Mumbai Travel Guide: City of Dreams, Heritage, Food & Bollywood - Capital Cities of Indian States [Maharashtra]

When in Mumbai, we drove around few of the popular places in Mumbai and Travellingcamera visited Sea-link twice in 2 days and loved shooting here. Sea Link connects old Mumbai with new city. This Photo Journey shares more photographs of Sea Link and places from where this beautiful bridge is viewed and clicked.I was staying at JW Marriot near Airport and didn't want to go to other side of Mumbai city and there is a toll at beginning of Sea Link. So we went till the beginning of Sea Link and took u turn from left after clicking few shots of sea, sea link and high-rise buildings on other side of the sea.I was not happy with what I clicked at this place, so planned to come again but overall all the photographs in my opinion are average. I have seen some of the stunning photographs on web but then realized that I needed to know more about the geography of the place and what makes the best choice to shoot Sea Link.The weather was rainy and it was hazy all around. I clicked some of these plain shots of high-rise buildings on other side of the sea.After taking u turn before the sea link starts, we went to bandstand. After little disappointment about Shahrukh Khan's house at Bandstand, we headed towards Taj LandsEnd and came across these amazing views of Sea link. This certainly is beautiful place to shoot Sea Link and I was imagining how the bridge would look in night when lights on the bridge shine.Next day, plan was to visit Gateway of India and we had to cross the Bridge, so we planned to stop our cab again. Light was a little better, but there was hardly any scope of moving around and trying different things and we were in little hurry.Now we had to cross the bridge, but stopping the cab on bridge was not allowed and our driver strictly conveyed the same to us. So we calmly sat on the back seat and made our cameras to shoot while driving.As we hit the bridge, it started raining heavily and now wiper was also running on the front glass. So we had to manage our clicks in such a way that we shoot front view without much distraction :)Mumbai rains are crazy and very unpredictable. That was one of the main reason that we booked the cab for whole day. It was my first attempt to book Ola cab for whole day and it was not so bad, like my earlier experience with Ola.Overall it was fun driving around Bandra-Worli sea link and clicking these photographs. I wish to spend more time in Mumbai and understand these places in better way.

Mumbai (formerly Bombay), the capital of Maharashtra, is India’s financial hub and entertainment capital. Known as the City of Dreams, Mumbai is where millions arrive to chase careers, fame, and fortune. From colonial-era landmarks like the Gateway of India to bustling bazaars, iconic beaches, Bollywood glamour, and cutting-edge nightlife, Mumbai has a rhythm unlike any other city in India.

While in Mumbai , we visited Bandstand that was a little disappointing experience for me and if you are wondering why, check this . After roaming around Bandstand, we walked towards Taj Lands End and finally reached Castella De Aguada towards the end. It's just across the sea and Sea-Link looks awesome from this place. This Photo Journey shares more about Castella De Aguada and why it's so popular amongst locals and tourists visiting Mumbai.It's also called at Bandra Fort. The Portuguese had established a base in this area during 1530s after defeating Bahadur Shah of Gujarat state of India. And they built various sea-forts along the western Indian coastline. Castella de Aguada was one such strategically located fort, overlooking the Mahim Bay to the south, the Arabian Sea to the west, the islands of Worli to the south and the town of Mahim to the south west.During the Portuguese rule, it was armed with seven cannons and other smaller guns as defense. Here is huge wall of Castella De Aguada from where you can enjoy awesome views of Sea Link and get photographs clicked. And in monsoons the views are even better with clouds in sky and everything cleaned up by drizzles.Above photograph shows the open space just in front of the fort and if you would try to search the fort, you would be disappointed. There is hardly anything which remained and look like a fort. There are high walls from where you can see Sea-Link and observe sea waves. You can find vendors roaming around to sell snacks. Structure of Castella De Aguada has been renovated a decade back and now it doesn't look like old forts but some of the walls still look strong and have old charm. Are you wondering what is the significance of Castella De Aguada?Bandra Fort Garden is very well maintained. Not sure if it seemed like that because of freshness of Monsoons or it's really handled well by authorities.Lot of folks come here, spend some quality time with friends by looking at the waves. Some of them just cross the wall and sit on rocks around the wall. Just notice folks sitting on the rocks in photograph below.Quick facts . How to Reach Castella De Aguada - It's at walking distance from Shah Rukh Khan's house :). So if you are visiting Bandstand, just walk from there towards Taj Lands End and cross that. Castella De Aguada Timings - I didn't find a way to close this but it seems castle is open from 6:30am to 7pm. There must be some entry gate which I missed.

