Dharavi Slum Tour

Great tour- well put together

Highly recommend this tour which is educational as well as extremely interesting. It has been created with sensitivity and care

A very interesting visit of Dharavi

It was an interesting experience to understand life in the slum. Our guide Leena was very informative and welcoming. She guided us safely around the residential and working areas. I absolutely recommend this tour with that company.

Great slum tour

Done a tour with guide Varsha from Magical Mumbai Tours,she was great,grew up there and very knowledgeable about the area and its history.Everyone works there recycling plastics and making suitcases,bags and a lot more.Also a tannery and a lot of pottery.2 million people live in ( in 2 square kilometers) Well worth visiting,couldn't find a pub there though

An exceptional tour company

This is an exceptional tour company. Their communication before the tour was swift and comprehensive - including a precise photo guide for how to find the meeting place. The guide, Shifa, was friendly and engaging, sharing her knowledge and experience of life in Dharavi with great cheer and skill. She also accompanied a few of us to a nearby station in a taxi to ensure we got on the train back into town.

Great tour - I wish they'd reconsider their policy re photos

An excellent, informative, enlightening tour which certainly included areas you could not otherwise easily see. The guide was friendly and knowledgeable. The organization does good things. Strongly recommend. And I know that these folks have though a lot more about this than I have, but my one issue is the blanket prohibition on photography. Of course one needs to be careful and respectful when photographing *anywhere* or *anyone* in public. But the tour major streets with street-side businesses not too different from elsewhere in Mumbai and the rest of India, as well as "industrial" zones (plastic recycling, leather works, pottery), where it's difficult to see how photographs of non-human subjects would cause much harm. Residential zones, of course are more sensitive, and I can understand the overriding need for privacy there. Again, I'm sure Reality Tours has thought this through in a lot more depth than I have, but maybe this will give some food for thought. Or, at minimum, they might consider enhancing the collection of photos that they provide online for their customers. That collection has a number of portraits, but very few photos of the physical environment, the industries, the architecture, etc. Anyway, again, I highly recommend this tour!

A must do in Mumbai!

Seeing the smiles on the children's faces of this village while playing cricket with a plank of wood as a bat and a broken chair as a stump will make your heart melt. The hard working men and women of Dharavi contribute so much to society and you will see that in this tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable about Dharavi as she has lived there he whole life. Also worth noting that Reality Tours donates 80% of profits back to the slum communities to run education programs.

An eye opener that everybody should see

We thoroughly enjoyed this tour - something we will remember for always. Our tour guide was very informative and we learned so much about life in the slums. So many people misunderstand what the slums are (including us before we took the tour). It certainly changed our understanding and we were left in admiration of the ingenuity and endeavour of the many people who live there. Highly recommend this tour to everyone !

Must do

We did the slum tour and were so happy with it, that we booked the street food tour. It was awesome. Both Tourguides were really friendly and open.

Unique and eye--opening experience.

If you are looking for something unique and an eye-opening experience then you should definitely take a tour with them. I took part in the Dharavi Slum Tour as part of our project for college. It turned out to be unlike any other trip I had taken, providing a distinct and interesting viewpoint. Additionally, the organization conducts an NGO aimed at educating children within Dharavi, with 80% of the tour proceeds supporting this cause. The founder, Mr. Krishna Pujari, showed a great deal of expertise and helped out when needed. Since most of the tourists I saw were foreigners, I hope that their efforts will be more well-known to domestic travelers like me.

Me and a friend took the Dharavi tour and it was an amazing experience! The tour guide was super informative and helpfu

Right from the time we arrived, we were made to feel included amongst other fellow travellers, made me feel safe throughout and was indeed a seamless and an enjoyable experience. Had it not been for Reality Tours, I wouldn't have explored this hidden gem on my own.

Holi at Dharavi

Had the most amazing time at this tour of Dharavi along with the most fun Holi party with the Dharavi community! Was so so soo much fun! Would highly recommend!

Must do

After originally using Reality Tours in 2012, I returned to Mumbai last week and again booked a tour but this time I also attended the Holi celebration. Very well organised and a thoroughly entertaining and educational experience. I wish more people would choose to see dharavi.

