Category Geography

Elephanta Island lies east of the city of Mumbai in Maharashtra. It is also known as Gharapuri, which means ‘place of caves.’ Elephanta Island is indeed famous for its caves. These caves have been carved out of rock, and the rock-cut temple complex covers an area of 5574 square metres. It consists of a main chamber, two lateral chambers, courtyards, and subsidiary shrines.

 It is believed that the caves were carved between 400 and 800 AD. The statues depict stories of Lord Shiva. The most important sculpture inside the Elephanta Caves is that of Trimurti Sadasiva. Other sculptures depict Lord Shiva in the dancing pose, the yogic pose, and also show the River Ganges’ descending from His matted locks.

 A large statue of an elephant guarded the island. The Portuguese invaded the area in 1547, and gave the island its English name on catching sight of this sculpture. Sadly, they also damaged and defaced the caves. 

The tiny island of Diu is linked by a bridge to Gujarat’s south western coast. Diu is different from the other Indian islands in that it has the feel of Portugal on Indian Territory. In fact, Diu was a Portuguese colony till 1961, and the Portuguese touch can be seen everywhere- in the architecture, especially the monuments and churches, in the people and their cuisine, in the language and culture.

There are Portuguese style fortresses, cemeteries, magnificent churches, altars, and mansions. Many of the local people still speak Portuguese, or rather, a quaint dialect that is a mix of Portuguese, and the local language.

Their folklore, literature, vocabulary, art, ballads and theatre are all a charming blend of the Indian and the Portuguese. Diu is today a union territory administered by the Government of India. It is a breezy island of great beauty and serenity, lapped by the Arabian Sea. 

Drake’s Island is named after Sir Francis Drake, an Englishman who was famous for sailing around the world in the ship called the Pelican that he renamed as the Golden Hind. Situated in the heart of Plymouth Harbour, Drake’s Island was earlier called St. Nicholas, after a chapel located there.

It was from this island that Sir Francis Drake began his voyage around the world in 1577. He returned triumphantly after the success of his mission in 1580. Later, he was made Governor of the island, which now bears his name.

 Drake’s Island is actually the tip of a volcano, and is made of volcanic tuff and lava. This small rugged island has an area of just over 12.6 hectares, and rises 29 metres above sea level. Since the 16th century, the island has been constantly used for military purposes because of its strategic location. It is often referred to as the ‘Guardian of Plymouth’.

The island nation of Fiji lies in the South Pacific Ocean. It is an archipelago of more than 330 islands, of which 110 are inhabited. Fiji also has some 500 islets.

 The original settlers of Fiji, who came to the islands over 3000 years ago, are now called the Lapita people. After 96 years as a British colony, Fiji gained independence in 1970.

Most people live on the largest island, Viti Levu, where the capital, Suva, is located. Beaches, rainforests, and coral gardens make Fiji a wondrous place. The tagimaucia, a beautiful red-and-white flowering plant that resembles the hibiscus, blooms in only one place in the world-on the banks of the Tagimaucia River in the mountains of Taveuni Island in Fiji.

Did you know that the International Date Line runs through this island too? This means that you can stand with one foot in today, and the other in yesterday!

Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean, lies off the southern coast of Turkey, and the western shore of Syria. It was the site of early Phoenician and Greek colonies.

For centuries its rule passed through many hands. It fell to the Turks in 1571, and a large Turkish colony settled on the island. The British had control of Cyprus for sometime after World War I, but finally Cyprus became an independent nation on August 16th, 1960.

Cyprus is famous for many things. Its dessert wine, produced in the fertile high-altitude slopes in the southwest of Cyprus, has a sweet, herby taste that has made it very popular.

One of the most visited spots in Cyprus is the town of Paphos. The remains of ancient tombs, fortresses and palaces have made it a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There is also an interesting legend about Cyprus. The local people believe that the Greek Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, was born on a beach in Cyprus that’s named after her. Waves breaking over the rocks create pillars of foam, which according to the islanders, look like the goddess herself! 

Barbados, a small island, lies north of Venezuela in the Atlantic Ocean. Coral reefs circle a large part of the island. Barbados is thought to have been originally inhabited by Arawak Indians.

But, when the Europeans arrived, it was uninhabited. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to set foot on the island. However, it was the British who first established a colony there in 1627.

 When the British arrived in Barbados, the island was almost totally covered in dense jungle, with a very large population of wild pigs! The colonists cultivated tobacco, cotton, and later sugar, which proved to be enormously profitable. Slaves were brought in from Africa to work on sugar plantations, and eventually, the population was about 90 per cent black.

Britain granted the colony independence in 1966, and it became a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth. The name ‘Barbados’ is derived from the bearded fig trees once found in abundance on the island.