5 forgotten places in Mumbai that everyone should explore alone

Mumbai is a city that offers a host of history and culture. While most of us have seen its beauty with the modern architecture, there's a lot that's hidden behind the city's skyrocketing buildings – the historical and forgotten sites of Mumbai. If you haven't been there, keep your weekends free this time for these long forgotten places which are gem of this beautiful city

Afghan Church in Colaba: Church of St. John the Evangelist, popularly called, the Afghan Church is a beautiful church located in Navy Nagar in the Colaba area of South Mumbai. It was built by the British to commemorate the First Afghan War and the disastrous 1842 retreat from Kabul. It was built between 1847 and 1858. The construction of the tower and the spire was completed in 1865

It is possibly the only cathedral in India that was built as a war memorial during the British Raj to honour the thousands of individuals who died in the first Anglo-Afghan War back in 1838. It is alleged that Dr William Brydon, who was thought to be the only survivor of the war, lived to tell the tale. The Church is a wonderful feat of Gothic architecture in addition to its rich history

Devil's Tower: Gilbert Hill is a 200-foot megalith column with ancient roots dating back to 66 million years. It is located in Sagar City of Andheri West region in Mumbai. The hill was formed during the Mesozoic Era and was named after geologist Grove Karl Gilbert. Archaeologists think Gilbert Hill emerged when volcanic eruptions were believed to have wiped out life on Earth

Atop the edifice is two Hindu shrines dedicated to Gaodevi and Durga Mata, set up in a little garden. The location can be reached by climbing the steep steps etched into the rock. One of the three oldest buildings in the world is still fighting against the ravages of time. The site is frequently contrasted with Devil Tower National Monument in Wyoming and Devils Postpile National Monument in Eastern California

Banganga: Mini Banaras of Mumbai The Banganga tank, also known as the Mini Banaras of Bombay, is a special place with an intriguing religious legend attached to it. This location dates back to the time of the Ramayana, when Lord Rama and his brother Lakshmana were searching for Sita Devi during their exile in the forest. Lord Rama shot an arrow into the ground when he arrived at the current location of Banganga Tank

As a result, a spring of water from Bhogawati, or underground Ganga, sprouted beneath the earth. A narrow street lined with temples, homes, and dharamshalas flanks Banganga Tank

Cinema Museum India’s first Cinema Museum, located in India’s entertainment capital, Mumbai, is a paradise for any film and theatre lover. It also features famous songs, movies, and movie posters that you can see as you tour the museum. Famous figures such as Satyajit Ray and Mahatma Gandhi have been honoured with statues erected to commemorate their contributions to Indian cinema

The new museum building has five levels and is divided into sections that each cover a different aspect of cinema. For instance, there is an animation floor that uses interactive technology to let you experience and learn about the effects used in movies. There is a screen put there where one can create a frame-to-frame animation by themselves and watch it play on the screen above

Aurora Talkies: The Aurora Talkies, a 74-year-old, 700-seat theatre in Mumbai’s Matunga neighbourhood, is one of the very few one-screen theatres in Bombay. This theater, situated iin the bylanes of Matunga (East), near King’s Circle aka Maheshwari Udyan, shut down recently in Covid times and have not yet opened its gates

Aurora Talkies, at one time, was a mecca for Tamil film lovers. As soon as you go through the doors of this movie theatre, which is quite old, you can travel back in time. The outer walls too show off withered posters of old Tamil classics of Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, etc. The last glorious moment at the theater was Rajini Anna’s mega release — Kabali