Complete with car and commentary for Rs 1,800, the tour trails the route the 10 terrorists took on the night of 26/11 last year, starting from their landing at Badhwar Park and then to Café Leopold, Taj Mahal Hotel, Nariman House, the Trident-Oberoi Hotel, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Cama & Albless Hospital to Girgaum Chowpatty.

“Jo bikta hai, hum wohi dikhate hain,” said Saurabh, a guide at the Gateway of India. “We offer what sells,” a simple business principle that explains why they ask tourists if they’d like to see these spots, though they’re not mentioned on the itinerary leaflet.

When The Indian Express did the tour, the journey started with a disclaimer from the guide, Govind. “We learnt everything from news channels and newspapers, and some things from first hand experience,” he said, before going on to describe how the AK-47 wielding men landed opposite the Badhwar Park residential complex, just off the Machhimar Nagar or fishermen’s colony. For local fishermen busy drying their catch, this was no intrusion. “A lot of foreigners have been coming here, to see how the terrorists landed. And usually, they are accompanied by guides,” said Sachin More, a fisherman.

At Nariman House, where a Jewish couple was killed along with their visitors, the promised tour inside the Chabad House didn’t materialize, but Govind tried to make up with additional trivia. “All the news channels highlighted the death of the Rabbi and his wife, but not many know that a 17-year-old boy who was out on the street was shot here,” said Govind, pointing to a lane a short distance from the building, its silence, the walls pockmarked by AK-47 bullets and the collapsed window grills still eerie. “He had been heading to a friend’s house to exchange notes,” added Dilip, guide-cum-driver.

At the Taj Mahal hotel, one of Mumbai’s oldest tourist spots, the pitch is brand new, with the guide pointing out the terrorists’ entry point and the iconic dome that was in flames. “People are more interested in knowing about the terror attack and the earlier 2003 Gateway of India blast,” said Dilip. “It’s a new chapter in the area’s history.”

At the landmark Gateway of India itself, instant-photograph vendors say the big draw is now not a souvenir picture with the Gateway in the background, but with the red dome of the Taj in the background. “The Taj dome sells more now. And tourists also ask us how the terrorists entered the hotel and how long the gunbattle continued,” said N S Tiwari, a photographer operating near the heritage site.

Leopold, earlier a pit-stop mostly for foreigners, is increasingly popular among Indian tourists too. “Earlier only foreigners visited, especially after reading Shantaram. But increasingly, the café gets Indian families, mainly to take pictures of the gun hole marks,” said a staffer at Café Leopold.

While The Oberoi hotel got only a passing mention from the guide, descriptions of the attack at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Ajmal Kasab and Abu Ismail’s journey to the nearby Cama & Albless Hospital were precise and detailed. However, another disappointment ensued when Govind failed to negotiate with the hospital guards for a quick dekko inside.

From Cama Hospital, the driver sped down the same roads that Kasab and Ismail took as they tried to escape, first in a police vehicle and then in a hijacked Skoda. The tour ended at Chowpatty, with a small paean to brave policemen including Tukaram Omble whose sacrifice led to the arrest of Kasab.