This guide takes you through the best places to visit in Mumbai, art & culture, food, shopping, nightlife, local life, and excursions, with Travellingcamera stories linked in to help you dig deeper.

Top Places to Visit in Mumbai

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.

1. Gateway of India & Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

Built in 1924, the Gateway of India is Mumbai’s most iconic monument, overlooking the Arabian Sea. Right across stands the grand Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, a symbol of colonial elegance.

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.

👉 Travellingcamera’s exploration of India Gate in Delhi gives context to how such monuments represent city pride.

When in Mumbai, after checking into the Hotel at Sahar we tool taxi to go to Bandstand. The Taxi guys stops the taxi in front of a house on the left and says that we are at Bandstand and the house on the left is Mannat & is owned by Bollywood super star Shahrukh khan. That's how we were introduced to Bandstand.And frankly speaking it was very disappointing for me at first glace :). I didn't expect Shahrukh Khan's house like that. After coming back home I realized the impact of shock I had there, when I found that I didn't click a single photograph of Shahrukh Khan's house. But then I was accompanying more friends who had better exposure to Mumbai and Mumbaivalas. They kept consoling me by saying that having such house in Mumbai is big deal. And on that notes, I started appreciating flats around Bandstand. They looked much better :). Earlier I was not curious about much talked about houses of bollywood stars, but now I was curious where other bollywood stars would be staying. On the way back we also cross Amitabha's house and now I was little appreciate about Shahrukh Khan's sea facing bunglow with a multi-story building. I also saw Rekha's house and that looked little cleaner from outside & better maintained.Let me stop here and share some happy moments spent around Bandstand and what all can be done around this place. Seashore is rocky and slippery, so one has to be careful while going near the water. Not sure it's always like that or only in monsoons. But most likely it's because of high tides during evenings, which is a continuous process.Rain started as we went closer to the water. And frankly speaking I didn't find this a very cool place to hang around.It was quite windy and rains were forcing visitors to head back towards their cars or take a shelter around bus stop. Bandstand is essentially a long walkway along the sea in Bandra region of Mumbai. We walked towards Taj Land's End and then Bandra fort from where Bandra-Worli Sea link is visible.Overall it's a nice walk and the fort region is nice to sit for some time, observe sea waves and the sea link on other side.So this was a quick visit to Bandstand with different kinds of emotions. I would certainly want to visit this place in winters and see it from different perspective.

2. Marine Drive & Chowpatty Beach

The 3.6 km-long Marine Drive, also called the “Queen’s Necklace,” is perfect for evening strolls and sunsets. At its northern end lies Girgaum Chowpatty Beach, famous for local street snacks like pav bhaji and bhel puri.

👉 Travellingcamera’s coastal explorations.

While roaming around Mumbai city, I stopped at Marine Drive for few minutes. Walked around the sea and noticed lot of Mumbaiwalahs enjoying the beautiful day. This place certainly tells a lot about the city. Marine Drive is essentially a 3 kilometers long road aligned with seashore, which connects Nariman Point tp Babulnath and Malabar Hill in South Mumbai. The promenade lies parallel to this road. Marine Drive is also known as the Queens’s Necklace as it looks beautiful in night. I found this place very interesting, but unfortunately we were in a hurry to catch the flight. And we were very scared of Mumbai traffic and didn't want to miss the flight. This place made me feel very happy. I loved the way people were out of their houses and spending some peaceful moments around this place. I couldn't think of any such place in Delhi. My friend gave a reason that there are not much open places in Mumbai where people can go after office. I don't know about that, but overall it was very happy feeling to be around Marine Drive. The conversation with my friend on Marine Drive, lead me to think about working in Mumbai for some time and experience this different culture. I know lot of folks who are fan of Mumbai and I also want to be the one. Hope I get to spend more time in the city and know how it's different from other parts in our country.

3. Colaba Causeway & Kala Ghoda

  • Colaba Causeway: A bustling street with shops, cafés, and art galleries.

  • Kala Ghoda Art Precinct: Famous for heritage buildings, art galleries, and the annual Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.

👉 Travellingcamera’s street market captures.

4. Elephanta Caves

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Elephanta Island (a short ferry ride from Gateway of India) houses rock-cut caves dedicated to Lord Shiva, with intricate sculptures like the famous Trimurti.

👉 Travellingcamera’s rock-cut architecture explorations at Ellora Caves.


5. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)

Formerly Victoria Terminus, this UNESCO-listed railway station is an Indo-Gothic architectural marvel. It’s also one of the busiest railway stations in India.

👉 Travellingcamera’s architectural explorations.

