Measure out: one part Hollywood; six parts traffic; a bunch of rich power-moguls; stir in half a dozen colonial relics (use big ones); pour in six heaped cups of poverty; add a smattering of swish bars and restaurants (don’t skimp on quality here for best results); equal parts of mayhem and order; as many ancient bazaars as you have lying around; a handful of Hinduism; a dash of Islam; fold in your mixture with equal parts India; throw it all in a blender on high (adding generous helpings of pollution to taste) and presto: Mumbai.

An inebriating mix of all the above and more, this mass of humanity is a frantic melange of India’s extremes. It is the country’s financial powerhouse and its vogue centre of fashion, film and after-dark frolics. Glistening skyscrapers and malls mushroom amid slums and grinding poverty, and Mumbai slowly marches towards a brave new (air-conditioned) world. But not everyone made the guest list: more than half of the population lives in slums, and religious-based social unrest tugs at the skirt of Mumbai’s financial excess.

Only once the initial shell shock of Mumbai’s chaos subsides, can one start to appreciate the city’s allure: a wealth of Art Deco and grand colonial relics; cacophonic temples; warrens of bazaars; and the odd spiritual bastion of tranquility. In Mumbai you can dine at some of the finest restaurants in the country, and work off the appetite gyrating at ultrachic bars alongside Bollywood starlets and wannabes. With a pinch of gumption, a dash of adventure, an open wallet and a running start, there’s no excuse not to dive into the Mumbai madness head-first.

Climate: Tropical monsoonal; warm temperatures all year, with heavy rainfall concentrated in the summer months

Getting Around
Mumbai Island, the heart of Mumbai city, is only 65 square kilometers (25 square miles) in area and extremely congested. Six million people commute daily on Mumbai’s public transportation system.

Getting There
The city lies on Mumbai Island, located off the Konkan coast of western India.

Highways
Mumbai is approachable by land only from the north (National Highway 8) and east, where National Highways 3 and 4 converge and cross over from the mainland to Thane on Salsette Island. This route then continues southward into the city, where a single main road continues to Colaba Point, and the southernmost tip of Mumbai Island. Bridges, such as the Thana Creek Bridge, link Mumbai to the suburbs of Greater Mumbai on the mainland.