Dharavi Tour: Explore Mumbai’s Heart with Street Art Walks and Cultural Insight
5.0
28 Ratings
Mumbai
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- While Dharavi is often labelled as ‘one of Asia’s biggest slums’, we choose to view it as the thriving core of Mumbai.
Our educational guided walks allow visitors to witness a variety of industrial activities firsthand, such as recycling, pottery, embroidery, baking, soap manufacturing, leather processing, and the production of poppadoms, among others.
Additionally, we’ll take a tour around the living areas and observe the vibrant street art that adorns Dharavi. With residents hailing from all corners of India, Dharavi has become a small-scale representation of the country. This heterogeneity is evident in its mix of murals, temples, mosques, churches, and pagodas harmoniously co-existing side by side.
- As part of the experience, guests are treated to a refreshing beverage and gain an understanding of how the proceeds are ploughed back into the community.
What's Included
- Local English speaking guide
- Water / Cold Drink
What's Not Included
- Hotel/Residence pickup and drop-off
- Gratuities
Additional Information
While some refer to Dharavi as ‘Asia’s most extensive slum’, we like to see it as the pulsating core of Mumbai.
Our informative walks offer visitors an opportunity to witness a variety of commercial pursuits such as: recycling, pottery crafting, embroidery work, baking, soap production, leather curing, the creation of poppadoms, among others.
Moreover, we’ll explore the living quarters and admire the vibrant street art in Dharavi. With people from all corners of India choosing Dharavi as their home, the locality acts as a small-scale representation of India itself. This heterogeneity is prominently visible in the wall paintings, temples, mosques, churches, and pagodas that exist harmoniously.
Location
Churchgate
Maharshi Karve Road
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(28 Ratings)
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Judithmartinshem
Sep 2, 2023
Brilliant tour - mumbai is an amazing city and I loved it but there is a city with the city that everyone should visit- #dharavi the largest #slums in the world. Made famous by the film #slumdogmillionaire and book #qanda we went on a tour with realitytoursandtravel - part of the NGO realitygives who give back to the community and employ Dharavi residents. We had the brilliant Sabina as our guide. You can't take pictures when in Dharavi and tbh it's so nice to just be in the moment and respect that you are in someone's home.Learnt so much about life there and how innovative people are and what and how supportive the community is. We also tagged on a #streetart tour in a neighbouring area, where we could take pictures. A must do in mumbai
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Miriam
Apr 21, 2023
Must do tour - Amazing! The guides were auper friendly and they takes you to explore curiosities and way of living of indias. I strongly recommend it!
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Tlv4pack
Apr 9, 2023
Important to See, Hard to Watch - Very thoughtful and a meaningful look at a community it would be hard to access without a guide. Still frustrating that the sewage issue is so intense, but glad to see the school and community center.
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Maureenf936
Mar 22, 2023
A Highlight of Mumbai - This was absolutely a highlight of our trip. Raj was an amazing guide; he patiently answered all of our questions, and we learned so much about Dharavi. It was especially wonderful meeting members of the community. The street art was also gorgeous! We enjoyed this tour so much, we booked several more with Reality Tours, and they were all fantastic. 10/10 would recommend!
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Escape45024199880
Mar 22, 2023
Educational - I was a bit unsure of touring 'the slums' but Chathan explained their work and culture so well it put me at ease and I didnt feel uncomfortable just really impressed with the work/industry by those living there. A fascinating trip finished off with a tour of the the street art - loved it.
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Bronwyn2014
Mar 6, 2023
Improving lives and breaking down misconceptions - 80% of the profits are returned to Dharavi and other communities. Our guide, Chetan, was exceptional and grew up in a similar community. I find it difficult to use the word ‘slum’ after the tour. While the people live and work in difficult circumstances foreign to me, I discovered hard working people, welcoming and friendly, clean well maintained homes, close family and community relationships and so much more. Thank you for educating me, helping the community with your programs and breaking down my misconceptions.
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Cherrid2015
Oct 6, 2022
Changing perceptions, big time! - I've been to Mumbai several times over the years and held myself back from doing a "slum" tour for fear that it may be intrusive and taking advantage of less advantaged communities. Reality Tours put my mind at ease - booking with them was fast, met the tour guide Javed at the train station and we began our walk through the commerical and residential parts of Dharavi. It was informative, eye opening and humbling. A very different experience to what I had in my head and what Reality Tours is doing - changing perceptions about the hard working community and their lives - is amazing. We had a hundred questions but Javed was so knowledgeable and kind, patiently answering all we asked. I'd book with them again the next time I'm here, and highly recommend going with someone that is working to fund educational programs within the community. Thank you for a brilliant experience.
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Ninjasteff
Sep 4, 2022
Great Tour during Ganpati! - We chose a great time to take a tour as the Ganpati celebrations were taking place. Nano and Raj were very personable and didn't miss a beat after a two year pause due to COVID. I plan on doing more tours with this company in other cities.
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Marije
Aug 27, 2022
Amazing tour - We did the Dharavi Slum tour. What an experience is this. We learned a lot about the life in Dharavi and got the chance to see a lot about the life people have there. Our tour guide was really kind and really took the time to explain, lives there by himself, We had a lot of fun with him. Thanks for the amazing time. The money you pay for the tour is defenitely worth it, big part goes also to the community.
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Melaniepries
Aug 22, 2022
see mumbai from a different side - This tour from reality tours&travels was one of the best tours i‘ve ever done.
Javen has been an amazing guide growing up in the slums itself. So he knew every corner of the streets and could show me around easily. He spoke english very well and explained everything in detail.
It was a great experience to see Mumbai from e different side, talking to some inhabitants and learn how people live and work there.
Thank you very much!
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