Last month I had a quick visit to Mumbai and explored some parts of the city with Desi Traveler. On the last day, we booked taxi and kept moving from one place to another. Haji Ali was one of the halts on our way. This Photo Journey shares more about Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, timings and some do's/don'ts.Haji Ali Dargah is located on shoreline and high tide area in Mumbai. The very first photograph of Haji Ali is clicked from the road where you need to park the car, if planning to visit the mosque. Please note that cameras are not allowed inside the Haji Ali dargah. At least I was stopped at entry gate and not carry camera inside. I dropped the idea of going beyond that point and came back towards the famous Haji Ali juice shop.I tried clicking Haji Ali Photographs from different places around the main road and most of the photographs are clicked with cell phone camera.There is also a famous Haji Ali Song, which remind me of this place now. And if you haven't yet listened to this song, go and check. I am sure you would love it.Haji Ali Mumbai is one of the main places to visit in the city. The Haji Ali Dargah was constructed in 1431 in memory of a wealthy Muslim merchant, Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, who gave up all his worldly possessions before making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Hailing from Bukhara , in present-day Uzbekistan , Bukhari travelled around the world in the early to mid 15th century, and eventually settled in present-day Mumbai. Check out more - The Dargah is built on a tiny islet which is located 500 meters from the coast and in the middle of Worli Bay. Haji Ali is in the vicinity of Worli . The edifice is a brilliant specimen of the Indo-Islamic style of architecture and I wish I could go closer to click some good photographs there. The islet is linked to the city precinct of Mahalakshmi by a narrow causeway, which is nearly a kilometre long.Haji Ali Mosque is clearly visible from a distance. This is the high tide area during evenings.Here is the famous Hai Ali Juice Centre which goes great business here. I noticed long queues of cars parked in front of this Juice centre and people order light snacks with fresh juices.It was getting dark. We spotted a tea vendor along the road and tried tea in Mumbai. Detailed experience of tea in Mumbai can be checked here I loved shooting Haji Ali in blue hour during monsoons. Isn't it best mood. Blue shades and a yellow boat to add appropriate color contrast.

6. Haji Ali Dargah

Built in the 15th century on a small islet, this mosque and tomb is a stunning blend of Indo-Islamic architecture, accessible only during low tide.

Last month I had a quick visit to Mumbai and explored some parts of the city with Desi Traveler. On the last day, we booked taxi and kept moving from one place to another. Haji Ali was one of the halts on our way. This Photo Journey shares more about Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, timings and some do's/don'ts.Haji Ali Dargah is located on shoreline and high tide area in Mumbai. The very first photograph of Haji Ali is clicked from the road where you need to park the car, if planning to visit the mosque. Please note that cameras are not allowed inside the Haji Ali dargah. At least I was stopped at entry gate and not carry camera inside. I dropped the idea of going beyond that point and came back towards the famous Haji Ali juice shop.I tried clicking Haji Ali Photographs from different places around the main road and most of the photographs are clicked with cell phone camera.There is also a famous Haji Ali Song, which remind me of this place now. And if you haven't yet listened to this song, go and check. I am sure you would love it.Haji Ali Mumbai is one of the main places to visit in the city. The Haji Ali Dargah was constructed in 1431 in memory of a wealthy Muslim merchant, Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, who gave up all his worldly possessions before making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Hailing from Bukhara , in present-day Uzbekistan , Bukhari travelled around the world in the early to mid 15th century, and eventually settled in present-day Mumbai. Check out more - The Dargah is built on a tiny islet which is located 500 meters from the coast and in the middle of Worli Bay. Haji Ali is in the vicinity of Worli . The edifice is a brilliant specimen of the Indo-Islamic style of architecture and I wish I could go closer to click some good photographs there. The islet is linked to the city precinct of Mahalakshmi by a narrow causeway, which is nearly a kilometre long.Haji Ali Mosque is clearly visible from a distance. This is the high tide area during evenings.Here is the famous Hai Ali Juice Centre which goes great business here. I noticed long queues of cars parked in front of this Juice centre and people order light snacks with fresh juices.It was getting dark. We spotted a tea vendor along the road and tried tea in Mumbai. Detailed experience of tea in Mumbai can be checked here I loved shooting Haji Ali in blue hour during monsoons. Isn't it best mood. Blue shades and a yellow boat to add appropriate color contrast.

👉 Travellingcamera’s stories of faith and spirituality.

7. Sanjay Gandhi National Park & Kanheri Caves

Located within city limits, this park is a green lung for Mumbai. Inside it are the Kanheri Caves, Buddhist rock-cut monuments dating back to the 1st century BCE.