Thought provoking experience

An excellent tour. We had a young man aged 31 as our guide who was born and lived in the slum area and he was a font of knowledge. He spoke excellent English which he started to speak only in 2016. His information was delivered clearly and concisely and as we made our way through the area. It was obvious he was well respected by the locals as he always told us when we could and when we could not take any photos as well as guiding us through the slums.

Eye-opening experience

Thanks for such an amazing experience! It was very insightful and surprising in many aspects. Shout out to our tour guide Bhakti for being a great guide:)

Everyone should do this brilliant tour.

Everyone should do this tour. Slums are misunderstood by many including myself. In fact the dynamic of recycling industries within the slum and so many people crammed into relative small place is amazing. We didn’t feel threatened just curious at every turn. Walking down narrow alley ways with many turns means you lose sense of direction. Our guide was brilliant, very informative and she guided us safely around the working and residential areas. Definitely gets a 5 star rating for me - so pleased we made the time for this tour. There were 7 people on this tour. We were met at Mahin station at gate to the Dharavi slum exactly as advertised.

A valuable & rewarding insight to the Dharavi Slum

We were guided through the Dharavi Slum by an excellent Reality Tours guide who explained and showed us the ins and outs of slum life and the amazing enterprises which happen in the area. This tour is really well organised and by using Reality Tours we knew we were not only getting a valuable insight but also contributing back to this community.

A must do to understand how the slum works

It's a very interesting experience to understand life in the slum. The guide was excellent and gave us a lot of information to understand life in the slum. Not taking photos is a good principle because it is a mark of respect for the residents. I was impressed by the productive activity and the efficient mode of operation.

Must do tour

Very interesting tour of Dharavi with an excellent local guide. It was great to see the entrepreneurial spirit and thriving communities, and to hear of the excellent work Reality Tours do there. I would definitely recommend visiting Dharavi with Reality.

So fun!

We went on several tours with Reality and they are an incredible company - such lovely, friendly and informed guides, but also doing such good work in the community. A shining example of how to do this kind of thing really, really well.

An offbeat eye-opener

The tour was informative,eye opening and well paced. As an Indian, I had a fairly simplistic idea of Dharavi and our tour guide Chetan unravelled the nuances perfectly. A must have experience for sure!

Absolutely fascinating and educational.

The Dharavi slum tour was brilliant. We were met at Churchgate railway station by our guide, she bought our tickets and really looked after our group of 5 people. Her commentary was fascinating and the walking tour through the slum was both humbling and uplifting. The people who live here are hard working and the strong community spirit is evident. I was particularly struck by the happy smiling children. There is a really strong emphasis on enabling these children to access better education. An absolutely essential tour in Mumbai.

An Incredible Tour

What an incredible, informative and eye opening tour! The team at Reality Tours and Travel where fantastic. They organised everything at the very last minute, as I was actually still in transit when I was confirming the tour, but they never made me feel like there was any request too hard for them to organise. They organised a driver 'Manu' to pick me up from my airport hotel, together with my wonderful tour guide 'Rakesh'. I was never at all concerned, jumping into a car in the middle of Mumbai as a (solo) female tourist. The team were very professional, passionate and knowledgeable throughout this incredible tour. Thankyou to the team at Reality Tours, this was an experience that I will never forget. I recommend this tour to anyone. Melissa Clark Sydney, Australia

Wonderful Slum Tour With Leena!

Just got done with the Dharavi Slum Tour with Leena. Leena was so knowledgeable about the slums. Everyone visiting Mumbai should take this 2 1/2 hour tour! We met at the Wheeler Convenience Store 30 meters from the train platforms at the Churchgate Train Station in the Colaba District. You won't believe the work that is done inside the slum! We saw dying and sewing of fabric, pottery making, recycling of plastic, processing of leather, making bakery and soap all within the confines of the slums. It was amazing how we weaved through the dark alleys and saw a school and how the Muslims and Hindu people live nearby one another. You can email them for the tour. We felt very safe and Leena returned us to the train station with tickets to get back to Churchgate. They have a morning and afternoon tour. Make your reservation now! It will be one of your highlights of Mumbai, India!

