Mumbai: Visiting Antilia and Malabar Hill’s Pramod Navalkar Viewing Gallery

Date: January 20, 2025

After arriving in Bandra yesterday, I just had one full day left to spend in Mumbai. The plan for today was visit Mukesh Ambani uncle’s house, Marine Drive, and then visit Jio World Drive mall if I had the time.

Poori channa dal street food Mumbai — I had brunch at the same street stall I discovered yesterday because for ₹40, the pooris were great!

Indian Oil office Mumbai Worli Sealink — I hired an Uber just to take a ride across the Bandra-Worli Sea Link bridge

Mumbai skyline distance India — Taking this route gets you a nice view of Mumbai’s skyline from across the bay… if the weather co-operates

Just like I routed my journey from Parel to Ulwe purposely to ride across the Mumbai Transharbour Link Expressway, I routed my Uber journey to Worli simply to experience the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

Bandra-Worli Sea Link expressway — Opened in 2009, Bandra–Worli Sea Link is a 5.6 km long, 8-lane wide sea bridge that links Bandra in the West of Mumbai with Worli in South Mumbai.

Mumbai Bandra-Worli sealink cable-stayed bridge India — This is a cable-stayed bridge and the 5th longest bridge in India

Mumbai skyline view from Worli Sealink — There is a land extension from Worli into the sea. If I had the time, I could have checked out Worli Fort here — which was built by the British in the 1600s

Mumbai skyscrapers Worli India — You can tell from this view that there’s a height limit on Mumbai’s skyscraper construction

View from Worli Sealink bridge Mumbai — I was at the end of my journey across the sea bridge

Gulita Piramal Isha Ambani residence Mumbai — To the left is a house named Gulita. It’s where Anand Piramal and his wife Isha Ambani (Mukesh Ambani’s daughter) reside.

Pedder Road Mumbai India — I was on Pedder Road to get to the tower you see in the middle

Russian Centre for Science Culture India — I placed the Russian Centre for Science & Culture as the drop off point

Why? Because I thought there would be some photos and display showcasing India’s historical ties with Russia and the former Soviet Union that I could check out. That’s what I thought with a place called Russian Centre for Science & Culture!

Russia Consulate Mumbai India — Instead, it’s only when I got to the building, I noticed it said Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Mumbai outside

Just as I was about to take photo of the sign board, a security guard posted there shouted at me and asked me what I was doing. He called me over, told me to delete the photo and told me to leave! So don’t come here thinking this is some gallery or cultural center open to the general public to walk in. It’s a Russian consulate building. Oh well. I walked back to Pedder Road

Bus line Mumbai Pedder road — One thing I appreciate about Mumbai is that locals queue at bus stops. Just wish they would queue on the pavements and not on the road.

Road to Antilia Mumbai — I walked towards Altamound Road. Yup, this is the path that leads you to the area where the richest of Mumbai live.

Lodha Altamount Antilia Mumbai road — Lodha Altamount and Antilia two of the tallest buildings on Altamount Road

Lodha Altamount MCGM car park Mumbai — Lodha Altamount is the 195 metre high residential skyscraper in the back

Antilia security Mumbai — Mukesh Ambani uncle has an army of security guards inside and outside the property

I simply walked up to the guard pictured above and asked him if it was okay to take photos of Antilia. Unlike the first security guard I encountered at the Russian Consulate, Antilia’s security officers politely told me I could take photos and from which position.

Antilia back full view Mumbai — And this is Antilia, Mukesh Ambani’s residence and the most expensive private residence in the world

For the non-Indians reading this, Mukesh Ambani is an industrialist and the chairman of Reliance Industries (RIL) — India’s biggest company by market capitalization. And no, he’s not my uncle 🙂 Mukesh Ambani didn’t build Reliance, he inherited the business from his father Dhirubhai Ambani, who turned the company from a textile major (Vimal Textiles) to India’s largest petroleum refinery. Mukesh Ambani is also Asia’s richest man with a $100 billion net worth… but that fluctuates based on RIL’s share price.

