A still pool below the towers.
Banganga is one of the stillest places you can reach in South Mumbai. A rectangular stone tank with steps on every side, it sits below the towers of Malabar Hill, ringed by small temples and old homes, only a few dozen metres from the sea. Come to sit on the steps, watch the light on the water and let the city’s noise fall away. This is a living place of ritual and a residential neighbourhood, so move gently and keep your voice low.
Behind the spring.
History · Steps from 1127
Nearly nine centuries of building and rebuilding around one spring.
Read moreRead less
The BMC’s heritage survey dates the tank’s steps to 1127, granted by the Silhara dynasty as an offering to Shiva. After the temple was destroyed under Portuguese rule, it was restored in 1715 and the tank became part of the rebuilt Walkeshwar complex.
Continue reading at BMC · Mumbai Legacy Project ↗Significance · Water from an arrow
The tank’s name carries its founding story.
Read moreRead less
In one telling from the Ramayana, Rama shoots an arrow into the parched ground and holy water rises up; the name joins ‘ban’, the arrow, with the Ganga. Families still come here to immerse the ashes of the dead, and to bathe on important days in the Hindu calendar.
Continue reading at BMC · Mumbai Legacy Project ↗Nature · Sweet water by the sea
A spring keeps the tank fresh, a short walk from salt water.
Read moreRead less
The tank is spring-fed, so its water stays sweet even though the sea is only a few dozen metres away. It is a rectangular pool with steps on all four sides, and belongs to the Goud Saraswat Temple Trust along with the Walkeshwar and Parshuram temples.
Continue reading at Wikipedia ↗A place of ritual.
People come here to pray, bathe and perform rites for the dead, so keep to the edges of the steps and never photograph rituals or worshippers. Follow the customs posted at the temple entrances, and check current access before you go, as restoration work has been under way. The old stone steps are uneven and can be slippery near the water, so take them slowly.
A pause nearby
The Hanging Gardens sit at the top of Malabar Hill, on its western side: terraced gardens with sunset views over the Arabian Sea. Take a taxi up rather than walking the hill in the heat.
Malabar Hill · Terraced garden
Girgaon · Sand & street food
Gamdevi · Gandhi’s Mumbai home