Mahabalipuram, a cultural heritage of India

Magnificent sculptures, beautifully crafted temples, giant monolithic marvels, greatness of Pallava dynasty are some of the facets which strike your mind when you think of Mahabalipuram. It is an ancient historic town located about 60kms south of Chennai, Tamilnadu. Mahabalipuram , also known as Mamallapuram is one of the  famous tourist destinations in south India.

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by watching the beauty of Mahabalipuram in many old south Indian movies. Its immaculate beaches, fine-looking sculptures, and the exquisite shrines along the beach, shown beautifully in the movies inspired me then to visit this place.  In fact, it was the famous spot for the shootings in the 20^th century. Finally visiting this place is an overwhelming experience fulfilling my expectations.

Places to visit

Shore temple:

Its one of the oldest temples in south India, dating back to 700 AD, constructed during the reign of Pallavas. It is known to have survived many cyclones and Tsunamis staying in shape for more than 1400 years.  This is a two towered temple surrounded by array of Nandiswaras(vehicle of Lord Shiva). Lord shiva/Shiva Linga being the main deity, also has a beautiful idle of Vishnu in his reclining position. Gorgeous Bay of Bengal at the back of the temple adds to the beauty of this place. The area around the temple is now a landscaped park , and has an entrance fee of Rs 10.

There are many street vendors along the way to the shore temple,  who sell hats/caps, shells, other decorative items, and of course Kashmiri shops with lot of glittery stuff, they are worth a try.

Pancha Rathas:

Pancha rathas (Five Chariots) are giant monolithic structures  which are replicas of the wooden  chariots used by the Pancha Pandavas, five Pandava princes (Arjuna, Bhima, Dharmaraja, Nakula, Sahadeva and their common wife Draupadi) of epic Mahabharatha . All the five chariots are unique in its shape, structure and their size, and these structures are well complimented by huge statues of Lion and elephant in between.

This place also has entrance fee of Rs 10 for Indians, Rs 250 for foreigners.  Entry into this place is restricted and gets closed by 6PM.

Light House and Mahisasura mardini caves:

 Mahabalipuram being the main port city during those days, features a beautiful Light house. Visitors are allowed to climb up the light house and witness beautiful panoramic view of the whole city. The ascent of the steps leading to the top of light house are steep and are narrow, especially the last 10 to 15 steps on the top are very steep and are very difficult to climb. Due to these narrow steep steps at the top which can be climbed by only one at a time, people will have to wait to reach up/come down. This will make you wait in short intervals of time and you need to cater about 30 - 45 mins of your time. But the view from the top of light house is worth the wait, awesome and spectacular.

One side of the light house is beautiful sea spreading across with the shore temple on its bank, on the other side is the whole Mamallapuram city. On  the way to the light house, there are two storey  Mahisasura mardini caves. In the ground floor there are various sculptures depicting Lord Vishnu and his avatars, on the upper floor sculptures  of goddess Durga can be seen. You can also see the unfinished Rayar Gopuram from top of light house.

Arjuna’s penance

Arjuna’s penance  is undoubtedly one of the master pieces of the ancient art works in India. This beautiful , giant bas-relief carvings depict  Arjuna doing penance to obtain the grace of god(some believe that it depicts  Sage Bhagheratha  worshipping  shiva to bring holy Ganges to earth, not Arjuna!) .  This place is right beside the main road leading to Mahabalipuram bus station.

Krishna mandapam

Adjacent to (to the left of) Arjuna’s penance, there is Krishna mandapam with the carvings of the famous episode:  Krishna lifting up the Govardhan Mountain to save his kin from the wrath of Indhra.

Krishna’s butter ball:

Few meters to the right of Arjuna’s penance, there is a Vinayaka temple made out of Rocks. Little away from here is the ball shaped rock defying gravity, lying on top of slanting hill for ages known as Krishna’s butter ball. This is the fun part of the whole trip posing for snap bringing out  the creativity of a photographer !

To the left of Vinayaka temple which is almost behind the Krishna Mandapam are Varaha caves which have the carvings of Vishnu, Gajalakshmi, Trivikrama and Durga.
 

How to reach and visit places

Many cab services are available from Channai airport to Mahabalipuram which would cost you  around 800 – 1000 bucks.

Frequent bus services are available from Chennai city Koyembedu(CMBT) or Tiruvanmiyur. Since most of the buses which go to Pondicherry via ECR road go through Mahabalipuram, you can board any Pondicherry bus as well.  Frequent Buses are also available to and from Pondicherry.

For sight seeing in Mahabalipuram, cabs are available  from Mahabalipuram bus stop which would cost around Rs: 500/- . Auto rickshaws are also available from bustop , which would take you to all the above mentioned places in 3-4 hrs and would cost you up to Rs 350/-

Mahabalipuram is a small city, and all the places are near by from bus stop and close to each other, you can also go by foot if you deem fit.  
 

Timings:

Shore temple and Pancha rathas have entrance ticket and the ticket sale will be stopped by 5:30PM and the entry into them is stopped by 6 PM.
 

Accommodation and food

There are lots of resorts and hotels available in Mahabalipuram, Usually you don't have to pre book unless its peek season. you can choose basing on your requirements such as beach side, cost, amenities etc. refer to the trip advisor reviews for more details.

 There are also many restaurants around which serve good non-veg /veg food, especially along shore temple road,  few beach side restaurants beside shore temple. If you are a pure vegetarian, there is Adayar Anand Bhavan about 1.5kms north from the bustop, which serves good south and north Indian veg food.
 

Best time to visit:

Mainly due to its hot and humid conditions, its advisable to visit this place during winter season. September - February is ideal period.
 

Caution: 

Beware of the hot and humid conditions in Mahabalipuram, or for that matter whole surroundings of Chennai. Carry your hat/cap, sunscreen lotions, umbrella  and an extra pair of clothes(than usual) as you will sweat a lot here.