👉 Travellingcamera’s Bhimbetka caves provide context for cave art and heritage sites.

When in Mumbai, we drove around few of the popular places in Mumbai and Travellingcamera visited Sea-link twice in 2 days and loved shooting here. Sea Link connects old Mumbai with new city. This Photo Journey shares more photographs of Sea Link and places from where this beautiful bridge is viewed and clicked.I was staying at JW Marriot near Airport and didn't want to go to other side of Mumbai city and there is a toll at beginning of Sea Link. So we went till the beginning of Sea Link and took u turn from left after clicking few shots of sea, sea link and high-rise buildings on other side of the sea.I was not happy with what I clicked at this place, so planned to come again but overall all the photographs in my opinion are average. I have seen some of the stunning photographs on web but then realized that I needed to know more about the geography of the place and what makes the best choice to shoot Sea Link.The weather was rainy and it was hazy all around. I clicked some of these plain shots of high-rise buildings on other side of the sea.After taking u turn before the sea link starts, we went to bandstand. After little disappointment about Shahrukh Khan's house at Bandstand, we headed towards Taj LandsEnd and came across these amazing views of Sea link. This certainly is beautiful place to shoot Sea Link and I was imagining how the bridge would look in night when lights on the bridge shine.Next day, plan was to visit Gateway of India and we had to cross the Bridge, so we planned to stop our cab again. Light was a little better, but there was hardly any scope of moving around and trying different things and we were in little hurry.Now we had to cross the bridge, but stopping the cab on bridge was not allowed and our driver strictly conveyed the same to us. So we calmly sat on the back seat and made our cameras to shoot while driving.As we hit the bridge, it started raining heavily and now wiper was also running on the front glass. So we had to manage our clicks in such a way that we shoot front view without much distraction :)Mumbai rains are crazy and very unpredictable. That was one of the main reason that we booked the cab for whole day. It was my first attempt to book Ola cab for whole day and it was not so bad, like my earlier experience with Ola.Overall it was fun driving around Bandra-Worli sea link and clicking these photographs. I wish to spend more time in Mumbai and understand these places in better way.

8. Dhobi Ghat

The world’s largest open-air laundry, Dhobi Ghat offers a glimpse into Mumbai’s hardworking side, where clothes are washed, dried, and ironed in hundreds of concrete pens.

9. Bollywood & Film City

Mumbai is home to Bollywood. Tours to Film City in Goregaon give you behind-the-scenes glimpses of sets, studios, and live shooting.

👉 Travellingcamera’s cultural experiences in Indian cinema.

Shopping in Mumbai

  • Colaba Causeway: Souvenirs, jewelry, street fashion.

  • Fashion Street: Affordable clothes and accessories.

  • Crawford Market: Fresh produce, spices, and old-world charm.

  • Chor Bazaar: Antiques and vintage treasures.

  • High Street Phoenix & Palladium: Luxury shopping.

👉 Travellingcamera’s shopping explorations in Indian bazaars.

Food in Mumbai

Mumbai is one of India’s street food capitals.

  • Vada Pav: The city’s signature snack.

  • Pav Bhaji at Chowpatty.

  • Bhel Puri & Sev Puri: Best at Juhu Beach.

  • Bombil Fry (Bombay Duck Fish Fry): A local seafood delicacy.

  • Irani Cafés: For bun maska and chai.

  • South Mumbai: Legendary restaurants like Britannia & Co. for berry pulao.

👉 Travellingcamera’s food trails.

As the festive season approaches, India’s narrow lanes, riversides, and local workshops transform into magical spaces where artisans breathe life into clay. Behind every grand Durga Puja pandal, every Ganesha in Mumbai, or Kali idol in West Bengal, lies months of effort in idol-making workshops. These spaces are not just about art; they are about tradition, community, livelihood, and devotion.

Culture & Festivals in Mumbai

  • Ganesh Chaturthi: Mumbai’s grandest festival with colorful idols and visarjan processions.

  • Kala Ghoda Arts Festival: Celebrating art, design, music, and literature.

  • Diwali & Eid: City markets come alive with lights, sweets, and street life.

  • Bollywood Influence: Dance, music, and film are woven into the city’s cultural DNA.

👉 Travellingcamera’s festival frames.

