Mumbai is the largest city on the west coast of India and the largest seaport in the country. It is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. On the island of Mumbai, 16 kilometers away from the coast, there is a bridge connected to the causeway. It was occupied by Portugal in 1534 and transferred to Britain in 1661, making it an important trading center.
Mumbai is located on Salset Island off the west coast of Maharashtra, facing the Arabian Sea. The Port of Mumbai is a natural deep-water port that bears more than half of India's passenger traffic and has a considerable cargo throughput. Mumbai is the business and entertainment capital of India, with important financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, Bombay Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange of India and the headquarters of many Indian companies. The city is the home base of India's Hindi film and television industry (known as Bollywood). Due to its vast business opportunities and relatively high standard of living, Mumbai has attracted immigrants from all over India, making the city a hodgepodge of various social groups and cultures. Mumbai has several World Cultural Heritage sites such as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and the Elephanta Caves. It is also a very rare city with a national park (Sanjay Gandhi National Park) within the city boundary.