Dhobhi Ghaat

Life at the World’s Largest Laundromat.

A unique feature of Mumbai, the dhobi is a traditional laundryman, the "laundries" are called "ghats". The word Dhobi Ghat is used all over India to refer to any place where many washers are present. The most famous of these Dhobi Ghats is at Saat Rasta (seven roads) near Mahalaxmi Station in Mumbai, which is also termed as the world largest outdoor laundry.

If you send your clothes for a wash in Mumbai, India, chances are good that they’ll end up here at the Dhobi Ghat. But you won’t find any machines here. Close to two hundred dhobis and their families wash clothes by hand in row upon row of concrete wash pens, each fitted with its own flogging stone. The clothes are soaked in sudsy water, thrashed on the flogging stones, then tossed into huge vats of boiling starch and hung out to dry. Next they are ironed and piled into neat bundles.

Dhobhi Ghat is a popular tourist destination amongst foreign and Indian tourists visiting Mumbai.