When in Mumbai, we drove around few of the popular places in Mumbai and Travellingcamera visited Sea-link twice in 2 days and loved shooting here. Sea Link connects old Mumbai with new city. This Photo Journey shares more photographs of Sea Link and places from where this beautiful bridge is viewed and clicked.I was staying at JW Marriot near Airport and didn't want to go to other side of Mumbai city and there is a toll at beginning of Sea Link. So we went till the beginning of Sea Link and took u turn from left after clicking few shots of sea, sea link and high-rise buildings on other side of the sea.I was not happy with what I clicked at this place, so planned to come again but overall all the photographs in my opinion are average. I have seen some of the stunning photographs on web but then realized that I needed to know more about the geography of the place and what makes the best choice to shoot Sea Link.The weather was rainy and it was hazy all around. I clicked some of these plain shots of high-rise buildings on other side of the sea.After taking u turn before the sea link starts, we went to bandstand. After little disappointment about Shahrukh Khan's house at Bandstand, we headed towards Taj LandsEnd and came across these amazing views of Sea link. This certainly is beautiful place to shoot Sea Link and I was imagining how the bridge would look in night when lights on the bridge shine.Next day, plan was to visit Gateway of India and we had to cross the Bridge, so we planned to stop our cab again. Light was a little better, but there was hardly any scope of moving around and trying different things and we were in little hurry.Now we had to cross the bridge, but stopping the cab on bridge was not allowed and our driver strictly conveyed the same to us. So we calmly sat on the back seat and made our cameras to shoot while driving.As we hit the bridge, it started raining heavily and now wiper was also running on the front glass. So we had to manage our clicks in such a way that we shoot front view without much distraction :)Mumbai rains are crazy and very unpredictable. That was one of the main reason that we booked the cab for whole day. It was my first attempt to book Ola cab for whole day and it was not so bad, like my earlier experience with Ola.Overall it was fun driving around Bandra-Worli sea link and clicking these photographs. I wish to spend more time in Mumbai and understand these places in better way.

Nightlife in Mumbai

Mumbai is the city that never sleeps.

  • Bandra & Lower Parel: Trendy bars, clubs, and rooftop lounges.

  • Colaba & Marine Drive: Late-night cafés and pubs.

  • Juhu & Versova: Beachside lounges.

  • Cultural Evenings: Theatre at Prithvi Theatre and NCPA.

Local Life in Mumbai

  • Morning: Locals jogging at Marine Drive, office-goers catching suburban trains.

  • Daytime: Bazaars bustling, film shoots happening in Bandra.

  • Evening: Food stalls and nightlife lighting up.

  • Everyday Hustle: Mumbai locals are known for their pace, resilience, and “never-say-die” spirit.

👉 Travellingcamera’s streets of Indian cities.

