India Guide
Mumbai
Colaba
At the end of the seventeenth century, Colaba was little more than the last in a straggling line of rocky islands extending to the lighthouse that stood on Mumbai's southernmost point. Today, the original outlines of the promontory (whose name derives from the Koli fishermen who first lived here) have been submerged under dilapidated colonial tenements, hotels, bars, restaurants and handicraft emporia. If you never venture beyond the district, you'll get a very distorted picture of Mumbai; even though it's the main tourist enclave and a trendy hang-out for the city's rich young things, Colaba has retained a sleazy feel.
Colaba is not just a handy place to stay; it also offers more in the way of food and entertainment than neighbouring districts, especially along its busy main thoroughfare, "Colaba Causeway" (Shahid Bhagat Singh – SBS – Marg). The streets immediately south and west of the Gateway of India are chock-full of accommodation, ranging from grungy guesthouses to the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower.