With an estimated population close to 20 million people, Mumbai is the largest city in India and one of the biggest on the planet. Home of India’s burgeoning movie industry and the main centre of commerce in the country, Mumbai, formerly Bombay, is an Asian mega-city of ever-increasing importance. By the time India takes over as the most populous country on the planet sometime around 2020, Mumbai will undoubtedly have become the second-largest city in the world behind only Tokyo.

Despite its endless urban sprawl, high population density and frequent congestion, Mumbai manages to cram into its cityscape a large national park and a series of sandy beaches. The city has slowly expanded to cover seven islands along India’s western Konkan coastline and includes a large commercial and passenger harbour that has long been established as the sea gateway to India.