Amazing experience

I throughly enjoyed the tour. The guide was local and very informative. I never felt rushed. I would highly recommend this tour

An inspiring lifetime must

Just incredible and entirely eye-opening. Resourcefulness and positivity exudes from Dharavi, it was such a privilege to get to know such a special place full of such special, resilient people - it was by far the favourite experience of tour trip Our guide Rishi was simply wonderful - endlessly knowledgeable and passionate. It was so lovely to meet him and hear such an honest and personal insight into Dharavi - as well as, the brilliant work supported by tour funds at Reality Gives. Visiting the Reality Gives classroom was great - it is quite evidently a thriving and integral hub of support and opportunity for many - a very special organisation. Can't thank-you enough - we would recommend Rishi and Reality Tours and Travel to anyone.

Can’t miss experience when in Mumbai

Great experience. You gat to see and more importantly understand a side of Mumbai that is not possible to appreciate on your own. The tour is informative and 2 hours go by very quickly. Lela was an outstanding guide and I wish her all the best!

Not what you expect..

Put all your preconceptions behind you when you start this tour, some of the slum was what I expected, but I wasn't ready for the sense of community and the positive attitudes. Nothing goes to waste here, other countries could learn a lot from their resourcefulness. A great start was the train ride in with our wonderful guide Sabina, a third generation resident, it was like being shown around with a friend, I really connected with her. Sadly other companies have copied Reality, they are the originals, and quite rightly do not allow photos. It's not a freak show, people are going about their daily lives, we saw other companies allowing them, this may change the friendly attitude we met throughout the tour. Laudibly 80% of the profits are invested in the community, we saw a school project for example. Very well done guys, we wish you all the best. Keep up the good work! 💪👍 💕

Breathtaking

Fascinating tour! The guide was an amazing person who was from the slum himself, so he really respected the culture and understood it

A positive glimpse of Mumbai slum life.

Insightful experience providing a glimpse into the life and economy of a Mumbai slum. Overall, while shocking in some respects, the message and impression we were left with, was generally positive. The guide was a local and took her time to take us around and answer our questions.

Excellent tour and very informative !

I've had trouble finding good guides in India, that doesn't just show the way, but properly explains everything there is to know about the place. I've learnt so much about people's way of life in Dharavi and more widely how modern India deals with thise urban planning issues.

An Eye Opener

What a tour. I will not say too much about it for fear of spoiling it for others. But it is a “Must Do” whilst in Mumbai. The experience is phenomenal. Be sure to ask for Javed as your guide. He was born and bred in the area and knows it inside out and he speaks excellent English.

A fascinating insight into the area

It was a fascinating experience, offering an insight into the area of Dharavi. Our guide was very helpful and knowledgeable. Dharavi may be called a slum, but this tour removes one's preconceptions of a slum. There are many businesses that obviously provide a living for the people. The residential area is very tightly packed but the houses look neat and clean. I would recommend it to anyone interested in seeing the real Mumbai.

Very good

It was a very interedting experience with a good guide. We also are impressed about the way the organisation support the People in Dharavi. Very good tour!

Excellent, such a fantastic

What a wonderful experience. This was such a worthwhile tour, as not only does 80% of the ticket value from this tour go back into welfare funding for the Dharavi Slum, but its great to see how wrong our perceptions of a slum could be (or at least the areas of the slum which we saw). I am speaking purely for the Dharavi slum, as I understand that maybe in other slums there are not the (sorely needed) changes happening, but it was encouraging to witness the entrepreneurial spirit of the people and generally how happy the people were. We were taken in small groups with a guide familiar to the locals to see the commercial areas of the slum (recycling facility, soap making facility, leather goods making - with their own Dharavi brand, bakery), then to the residential area, market etc and we saw how self sufficient it all is. Our guide was super knowledgeable. It was good to see the good sense of community but also to understand the daily struggles of living in the slum.

