Contrary to popular belief there are numerous easily accessible weekend getaway options in and around Mumbai which will help a visitor unwind or celebrate a lucrative deal just signed up The standard advice given to the estimated 6 million people who visit Mumbai (pop. 20 million) every year, the commercial capital of the country, is to stay focused, get your business over as fast as possible and forget all about leisure, travel and sightseeing activities. Don’t take it! Contrary to popular belief there are numerous easily accessible weekend getaway options in and around Mumbai which will help you to unwind or celebrate the lucrative deal you’ve signed up in this fast-tempo metropolis. Mumbai is also the administrative capital of Maharashtra (pop. 115 million), a huge state in western India which sprawls over 307,713 sq. km — a land area three times the size of England. Not surprisingly it offers great beaches, hill stations and leisure resorts with all the modcons which the country’s richest and most famous business tycoons and flashy film stars (Mumbai is the epicentre of the world’s largest feature films industry) insist upon. Most of these playgrounds of the rich and famous are a mere few hours drive out of Mumbai, which is also well connected to the rest of the country by rail and air. The history of the city dates back to the stone age when fisher folk made it their home. Mumbai was under the rule of hindu dynasties from the 6th century AD, invaded by the Muslims in the 14th century and ceded to the Portuguese in 1534. The Portuguese included Mumbai in the dowry of Catherine of Braganza when she married England’s Charles II in 1661. Thus Mumbai became a British possession and in 1668 it was leased to the east India Company for a paltry annual rent of £10. Though with its huge crowds and cramped public spaces, Mumbai is hardly a tourist haven and can be disconcerting for visitors, this megalopolis offers a lively night life (pubs, restaurants, discotheques) and interesting historic monuments, museums and art galleries. Among them: the Gateway of India, an impressive structure built in 1911; Kala Ghoda, between Colaba and Fort houses the National Gallery of Modern Art and the Prince of Wales Museum (renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya), built to commemorate King George V’s first visit to India in 1905. Marine Drive (a.k.a. Queen’s necklace) is ideal for a zippy drive along the sea from Nariman Point to the foot of Malabar Hill. Chowpatty beach, a perennial carnival and the Taraporewala Aquarium are also worth visiting. The Hanging Gardens, (Pherozeshah Mehta gardens) of Malabar hill, the Adinath Jain temple, Kamala Nehru park and the Banganga tank are also popular with visitors. Excursions. Mumbai also offers several day-trip excursion options. The most popular among them are: a boat ride to Elephanta Island famous for its rock cut cave temples; a drive to the Sanjay Gandhi National park, a 87 sq. km protected forest hill on…