Excursions Around Mumbai

After our Baramati visit, we came back to pune and had 3 days in hand. It was amazing to know about plenty of weekend destinations around Pune, but it made difficult for us to decide on 1-2 of the destinations we could plan for. A day trip to Lonavala & Khandala was something that we planned on day one. This Photo Journey shares more about this one-day road-trip to Lonavala & Khandala from Pune.When we were deciding one-day destinations around Pune, we had a very long list and with time, it was getting difficult to decide. We hadn't enough time to go through blogs and decide the best options as per our taste of travel. Lonavala was most familiar name in the list and it was easily approachable through Pune-Mumbai highway. So we chose to drive to Lonavala and explore this part of Maharashtra state. So picked car of our cousin, who stays there in Pune and moved towards Lonavala. We started from Pune and followed Pune-Mumbai highway till the point which tells you to take left for Lonavala. Above photograph shows the exact point where we took this left to hit Lonavala.Just taking this left from the highway, we stopped at one of the shops to know what exactly is there in Lonavala and where should we go now :). I know that it sounds odd that we were not even sure that what we would be doing in Lonavala. Somehow we had no clue till we talked to the shopkeeper. And the response from other side way - 'There is hardly anything in Lonavala, especially in the month of Feb, During Monsoons you can see hundreds of waterfalls all around the hills of Lonavala'. This was quite disappointing and after a short chit-chat, we were wondering if we should spend more time around this town or drive towards Mumbai. After a quick thought we thought of going towards the hilly part of Lonavala which was 20 kilometers from main town. After few kilometers of drive, we reached on top of hills which were looking beautiful from Pune-Mumbai highway. These hills of Lonavala was quite different with hundreds of marks of waterfalls, which were inactive during winters.Soon after we hit a picnic spot called Tiger-Point, which was a typical point which are marketed very well in most of the tourist destinations :There was a huge parking space on roadside, with few stalls around the corners, camels and few other things to keep tourists engaged. We also thought of parking and see what's there. Various groups were sitting around the other side of this parking lot. As we moved towards these groups, we realized that other side of this hill had huge valley full of different elevations making beautiful formations. This was one of the views from Tiger-point around these hills in Lonavala. Although I am not sure if this part is also considered in Lonavala or not. These views were breathtaking and I had never seen something like this.Tiger's Point is a cliff-top with a sudden drop of over 700 meters giving an amazing view of relatively lower hills spread over a huge area around Lonavala. It seems that buses for Tiger and Lion points are available to this place from Lonavala town. I also noticed few Auto-Rickshaws coming to this place from main town. It seems that during Monsoons, the view from Tiger's point is phenomenal with lot of waterfalls. During monsoons, tourists prefer to sit around these waterfalls instead of Bushy dam which comes on the way to Tiger point from Lonavala Town. The place around Bushy dam didn't seem that exciting so we skipped stopping there. One needs to park the car on road-side and need to walks for few minutes to hit Bushy Dam. Just next to Tiger Point, there is another point called Lion point. I didn't understand of point of these two different tourist spots nearby and didn't even bother to figure out. The only thing on my mind was the location on other side of this hills, the amazing views of gorges all around. After spending some time around these hills, we planned to drive towards Ambey Valley, which is 20 kilometers away from Tiger Point. When we asked folks at Tiger Point, they described Ambey Valley as a place where you can find big houses and villas of all Bollywood actors and big personalities of India. Since we had some time in hand, we thought of driving till Sahara City in Ambey Valley. I will be sharing a separate Photo Journey from Ambey Valley, which is a city developed by Sahara and has a private Airport as well. Lonavala is a town and a hill station is part of Pune district only. It takes around 1.5 hrs to reach Lonavala from Pune. It is located around 55 kilometers from Pimple Saudagar part of Pune city. and Mumbai from here is around 90 kilometers away.Lonavala is known for its production of the hard candy known as chikki and Chocolate fudge. It's one of the major stations on the rail line connecting Mumbai and Pune. Both the Mumbai-Pune Expressway as well as the Mumbai-Chennai highway pass through Lonavla. We explored both these highways and opted for the other route while going back.Having tea while travelling is a very special experience and a short conversation with Tea-stal owners makes it special. You get to know a lot about the place, culture and local things. We had few cups of tea and some maggie at this shop which is located around a Shiva temple which comes on the way from Lonavala to Ambey Valley in Maharshtra. The Journey of our day didn't end here. After a quick drive to Ambey Valley, we moved back to Loanavala Town and then Khandala. I shall be sharing the next part of the Journey in upcoming post

  • Lonavala & Khandala (80 km): Hill stations with waterfalls, forts, and green valleys.

  • Alibaug (95 km): Coastal town with beaches and forts.

  • Matheran (90 km): Eco-friendly hill station with toy train rides.

  • Elephanta Island: As covered above.

