in Mumbai city. It is situated on the shores of Arabian Sea in Juhu suburb.

Many tourists make it a point to visit the beach when they come to Mumbai, as it is a relatively uncrowded free space in the city, although it does get crowded in the evenings and weekends. It is famous for its Mumbai 'street food'.

Mahalaxmi Temple -

Mahalaxmi Temple is one of the most famous temples of Mumbai. It is dedicated to Mahalaxmi, Lord Vishnu's consort. Built around 1785, the history of this temple is supposedly connected with the building of the Hornby Vellard. Apparently after portions of the sea wall of the Vellard collapsed twice, the chief engineer dreamt of a Lakshmi statue in the sea near Worli. A search recovered it, and he built a temple for it. After this, the work on the vellard could be completed without a hitch.

Hanging Gardens -

The Hanging Gardens, also known as Ferozeshah Mehta Gardens, are terraced gardens perched at the top of Malabar Hill, on its western side, just opposite the Kamala Nehru Park. They provide lovely sunset views over the Arabian Sea and feature numerous hedges carved into the shapes of animals. The park was laid out in 1881 over Bombay's main reservoir, some say to cover the water from the potentially contaminating activity of the nearby Towers of Silence.

Mani Bhawan -

Mani Bhavan is the old Mumbai residence of Mahatma Gandhi. It's a pretty, two-storied structure that now houses a reference library with over 2000 books, a photo exhibition of the Mahatma's life, and well preserved memorabilia, including an old charkha or spinning wheel that Gandhiji used to use. Today, it’s only a symbolic exhibit that lies unused, but many old Gandhians still visit the place to pay homage to their hero and demonstrate the noble art of spinning your own yarn!

Dhobi Ghat (Photo Stop Only) -

A unique feature of Mumbai, the dhobi is a traditional laundryman, who will collect your dirty linen, wash it, and return it neatly pressed to your doorstep. All for a pittance. The "laundries" are called "ghats": row upon row of concrete wash pens, each fitted with its own flogging stone. The clothes are soaked in sudsy water, thrashed on the flogging stones, then tossed into huge vats of boiling starch and hung out to dry. Next they are ironed and piled into neat bundles. The most famous of these Dhobi Ghats is at Saat Rasta near Mahalaxmi Station where almost two hundred dhobis and their families work together in what has always been a hereditary occupation.

Towers of Silence (Photo Stop Only) -

Towers of Silence are circular raised structures used by Zoroastrians for exposure of the dead. There is no standard technical name for such a construction. The common dakhma or dokhma (from Middle Persian dakhmag) originally denoted any place for the dead. Similarly, in the medieval texts of Zoroastrian tradition, the word astodan appears, but which today denotes an ossuary. In the Iranian provinces of Yazd and Kerman, the technical term is deme or dema. In India, the term doongerwadi came into use after a tower was constructed on a hill of that name. The word dagdah appears in the texts of both India and Iran, but in 20th century India signified the lowest grade of temple fire (cf. Fire temple).

The term "Tower of Silence" is a neologism attributed to one Robert Murphy, who in 1832 was a translator of the British colonial government in India. It is not the literal meaning of "Avestan (sic) dakhma" as suggested by the Encyclopædia Britannica. While the stem dakhma- does exist in the Avestan language, its meaning there is not conclusively established. The contexts indicate a negative connotation and that it do not signify a construction of any kind.