There’s a recurring complaint about Mumbai which is that there’s not much to see or do here! Which is often followed by the debate about whether Mumbai’s heritage is mostly monumental or not. Thankfully, several walking tours in the city are challenging that thought, unearthing stories and spots you may have seen but walked past. So instead of walking past, put on a comfortable pair of shoes, and book yourself a spot to learn more about this city that’s thriving with culture, history, and a narrative in every corner.
Explore Mumbai’s Culture & Coastline With The Best Heritage Walks & Tours
Architecture Walk by Art Deco Mumbai
On weekends, Art Deco Mumbai, the city’s archivist of Art Deco architecture conducts guided tours. The curated walking tour of 60-75 minutes is conducted around the ‘Art Deco of Oval’ by an architect who works on the conservation of these buildings. So it’s safe to say that you get ample knowledge about the architectural style and it's history. Mumbai is home to the largest collection of Art Deco buildings in India, and second to Miami in the world so it’s definitely worth it if you’re interested in exploring and learning more about the modern buildings of the Raj era.
LBB's Tip: Art Deco Mumbai conducts tours on request for 4-8 people at a time.
Price: INR 900 onwards
Heritage Walks & Tours by Khaki Tours
Dive deep into Mumbai’s many neighbourhoods with Khaki Tours, which offers a variety of heritage walks and tours worth taking. You can discover Dharavi, learn the heritage of Banganga, stroll along the lazy fishing villages of Bandra and learn all about the bygone era, and more. The Wake Up Mumbai gives you an experience of how the city is already bustling at dawn when the fishing boats arrive at Sassoon Docks and how Dadar’s flower market comes alive with the day’s blooms. Khaki Tours has limited public tours, but you can book several pre-designed ones for a private group. The company also offers open Jeep tours and e-Victoria carriage rides for private groups or families.
Price: INR 999 onwards
Bookworming Tour by Beyond Bombay
Founder Shruti Tyagi’s Beyond Bombay became a hit thanks to its Bookworming Tour. Tyagi helps you follow the footsteps of your favourite fictional characters in Mumbai from Shantaram and Maximum City, where you discover the city just like they lived in it. The tour highlights famous literary points: Dariya Mahal, Borkar vada pav guy, sherbets at Sikkanagar, Radha Bai Chawl in Jogeshwari, to name a few. The company also hosts Babbanji Bihari’s Bombay tour, which maps the route of a typical Bihari migrant in the city; and their latest Knowing Kurla, which takes you around the suburb that’s grown far from its village life. Group tours need to be booked in advance and privately as Beyond Bombay offers limited public tours.
Price: Depends on the size of the group as the tours are specially curated.
Food and Heritage Walks by No Footprints
From a Kebab & Curry Trail that takes you across the historic lanes of Mohammed Ali Road to Worli Fishing Village tour, which gives you a peek into Mumbai’s oldest fishing communities – No Footprints has got Mumbai’s culture and heritage mapped out. Whether you’re a resident or visitor, there’s a heritage, food or nature walk that'll be exciting to just about anyone. They also conduct a Khau Gully walk that takes you through the khau gully in Kalbadevi, where you can gorge on street food.
Price: INR 5,750 onwards
Dharavi Tour by Reality Tours & Travel
Popular for its Dharavai tours, Reality Tours & Travel takes you on a walk around Asia’s largest slum which has several parallel industries which collectively generate an annual turnover of $665 million. Explore the narrow lanes, and experience a wide range of business activities: recycling, pottery-making, embroidery, bakery, soap factory, leather tanning, poppadom-making and more. You'll be guided by a local, while the tour takes 2.5 hours on foot. Reality Tours & Travels offers private and public/shared tours. The group size doesn’t exceed 6 and the tour is conducted either at 6 am or 9 am only.
Price: INR 1,250 onwards
Art & Wonderment
Conducting regular tours of art galleries, museums and other heritage walks in the city, Art & Wonderment has acquired much love among Mumbai’s resident. They bring in experts to conduct a variety of walks like Art at (not just) a mall, Art Gallery Hop with Mag St Cafe, and more. The walks are open to public, and you can find regular updates on @artwalkmumbai‘s Instagram handle.
Price: INR 800 onwards
Mumbai Bazaar Walk by Mumbai Magic
Mumbai’s heritage bazaars are a bustling mix of colourful people, a multi-cultural mix of mosques, temples and derasars, different cuisines, bustling with energy. Explore the many lanes and crannies with Mumbai Magic. The tour covers Jama Masjid (meet India’s oldest Muslim community, who came here in the 6th Century), Mangaldas Cloth Market, Zaveri Bazaar, Phool Galli, Mumbadevi Temple (where the city gets its name from), and the quaint Madhav Baug, complete with a visit to Panjra Pole (animal shelter). The tour starts at Crawford market. You can book on any day except Sunday. These are private tours with a group capacity of 10.
Price: INR 750 per person for 7-10 persons or INR 3000 for a solo traveller.
Dahisar River Walk by Hallu Hallu
Mumbai’s only slow-walking tour, Hallu Hallu (slowly, slowly) conducts walks to discover places, people, and wants to put participants in another person’s shoes. The Dahisar River Walk is a peek into the indigenous Warli community and is a lesson in understanding how the Warlis — one of the oldest inhabitants of Mumbai — co-exist with wild animals while trying to understand their sustainable livelihood. This walk includes breakfast at a Warli house, trail walking inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park along River Dahisar, a Warli art workshop, tribal fishing, making organic colour from river stones, and a Warli meal.
Hallu Hallu conducts several other walks and updates them regularly on its Instagram page.
Price: INR 1,550