At 173 metres tall, Antilia is the tallest private residence in the world. A 27-story skyscraper that cost over $1 billion to construct in the 2000s. 6 floors of Antilia are just for parking over a hundred cars.

Antilia from the front Mumbai — Antilia with Lodha Altamount in the back

Antilia Kenilworth front view Mumbai — I don’t know how many floors of this ‘house’ is actually used the Ambani family as their residence

Antilia view from front Mumbai India — I’m guessing they stay in the upper floors

Cumbala hill houses Mumbai — I left Mukesh Ambani’s house and just walked around this ‘premium’ locality

I was walking down Cumbala Hill, an area that is home to the most number of billionaires in Mumbai (the city has over 50 of them).

Bomanjee Dinshaw Petit Parsee general hospital Mumbai — This old property is Bomanjee Dinshaw Petit Parsee General Hospital

Parsee or Parsi, are an ethnic group who follow the Zoroastrian religion, which originated in Persia. Parsis faced persecution as Islam took over the region and Persia became Iran. So a lot of them flocked to Mumbai and took up many businesses. Parsi businessmen became household names in India, most notably the Tata family (TATA Group is India’s largest conglomerate), among many others like the Godrejs, Wadias, and Poonawallas.

Sputnik house Mumbai India — There are still remnants of India’s relationship with the Soviet Union, with apartments named ‘Sputnik’

Cumbala hill sea facing apartment Mumbai — I just kept walking not knowing where I was

Coastal road to Nariman Point Mumbai — This is the new Coastal Road

Mumbai junction India — I opened up Google Maps and realized I was near Malabar Hill

Malabar hill entrance Mumbai — I didn’t have time to explore much of Malabar Hill

Skyscraper view from Malabar Hill Mumbai — But I wanted to see if there was anything up here worth seeing

Malabar hill footpath Mumbai — There was a lot of greenery, so that was a good thing

Pramod Navalkar viewing gallery Mumbai — A bit of walking and I came across the Pramod Navalkar Viewing Gallery

View from Pramod Navalkar viewing gallery Mumbai — It’s a free public viewpoint

Entrance Pramod Navalkar viewing gallery — I went up to the viewing gallery

Deck Pramod Navalkar viewing gallery — This is the viewing deck

Deck observation binoculars Mumbai India — You have binoculars to get a nice view of the distance

Mumbai beach from Navalkar viewpoint Mumbai — You can get this panoramic view of Girgaon

Mumbai beach India — This is Chowpatty beach, one of the few public beaches Mumbai has

Leaving Pramod Navalkar Viewing Gallery Mumbai — I left the Pramod Navalkar Viewing Gallery after I had taken enough photos

Right opposite the Pramod Navalkar Viewing Gallery is a public park, called the Hanging Gardens.

Hanging Garden Malabar Hill Mumbai — I don’t know why it is called Hanging Gardens…. didn’t look like it was anything special

Yawning dog Malabar Hill Mumbai India — But lots of stray dogs making the most of the benches though

Malabar Hill probably has more to see but I didn’t have time. If you have some time, do check out the new Malabar Hill Walkway. Next, I had to get to Marine Drive, and that will be the next post.

Next post in this series:

Mumbai: Watching the sunset at Marine Drive

Mumbai: Visiting the official Apple store at Jio World Drive mall

Mumbai: Flying back to Bengaluru — and making a big mistake

Previous posts in this series:

Mumbai: Getting to Navi Mumbai via Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (Atal Setu); ForRest Hostel review

Mumbai: Phoenix Palladium mall and skyscraper-gazing around Worli

My Experience Attending Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Concert in Mumbai

Mumbai: Boat ride to Elephanta Caves, a highly recommended tour

Mumbai: Visiting CST and Gateway of India Early in the Morning