After our Baramati visit, we came back to pune and had 3 days in hand. It was amazing to know about plenty of weekend destinations around Pune, but it made difficult for us to decide on 1-2 of the destinations we could plan for. A day trip to Lonavala & Khandala was something that we planned on day one. This Photo Journey shares more about this one-day road-trip to Lonavala & Khandala from Pune.When we were deciding one-day destinations around Pune, we had a very long list and with time, it was getting difficult to decide. We hadn't enough time to go through blogs and decide the best options as per our taste of travel. Lonavala was most familiar name in the list and it was easily approachable through Pune-Mumbai highway. So we chose to drive to Lonavala and explore this part of Maharashtra state. So picked car of our cousin, who stays there in Pune and moved towards Lonavala. We started from Pune and followed Pune-Mumbai highway till the point which tells you to take left for Lonavala. Above photograph shows the exact point where we took this left to hit Lonavala.Just taking this left from the highway, we stopped at one of the shops to know what exactly is there in Lonavala and where should we go now :). I know that it sounds odd that we were not even sure that what we would be doing in Lonavala. Somehow we had no clue till we talked to the shopkeeper. And the response from other side way - 'There is hardly anything in Lonavala, especially in the month of Feb, During Monsoons you can see hundreds of waterfalls all around the hills of Lonavala'. This was quite disappointing and after a short chit-chat, we were wondering if we should spend more time around this town or drive towards Mumbai. After a quick thought we thought of going towards the hilly part of Lonavala which was 20 kilometers from main town. After few kilometers of drive, we reached on top of hills which were looking beautiful from Pune-Mumbai highway. These hills of Lonavala was quite different with hundreds of marks of waterfalls, which were inactive during winters.Soon after we hit a picnic spot called Tiger-Point, which was a typical point which are marketed very well in most of the tourist destinations :There was a huge parking space on roadside, with few stalls around the corners, camels and few other things to keep tourists engaged. We also thought of parking and see what's there. Various groups were sitting around the other side of this parking lot. As we moved towards these groups, we realized that other side of this hill had huge valley full of different elevations making beautiful formations. This was one of the views from Tiger-point around these hills in Lonavala. Although I am not sure if this part is also considered in Lonavala or not. These views were breathtaking and I had never seen something like this.Tiger's Point is a cliff-top with a sudden drop of over 700 meters giving an amazing view of relatively lower hills spread over a huge area around Lonavala. It seems that buses for Tiger and Lion points are available to this place from Lonavala town. I also noticed few Auto-Rickshaws coming to this place from main town. It seems that during Monsoons, the view from Tiger's point is phenomenal with lot of waterfalls. During monsoons, tourists prefer to sit around these waterfalls instead of Bushy dam which comes on the way to Tiger point from Lonavala Town. The place around Bushy dam didn't seem that exciting so we skipped stopping there. One needs to park the car on road-side and need to walks for few minutes to hit Bushy Dam. Just next to Tiger Point, there is another point called Lion point. I didn't understand of point of these two different tourist spots nearby and didn't even bother to figure out. The only thing on my mind was the location on other side of this hills, the amazing views of gorges all around. After spending some time around these hills, we planned to drive towards Ambey Valley, which is 20 kilometers away from Tiger Point. When we asked folks at Tiger Point, they described Ambey Valley as a place where you can find big houses and villas of all Bollywood actors and big personalities of India. Since we had some time in hand, we thought of driving till Sahara City in Ambey Valley. I will be sharing a separate Photo Journey from Ambey Valley, which is a city developed by Sahara and has a private Airport as well. Lonavala is a town and a hill station is part of Pune district only. It takes around 1.5 hrs to reach Lonavala from Pune. It is located around 55 kilometers from Pimple Saudagar part of Pune city. and Mumbai from here is around 90 kilometers away.Lonavala is known for its production of the hard candy known as chikki and Chocolate fudge. It's one of the major stations on the rail line connecting Mumbai and Pune. Both the Mumbai-Pune Expressway as well as the Mumbai-Chennai highway pass through Lonavla. We explored both these highways and opted for the other route while going back.Having tea while travelling is a very special experience and a short conversation with Tea-stal owners makes it special. You get to know a lot about the place, culture and local things. We had few cups of tea and some maggie at this shop which is located around a Shiva temple which comes on the way from Lonavala to Ambey Valley in Maharshtra. The Journey of our day didn't end here. After a quick drive to Ambey Valley, we moved back to Loanavala Town and then Khandala. I shall be sharing the next part of the Journey in upcoming post

Best Time to Visit Mumbai

  • November–February: Pleasant weather for sightseeing.

  • March–May: Hot but manageable, beaches become popular.

  • June–September: Monsoon transforms Mumbai with lush greenery, but also heavy rains and floods — great if you love dramatic skies.

