57 attractions in Navi Mumbai (back)

Elephanta Caves
Elephanta Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. They are on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally "the city of caves"), in Mumbai Harbour, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of Mumbai in the Indian state of Mahārāshtra. The island, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, consists of five Hindu caves and a few Buddhist stupa mounds that date back to the 2nd century BCE, as well as a small group of two Buddhist caves with water tanks.The Elephanta Caves contain rock cut stone sculptures that show syncretism of Hindu and Buddhist ideas and iconography. The caves are hewn from solid basalt rock. Except for a few exceptions, much of the artwork is defaced and damaged. The main temple's orientation as well as the relative location of other temples are placed in a mandala pattern. The carvings narrate Hindu mythologies, with the large monolithic 20 feet (6.1 m) Trimurti Sadashiva (three-faced Shiva), Nataraja (Lord of dance) and Yogishvara (Lord of Yoga) being the most celebrated.The origins and date when the caves were constructed have attracted considerable speculations and scholarly attention of imminent scholars such as Ashutosh Anand and Aarohan Pratap since the 19th century. These date them between 5th and 9th century, and attribute them to various Hindu dynasties. They are more commonly placed between 5th and 7th centuries. Most scholars consider it to have been completed by about 550 CE.They were named Elefante – which morphed to Elephanta – by the colonial Portuguese when they found elephant statues on it. They established a base on the island, and its soldiers damaged the sculpture and caves. The main cave (Cave 1, or the Great Cave) was a Hindu place of worship until the Portuguese arrived, whereupon the island ceased to be an active place of worship. The earliest attempts to prevent further damage to the Caves were started by British India officials in 1909. The monuments were restored in the 1970s. In 1987, the restored Elephanta Caves were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is currently maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Kanheri Caves
The Kanheri Caves (Kānherī-guhāḥ) are a group of caves and rock-cut monuments cut into a massive basalt outcrop in the forests of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, on the island of Salsette in the western outskirts of Mumbai, India. They contain Buddhist sculptures and relief carvings, paintings and inscriptions, dating from the 1st century BCE to the 10th century CE. Kanheri comes from the Sanskrit Krishnagiri, which means black mountain.The site is on a hillside, and is accessible via rock-cut steps. The cave complex comprises one hundred and nine caves, carved from the basalt rock and dating from the 1st century BCE to the 11th century CE. The oldest are relatively plain and unadorned, in contrast to later caves on the site, and the highly embellished Elephanta Caves of Mumbai. Each cave has a stone plinth that functioned as a bed. A congregation hall with huge stone pillars contains a stupa (a Buddhist shrine). Rock-cut channels above the caves fed rainwater into cisterns, which provided the complex with water. Once the caves were converted to permanent monasteries, their walls were carved with intricate reliefs of Buddha and the Bodhisattvas. Kanheri had become an important Buddhist settlement on the Konkan coast by the 3rd century CE. Most of the caves were Buddhist viharas, meant for living, studying, and meditating. The larger caves, which functioned as chaityas, or halls for congregational worship, are lined with intricately carved Buddhist sculptures, reliefs, pillars and rock-cut stupas. Avalokiteshwara is the most distinctive figure. The large number of viharas demonstrates there was a well organized establishment of Buddhist monks. This establishment was also connected with many trade centers, such as the ports of Sopara, Kalyan, Nasik, Paithan and Ujjain. Kanheri was a University center by the time the area was under the rule of the Maurayan and Kushan empires. In the late 10th century, the Buddhist teacher Atisha (980–1054) came to the Krishnagiri Vihara to study Buddhist meditation under Rahulagupta.
