Dabbawala Tour

On this 3 hour tour, you will witness the remarkable work done by Mumbai’s dabbawalas and Dhobis, and learn about these fascinating people from an expert guide. The word “dabbawala” can be interpreted as “box-carrier” or “lunch-pail man”, and is a person in Mumbai who carries and delivers freshly made food from home to people in offices. These workers have achieved 100% accuracy and their methods have been studied internationally. Dhobis are Mumbai’s traditional laundrymen who have developed a fascinating system for washing their customers’ clothes. With this experience, you will see how two interesting groups of people earn their living in one of world’s most populous cities, and you will learn something about Mumbai that is beyond the experience of many travelers.

You will be picked up by the guide from your hotel and driven to the Churchgate Railway Station, the starting point of our tour. Here, you will see the dabbawalas disembarking the dabbas in their wooden carts from the local train. Watch these dabbawalas segregate the boxes and transfer them in trolleys for delivery. Don’t stop here as you will be escorted towards the platform to board the local train to Mahalaxmi Station. After arrival at Mahalaxmi Railway Station, observe the dabbawalas and listen as your guide teaches you about the alphanumeric color coding system they invented and how their flawless method has attracted top business schools in the world. As they set out on their task of delivering the boxes to skyscrapers and multinational companies, understand this 125 year old system. The boxes are then driven by 3-4 dabbawalas in different directions for delivery by bicycle. Moving ahead, you proceed to the open air laundry area firmly known as Dhobi Ghat. A unique feature of Mumbai apart from the rest of the world, a Dhobi is a traditional laundryman who collects your dirty linen, washes them in an open area and then returns them neatly pressed to your doorstep. The massive area where the laundry is done is called a “Ghat”. The clothes are soaked in sudsy water, thrashed on the flogging stones, then tossed into huge vats and hung out to dry. The process is non-stop and more than two hundred Dhobis and their families work together in what has always been a hereditary occupation. After your time here, you will be dropped back to your hotel.