Thane city is developing rapidly into an industrial, commercial, and cosmopolitan city. Today the city has been growing and expanding constantly by catering the needs of residential, administrative, cultural, commercial, educational and recreational activities. But in the course of development it is losing its historical importance. In spite of old heritage city and rich in natural beauty, tourism industry is yet to develop in Thane. By giving informative insight into the historical importance of Thane and its heritage sites, this paper is a sincere effort to present Thane as a popular heritage tourist destination. The research paper will explore the potentiality of heritage tourism in this city. A survey will be conducted to know the awareness among local people towards heritage sites and historical importance of Thane.

Keywords : Thane, Heritage, Tourism, History, Shilahara, Portuguese.