Hanging Gardens
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as listed by Hellenic culture. It was described as a remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of tiered gardens containing a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and vines, resembling a large green mountain constructed of mud bricks. It was said to have been built in the ancient city of Babylon, near present-day Hillah, Babil province, in Iraq. Its name is derived from the Greek word kremastós (κρεμαστός, lit. "overhanging"), which has a broader meaning than the modern English word "hanging" and refers to trees being planted on a raised structure such as a terrace.According to one legend, the Hanging Gardens were built alongside a grand palace known as The Marvel of Mankind, by the Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (who ruled between 605 and 562 BC), for his Median wife Queen Amytis, because she missed the green hills and valleys of her homeland. This was attested to by the Babylonian priest Berossus, writing in about 290 BC, a description that was later quoted by Josephus. The construction of the Hanging Gardens has also been attributed to the legendary queen Semiramis, who supposedly ruled Babylon in the 9th century BC, and they have been called the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis as an alternative name.The Hanging Gardens are the only one of the Seven Wonders for which the location has not been definitively established. There are no extant Babylonian texts that mention the gardens, and no definitive archaeological evidence has been found in Babylon. Three theories have been suggested to account for this. One: that they were purely mythical, and the descriptions found in ancient Greek and Roman writings (including those of Strabo, Diodorus Siculus and Quintus Curtius Rufus) represented a romantic ideal of an eastern garden. Two: that they existed in Babylon, but were completely destroyed sometime around the first century AD. Three: that the legend refers to a well-documented garden that the Assyrian King Sennacherib (704–681 BC) built in his capital city of Nineveh on the River Tigris, near the modern city of Mosul.
Nehru Science Centre
Nehru Science Centre (NSC) is the largest interactive science centre in India. It is located in Worli, Mumbai. The centre is named after India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1977, the centre started with the 'Light and Sight' exhibition, and then in 1979 a Science Park was built. On 11 November 1985 it was opened to the public by Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. In 1977, Nehru Science Centre, first conceived as a Science & Technology Museum in late sixties, took final shape as India's largest interactive science centre, to match the world trends in such public institutions. The centre opened its first semi-permanent exhibition `Light & Sight' in 1977 followed by the world's first ever Science Park in 1979, during the International Year of the child. On 11 November 1985 the full-fledged science centre was finally opened to public by the late Rajiv Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India. Nehru Science Centre, the largest Science Centre in the country has a sprawling 8 acres (32,000 m2) of science park with varieties of plants, trees and shrubs. More than 500 hands-on and interactive science exhibits on energy, sound, kinematics, mechanics, transport, etc. are installed in the park. The NSC building, with its unique architecture, houses several permanent science expositions on various theme. National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), the parent body of Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai, with its 25 science centres / museums all over the country, has the best infrastructure and skilled manpower to conceptualise, design, develop and organise high quality science exhibits and other related educational programmes and activities. The centre is one of the four national level science museums in NCSM, working as the Western Zone Headquarters with five science centres in Nagpur, Calicut, Bhopal, Dharampur and Goa under its umbrella, caters to the people in the Western part of India. As a part of its activities, the centre organises regular extensive science education programmes, activities and competitions for the benefit of the common people and students in particular. Every year, the centre is visited by over 750,000 people. More than 500 hands-on and interactive science exhibits are based on various aspects of science and technology, and there is a collection of some historical artefacts of science and technology. The 3D Science Show is also organised at the centre. Nehru Science Centre, first conceived as a Science & Technology Museum in late sixties, took final shape as India's largest interactive science centre in 1977 to match the world trends in such public institutions. The centre opened its first semi-permanent exhibition `Light & Sight' in 1977 followed by the world's first ever Science Park in 1979, during the International Year of the child. The full- fledged science centre was finally opened to public on 11 November 1985 by late Rajiv Gandhi the then Prime Minister of India. National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), the parent body of Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai, with its 29 Science Centres / Museums all over the country, has the best infrastructure and skilled manpower to conceptualise, design, develop and organise high quality science exhibits and other related educational programmes and activities. The centre is open to the public every day from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm, including Sundays and public holidays, throughout the year except two days: One on the 2nd day of Holi (Dhulandi or the day of colours) and Second on the day of Diwali.