Gateway Of India Mumbai

The best time to visit Mumbai’s iconic Gateway of India is just after sunrise, when parrots and pigeons fly overhead, the streets are still relatively quiet, and the sky casts a golden haze over the waterfront in Apollo Bunder. Built to honor King George V and Queen Mary, who visited 16 years earlier, the yellow basalt archway was once the literal gateway to the country, the first landmark people would see when arriving to Bombay by boat. Now, it’s a tourist attraction flooded with people hawking guided trips to Elephanta Island, souvenir photos with beautiful women, giant balloons, and crafts. But at sunrise, the seafront is still, perhaps like it used to be several generations ago.

The Gateway appears like a fortress at the Arabian seashore in the Coloba district of Mumbai. It’s small compared to the Taj Mahal hotel palace across the street, and perhaps that’s on purpose. The Gateway was built in 1911 to welcome British royalty and, even though it combines domestic and foreign architecture, it is a symbol of the British Raj era in India.

In the afternoons the Gateway of India is pretty crowded but in the mornings visitors are scarce, i watched this young girl chase pigeons for about 15 minutes (until I felt I had contracted Histoplamosis) until she gave up. This monument in Mumbai, located near the Taj Mahal Hotel, is a great place to do some people watching or even catch a ferry to Elephanta Island. The actual gateway was to commemorate the arrival of their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary during a visit to India in 1911, the monument is still a national icon. Any cab driver will know the Gateway of India, but be sure and bring your tout-stick because they will try and sell you everything.

One of the highlights of my trip was watching these two young girls frantically chase hundreds of pigeons in circles for nearly twenty minutes, laughing hysterically the entire time. There is a man who is here in the mornings that brings a big bag of seed with him to feed the pigeons. For a small fee he will allow you to grab two handfuls and hold out your hands until you are covered in swarming pigeons.

While staying at the Taj Palace Hotel in Mumbai, this view of the Gateway of India was out the window of the new tower. It’s a cool perch from which to watch the early morning feeding of the pigeons, tourists and travelers on the hourly ferries.

The Gateway to India is one of Mumbai’s most famous landmarks and was built in 1911 to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to their colony. From the sea, the Gateway is centrally located in the Colaba district of Mumbai where people can visit the Taj Mahal Hotel and Leopold’s Cafe-- two mainstays of the tourist scene in Mumbai for the past one hundred years. Sadly, these two businesses were also the focus on the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.