Nagla Block – A restricted part of the national park that is across the creek if you are headed on the highway in the direction towards vasai from the main gate of the borivali national park. It’s a walking distance from a popular landmark called Hotel Fountain.
Genre – macros
Best time – early morning
Tripod allowed - yes
Any other details – there is a ticket that needs to be purchased as well as parking charges to be paid
Maharashtra Nature Park (MNP) – Located at Mahim (east) near Dharavi.
Genre - macros
Best time – early morning
Tripod allowed - yes
Any other details - Needs prior permission if you are visiting on a Sunday. Has space for parking.
BPT Garden (Sagar Upvan) – Located ahead of Sassoon docks in colaba.
Genre – macros, photos of the sea, birds if you are lucky
Best time – early morning
Tripod allowed - yes
Any other details - One of the few photography friendly gardens where you can officially shoot after paying some nominal amount for camera & tripod usage. Good for flowers, macros if you can search well. Though a lot of what you end up with depends on how lax the gardeners have been with their shears.
Hanging Garden / Kamla Nehru Park
Genre – flowers, butterflies, birds eye view of the Mumbai skyline
Best time – early morning
Tripod allowed - yes
Any other details – a lot depends on the gardeners. I’ve been disappointed on some occasions when I can’t see any flowers because the gardeners have gone on a chopping spree. The place is not really recommended for a serious macro shooter.
Banganga –
Genre – ancient Indian architecture, street
Best time – early morning
Tripod allowed - yes
Any other details -located at Malabar hill. You need to park and walk down towards the place. Ask around for directions if needed. Its basically just a rectangular pond with some old pillars and temples around. Nice place if you don’t have very high expectations.
Chowpatty beach (Girgaum) –
Genre – people, street, sunset, Mumbai skyline
Best time – before sunset
Tripod allowed – no
Any other details -
Marine Drive –
Genre – sunset, Mumbai skyline, street
Best time – before sunset
Tripod allowed - no
Any other details - you can walk along the promenade and take pics of the sunset as well as street type photos. Tripods are not officially allowed but I’ve seen people use one. Try it at your own risk.
Gateway of India –excellent at sunrise as there are not too many tourists around. You can get good photos of the structure as well as the harbor. Tripod usage is prohibited. Best time to visit – early morning. I recently shot some long exposures in the evening too – they were okay..not as good as the ones shot in the morning
Dhobi Ghat – if you like to take street type photos. At times you may have to pay some of the locals for shooting at the outdoor laundry there. It’s a unique photo opportunity and you’ll find the place featured in some old bollywood movies.
Juhu Beach -
Chor Bazar – street type photos of shops selling antiques and some filmy looking shop keepers
Bandra Fort –
Carter Road – fishing boats, sunset. Best time to visit – before sunset. Check tide timings before you visit the place
Sewri jetty – sunrise, flamingos, birds, abandoned boats. Take a look at the tide forecast before you visit. Best time to visit – early morning before sunrise
Sea link photos – can be taken either from the bandra fort (you’ll get a photo of the sea link turning away from you at an angle) or from the Shivaji park beach (front view of the sealink stretching from bandra to worli). Best time to visit - Sunset
Haji Ali – you can get good photos from the promenade. If you want to shoot inside you can walk up to the structure. Photography is allowed inside however if you set up a tripod on the promenade you will get harassed by the cops. Best time to visit –sunset
Colaba Causeway to Fort – nice street type photos, old British architecture. Early morning or before sunset would be the best time to do this stretch. Photography is allowed as long as you don’t point the lens towards any government building. Be careful in the lanes that branch out from the main road if you are alone.
Asiatic library – popular structure located at fort. Photography is allowed. Tripods are not. The rest of the area is a restricted area where photography is prohibited so be careful.
Victoria Gardens (Zoo) – if you like photos of animals in a zoo. I don’t. Photography is allowed.
Elephanta Caves – photography is allowed but tripod usage is restricted by the ASI. You need to take a ferry from the gateway of india.
Vasai Fort
Genre – macros, photos of the sea, old architecture of the fort
Best time – early morning
Any other details –be a bit careful as it’s a lonely place. Don’t go alone you can get mugged. There are locals who object to tripod usage and try and fleece you out of some money.
Mandwa – Its around a one hour ferry ride from Mumbai or about 3 hours by car. Excellent for some sunset photos with fishing boats etc in the foreground. Take a look at tide forecast for the day before you go.
Karnala – this is supposed to be a bird sanctuary but most people end up not seeing any birds. You need to reach there early, wait patiently and avoid Sundays when the place is crowded. There are some 3 to 4 different trails which can be done including a hike up to the karnala fort. I’ve always shot loads of spiders here including giant wood spiders, funnel web spiders, signature spiders etc…no birds though.
National park – Borivali
Genre – nature, photos of caves
Best time – early morning
Tripod allowed - yes
Any other details - I’m referring to the borivali end. Also includes a place called the kanheri caves. Photography with a tripod is allowed in all areas apart from inside the caves. There are some trails which are restricted and need permission like the shilonda trail. The safari has animals in cages so wouldn’t really advise any photographer to do safari as that’s a waste of time. The Thane / Yeoor side of the national park is better for macros.
Lonavala / Khandala –
Genre – landscapes, sunrise, sunset
Best time – early morning / evening
Tripod allowed - yes
Any other details - it’s a nice hill station 2 hours away from the city if you know where to go to shoot.
Matheran
Genre – landscapes, street
Best time – sunrise, sunset, evenings, early mornings
Tripod allowed - yes
Any other details –it’s a hill station about 3 hours away from Bombay where cars and motorcycles are not allowed so you need to walk everywhere or hire a horse. Can do a day trip if you drive there early and come back at night.
Annual Events
Mumbai Marathon – held on a Sunday between Jan and Feb
Vintage & Classic Car & Bike Rally – held on a Sunday of February / March
Super car Show – held in January on a Sunday
Kala Ghoda Arts Festival – held for a week in February
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