After our Baramati visit, we came back to pune and had 3 days in hand. It was amazing to know about plenty of weekend destinations around Pune, but it made difficult for us to decide on 1-2 of the destinations we could plan for. A day trip to Lonavala & Khandala was something that we planned on day one. This Photo Journey shares more about this one-day road-trip to Lonavala & Khandala from Pune.When we were deciding one-day destinations around Pune, we had a very long list and with time, it was getting difficult to decide. We hadn't enough time to go through blogs and decide the best options as per our taste of travel. Lonavala was most familiar name in the list and it was easily approachable through Pune-Mumbai highway. So we chose to drive to Lonavala and explore this part of Maharashtra state. So picked car of our cousin, who stays there in Pune and moved towards Lonavala. We started from Pune and followed Pune-Mumbai highway till the point which tells you to take left for Lonavala. Above photograph shows the exact point where we took this left to hit Lonavala.Just taking this left from the highway, we stopped at one of the shops to know what exactly is there in Lonavala and where should we go now :). I know that it sounds odd that we were not even sure that what we would be doing in Lonavala. Somehow we had no clue till we talked to the shopkeeper. And the response from other side way - 'There is hardly anything in Lonavala, especially in the month of Feb, During Monsoons you can see hundreds of waterfalls all around the hills of Lonavala'. This was quite disappointing and after a short chit-chat, we were wondering if we should spend more time around this town or drive towards Mumbai. After a quick thought we thought of going towards the hilly part of Lonavala which was 20 kilometers from main town. After few kilometers of drive, we reached on top of hills which were looking beautiful from Pune-Mumbai highway. These hills of Lonavala was quite different with hundreds of marks of waterfalls, which were inactive during winters.Soon after we hit a picnic spot called Tiger-Point, which was a typical point which are marketed very well in most of the tourist destinations :There was a huge parking space on roadside, with few stalls around the corners, camels and few other things to keep tourists engaged. We also thought of parking and see what's there. Various groups were sitting around the other side of this parking lot. As we moved towards these groups, we realized that other side of this hill had huge valley full of different elevations making beautiful formations. This was one of the views from Tiger-point around these hills in Lonavala. Although I am not sure if this part is also considered in Lonavala or not. These views were breathtaking and I had never seen something like this.Tiger's Point is a cliff-top with a sudden drop of over 700 meters giving an amazing view of relatively lower hills spread over a huge area around Lonavala. It seems that buses for Tiger and Lion points are available to this place from Lonavala town. I also noticed few Auto-Rickshaws coming to this place from main town. It seems that during Monsoons, the view from Tiger's point is phenomenal with lot of waterfalls. During monsoons, tourists prefer to sit around these waterfalls instead of Bushy dam which comes on the way to Tiger point from Lonavala Town. The place around Bushy dam didn't seem that exciting so we skipped stopping there. One needs to park the car on road-side and need to walks for few minutes to hit Bushy Dam. Just next to Tiger Point, there is another point called Lion point. I didn't understand of point of these two different tourist spots nearby and didn't even bother to figure out. The only thing on my mind was the location on other side of this hills, the amazing views of gorges all around. After spending some time around these hills, we planned to drive towards Ambey Valley, which is 20 kilometers away from Tiger Point. When we asked folks at Tiger Point, they described Ambey Valley as a place where you can find big houses and villas of all Bollywood actors and big personalities of India. Since we had some time in hand, we thought of driving till Sahara City in Ambey Valley. I will be sharing a separate Photo Journey from Ambey Valley, which is a city developed by Sahara and has a private Airport as well. Lonavala is a town and a hill station is part of Pune district only. It takes around 1.5 hrs to reach Lonavala from Pune. It is located around 55 kilometers from Pimple Saudagar part of Pune city. and Mumbai from here is around 90 kilometers away.Lonavala is known for its production of the hard candy known as chikki and Chocolate fudge. It's one of the major stations on the rail line connecting Mumbai and Pune. Both the Mumbai-Pune Expressway as well as the Mumbai-Chennai highway pass through Lonavla. We explored both these highways and opted for the other route while going back.Having tea while travelling is a very special experience and a short conversation with Tea-stal owners makes it special. You get to know a lot about the place, culture and local things. We had few cups of tea and some maggie at this shop which is located around a Shiva temple which comes on the way from Lonavala to Ambey Valley in Maharshtra. The Journey of our day didn't end here. After a quick drive to Ambey Valley, we moved back to Loanavala Town and then Khandala. I shall be sharing the next part of the Journey in upcoming post

How to Reach Mumbai

  • By Air: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport connects globally.

  • By Rail: CSMT and Mumbai Central connect to major Indian cities.

  • By Road: Well connected via Mumbai–Pune Expressway and highways.

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai and stayed JW Marriott Sahar, which is close to the airport. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of this property and all these photographs are clicked with phone camera.Above is photograph of swimming pool at JW Marriot, Sahar. Thanks to rains for adding a different feel to the place. Everything looks so fresh and colorful.Hotel has 2 receptions. This is secondary one which was empty and there are huge conference halls on this side of the property. Some of the sections were under construction/renovation when I visited in August'16.A quick glance at the room. It was Spacious and facing the pool. There is a huge washroom with bathtub.Seating arrangement near room window. It was raining most of the times, so we spent time in rooms except the first day when we chose to move out in-spite of rains.This photograph is clicked at glittering reception. This is main reception of the property and a cafe on other side of the reception. This area looks stunning during night.Clouds were keeping an eye on us. As we moved out, rain started and then we headed to Sea Link, Band Stand, Juhu Chaupati etc.

Stay Options in Mumbai

  • Luxury: Taj Mahal Palace, Oberoi, Trident.

  • Mid-range: Residency Hotel, Ginger Mumbai.

  • Budget: Backpacker hostels in Colaba, Bandra, and Andheri.

👉 Travellingcamera’s hotel experiences across India.

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.

Why Visit Mumbai?

Mumbai is not just a city — it’s an experience of contrasts: luxury hotels and street bazaars, Bollywood studios and colonial museums, Marine Drive sunsets and monsoon chaos. From its food and festivals to its architecture and beaches, Mumbai is a destination that captures the soul of modern India.

👉 Explore more about Maharashtra on Travellingcamera: Maharashtra Stories.

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