Day Trip to Mahabalipuram

Now called Mamallapuram, this tourist historical destination is a very small town 60 kms south of Chennai and comes under Kancheepuram district (Not Kanjivaram ;) as I thought of it in the first go) on the Coromondal Coast facing the giant Bay of Bengal. This place hails back to the very old 7th and 10th centuries of the Pallava dynasty.

Not that was the history part of it, ideally few hours are enough to explore all the sculptures in this historic place. Ideal time to visit the place is November to March when it is relatively pleasant from the typical hot and humid climate along the coast. We left for Mahabalipuram around 7am in the morning in a complete holiday mood to explore some mysteries.

On the way to Mahabalipuram, seeing the board, and out of curiosity we took our first stop at "Tiger Caves". Anyone would be amazed by the giant Tiger head carvings on the mouth of a cave. Good to see that it is preserved rather well by Archaeological Survey of India except the fact, that despite the board saying no littering and all, people come there for picnics and leave behind deadly plastic around. Green lawns surround it apart from a small yet beautifully carved photogenic Rock cut Temple in a corner below ground level.

Tiger Caves

We resumed the journey and as we were just about to reach Mahabalipuram, on both sides of the road, we were amazed to see some locals carving out of stone - breathtaking sculptures in all sizes, small and big, Indian Gods and Goddesses, Buddha statues and much more. They were in natural dark grey stone color. My husband, not wanting me to get carried away by them and start the trip with shopping ;) took me straight to the much talked about - oldest and most talked about South Indian temple - Shore Temple.

Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram

Shore Temple, located right at the shore of the Bay of Bengal, granite based and was said to be a port during the rule of the Pallava dynasty. It is amazing to see how well preserved it is against the constant weathering by time, sea and the salt laden wind by the Archaeological Survey of India.

After the Shore Temple, we moved to Lighthouse nearby and the view from the top of the entire Mahabalipuram was astonishing. A very strong sea breeze made it even more special. Next on the list were the monolith Pancha Pandava Rathas - Dharamraja, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakul Sehdev and Draupadi's Rahta. This was followed by Descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance with intricate carvings on giant stones.

5 Rathas, Lighhouse, Krishna's Butterball shaped Stone

We, as typical Punjabis ended the trip with a hearty and yummy buffet lunch at Radisson Blu Report Temple Bay at Mahabalipuram and headed home thinking how much our country is rich in heritage with exemplary stone carvings which can't be found anywhere else in the world!