The Kanheri Caves constitute a group of rock-cut monuments that are located north of Borivali on the western outskirts of Mumbai, India. Located within the forests of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, the caves are 6km from the main gate of the park. The Kanheri Caves demonstrate the Buddhist influence on the art and culture of India. Kanheri comes from the Sanskrit Krishnagiri, which means Black Mountain. They were chiselled out of a massive basaltic rock outcropping.

The architectures of this cave are regarded to be one of the finest in India. According to historians, these caves scooped out between 200 BC and 600 AD. The whole complex has 109 caves cut manually on the flank of a hill; each fitted with a stone plinth that evidently served as a bed.

There is a congregation hall supported by the huge stone pillars that have the Dagoba, a kind of Buddhist shrine. Kanheri is regarded as one of the world’s great religious houses. There are – a 20 feet colossal Buddha, an 11-headed Bodhisattva (Buddhist saint) and a Nagaraja, an ancient pre-Buddhist serpent king who guarded the most famous Buddhist Chaitya hall in the caves.

The caves have an elaborate drainage system to channel excess water during the monsoon to the neighbouring Vihar, Tulsi and Powai lakes, which in turn are responsible for much of Bombay’s water supply.