Outstanding tour

What an amazing experience the Dharavi tour was. Such insightful tour guide in Lena, offering so much information. The slum dwellers were all very friendly and welcoming. I was amazed to discover the extent of employment and commerce, culture and sense of community. The tour lasted nearly two hours and represents great value for money and a fascinating travel experience

Great tour

This tour is a must do. The guides were fantastic. It was educational and eye-opening. I hope everyone gets a chance to take this tour.

Great afternoon tour

The tour was incredibly informative, safe, and fun! Our tour guide, Bhakti (hopefully I spelled that right) was incredibly kind and knew a ton of different facts. She was able to answer all my group's questions! Really felt like I can truly appreciate now how much of an economic (and cultural) powerhouse Dharavi really is! Thank you to Reality Tours and Travel for providing such a great afternoon experience (and also glad that they contribute back to the community through their school!)

Informative & Charitable!

We selected this company because it was important to us that proceeds from our tour go back to the slum. We were reassured that we made the right choice once we saw how this company gives back through their community centre that teaches students English and computer skills. Our tour guide was Janna, he was very patient, informative, and made an effort to connect with us. We learned a lot about the past and future of the slums. We highly recommend Reality Tours and Travel!

Great tour

Our guide Leena was very engaging and knowledgeable. We learned about both the residential and commercial sides of Dharavi and got a tiny appreciation for the physical spaces, sounds, and scents. We almost got run over by a van backing up, but that's par for the course in Mumbai.

Highly recommend

Excellent tour and our guide was informative. Learned a lot about the industries at Dharavi. I would do other tours with them

Excellent experience

Excellent experience in the Dharavi sulm, with a very knowledgeable, professional, helpful guide who knows the history of the neighborhood very well and who knows how to make you fully understand the reality you are visiting. Highly recommended

Its own ecosystem

Really interesting experience. I was hesitant at first, because you don't want to support poverty tourism, but after doing the Streetfood Tour with Reality Tours, I heard from both participants and guides about this and changed my mind. They operate from inside the slum and 80% of profits goninto local education projects. It's really not abt seeing poor living conditions but more Abt how great of an eco system this are has become and different attributes that make it so unique in the world. Highly recommended for perspective and to reevaluate personal preassumptions. I also find it really positive that there are no photos allowed to protect the privacy of the citizens. There is a link to some existing photos you get at the end, if you want to share impressions

Excellent, highly recommend

This was our first trip to Mumbai. We chose to do a tour of the Dhavari Slums on our first day. It was a day I'll never forget. Janna was our tour guide, he was really lovely, spoke excellent English and was extremely knowledgeable. We absolutely loved it. Would highly recommend and hope to come back again.

Amazing tour!

We had a great tour here! It was very insightful and interesting to see both the industri and living areas in the slum. The tour guide was local and gave great answers to all our questions. I would highly recommend this!

Great tour, insightful and highly recommended

Great tour led by our excellent guide Janna, who did a superb job in providing background on the Dharavi Slum, its development, history and challenges etc. Very insightful and eye-opening, well done! Definitely recommended!

Excellent tour

Excellent tour of the Dharavi Slum! We learned so much from our guide, Sabina. It was all very safe and we felt totally comfortable. This company are doing great things in the community so it was a pleasure to support them in their work.

Wonderful experience in Mumbai

Amazing educational experience with a wonderful, informative tour guide. A must see for any one visiting Mumbai.

Required tour for your visit to Mumbai

This is a must do tour and the guides are well trained and informative. I would do this again next time I am in Mumbai.

Educational tour of the Dharavi Slum

Cethan, our guide, provided us with an informative and interesting tour through the Dharavi Slum. We were taken through this community in a respectful manner which allowed us to appreciate the unique community.

Inspiring tour that supports the communities within the slum

A brilliant, inspiring and informative visit to the slum with Sabina, a third generation slum dweller. We were shown around the various industries that are based in the slum, including recycling, soap making, leather processing, bag making, engineering, clothing and more. I couldn't believe what an industrious place the slum was, how busy everyone was. We learned so much about the culture and every day lives of the slum dwellers, we saw the schools, markets and visited the tour companies base to learn how 80% of their profits were returned