Rs 25 entry fee for Mumbai’s first elevated forest walkway

Civic officials said the walkway is ready and completion of final ancillary works is underway. “The walkway will provide a massive boost to the city’s tourism and an entry fee has been kept for generating maintenance and security charges,” an official said.

Built at a cost of Rs 25 crore, construction began in 2021. Considering Malabar Hill is a silent zone, construction was taken up only during a limited hour in the day. As a result, completion of the project took nearly three years.

The walkway is inspired by Singapore’s elevated forest walkways which are crowdpullers. The walkway will traverse through the Malabar Hill forest extending from Kamala Nehru Park till the woods of Doongerwadi.

The walkway deck is made of wood and the entire structure is constructed with minimum use of concrete to ensure natural flow of water through the hill slopes is not interrupted and wildlife movement is not affected.

The entry and exit points of the trail will be from Siri Road, right behind the Kamala Nehru Park from where the walkway will extend up to 705 metres traversing within the Malabar Hill Forest, providing an unhindered view of the Arabian Sea. The walkway will also have a birdwatching zone and a glass bottom viewing deck.