Did You Know...... ?

India's World Heritage Monuments have interesting facts, some of which may be unknown to regular readers. We begin a `did you know' series from this issue and hope you enjoy reading and getting to know more about our world famous monuments.

Elephanta Caves
The two hills of the island, the western and the eastern, have five rock-cut caves in the western part and a brick stupa on the eastern hill on its top composed of two caves with a few rock-cut cisterns. One of the caves on the eastern hill is unfinished. It is a protected island with a buffer zone according to a Notification issued in 1985, which also includes "a prohibited area" that stretches 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the shoreline.This hill is known as the Stupa hill. Portuguese name the Island because they located a statue of an elephant with a baby elephant on his back in the 16th century. These cave temples are tribute to the Lord Shiva the Hindu God and is built by carving into basalt rock. Elephanta caves can be reached from Mumbai by boat; the distance is covered in 90 mins