Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) Travel Guide: Pallava Temples, Rock Carvings and the Coast

Most Mahabalipuram tourist places stand in the small town itself. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which looks after them, dates the work from the Pallava kings Mahendravarman I (600–630) and Narasimhavarman I (630–668) to Rajasimha (700–728), with a few later Chola and Vijayanagara additions. Both routes on our Mahabalipuram tour packages page give the town a night.

Shore Temple

Built under Rajasimha from dressed granite blocks, rather than cut out of the living rock like the older monuments, the Shore Temple marks the peak of the structural building he introduced here, says the ASI. Of its three shrines, two are named for Shiva (Rajasimhesvara and Kshatriyasimhesvara) and the third, Nripatisimha Pallava Vishnugriha, holds an image of Vishnu lying asleep; two enclosure walls surround them. Tamil Nadu Tourism records that the 2004 tsunami exposed an older collapsed temple of granite blocks nearby. Be at the gate at 6 am for the early light; the Chengalpattu district administration notes that the temple is floodlit at night.

Arjuna's Penance

Also known as the Descent of the Ganges, Arjuna's Penance is a huge relief that the Pallavas carved on open rock rather than inside a cave or a shrine. The ASI attributes these open-air sculptures, with most of the town's rock-cut work, to the reign of Narasimhavarman I, the king called Mamalla, after whom Mamallapuram is named. Early morning and late afternoon give the gentlest light on the carving, and the relief is worth a slow look rather than a quick photograph.

Five Rathas (Pancha Rathas)

Of the nine monolithic temples at Mahabalipuram, the ASI counts the Five Rathas as the most important. Each was carved out of a single rock and is named after one of the Pandava brothers of the Mahabharata or their wife Draupadi. Seen side by side, they show the plans a Pallava temple could take: square for the Dharmaraja, Arjuna and Draupadi rathas, rectangular for Bhima's, and apsidal, with one rounded end, for Sahadeva's. The ASI places them, too, in the reign of Narasimhavarman I.

The cave temples

The Chengalpattu district administration counts nine rock-cut cave temples here, their walls carved with scenes from Hindu mythology. In the Mahishasuramardini mandapa, Vishnu lies in cosmic sleep and the goddess Durga fights the buffalo demon; the Varaha mandapa takes its name from Vishnu's boar form, and the Govardhanadhari or Krishna cave shows Krishna holding up Mount Govardhan. The ASI traces the earliest work back to Mahendravarman I, before the main rock-cut programme under Narasimhavarman I.

Krishna's Butterball and the lighthouse

Krishna's Butterball, also called Vaan Irai Kal, is a huge granite boulder poised on a small base on a slope in the middle of the town, and Tamil Nadu Tourism notes that the ASI protects it as a national monument. The lighthouse has a longer story than its tower suggests: a log fire on the high rock once served as a beacon, and in May 1887 a lamp was set on the roof of the Olakkaneeswar temple. The present 26-metre tower of dressed stone, left unpainted to blend with its setting, was first lit in March 1901, and a maritime heritage museum has been open there since February 2014.

Tiger Cave

Outside the town at Saluvankuppam, the Tiger Cave is a rock-cut shrine named after its carved tiger heads. The ASI counts it among the rock-cut work of later periods, its Chennai circle lists it with two other monuments at Saluvankuppam, and Tamil Nadu Tourism names it among the places near Mahabalipuram. Unlike the monuments in town, it needs a car or taxi, so plan it as a separate short outing.

Mahabalipuram Beach

Tamil Nadu Tourism counts the beach among the most visited places in the state, and the Chengalpattu district administration describes Mamallapuram as a resort and tourist centre with a long beach front. Tamil Nadu Tourism lists windsurfing and surfing among the things to do here. Walk the shore at sunrise or in the late afternoon, outside the hottest hours, and save the middle of the day for shade.

Beyond the monuments, the town and the coast road around it have a good deal to fill a second day:

• Stone carving: "Mahabalipuram Stone Sculpture" is a registered Geographical Indication, and the Government College of Architecture and Sculpture on the East Coast Road, started in 1957 as a Sculpture Training Centre to revive the old traditions of sculpture and architecture, still teaches the craft.
• The Indian Dance Festival: each winter the state tourism department stages evening performances of classical dance, among them Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Kathak, alongside folk forms such as Karagam and Kavadi. Check the year's dates before you book.
• The Crocodile Bank: a reptile conservation centre founded in 1976, near Mahabalipuram and about 44 km from Chennai.
• Muttukadu: the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation's boat house offers boat rides, jet skis and windsurfing classes on the backwaters.
• Vedanthangal: a bird sanctuary since 1936, where egrets, herons, ibises, painted storks and spoonbills arrive in winter, according to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department.
• Thirukazhukundram: in the same district, the Vedagiriswarar temple stands on a hill about 160 metres high.

Tamil Nadu Tourism recommends November to February and describes the climate as humid and tropical almost all year, so rain is the thing to plan around. The India Meteorological Department's normals for Chennai, 57 km up the coast, show about 300 mm of rain in October, 374 mm in November over 11 rainy days and 182 mm in December (1991–2020): November is the wettest month on this coast, not a dry one. January to April bring the least rain, under 20 mm a month, with average highs of about 30 to 33°C from January to March; May and June are the hottest months, at about 37°C. Bay of Bengal cyclones strike the Tamil Nadu coast most often in December, says the IMD. For settled weather, come between January and March; for the Indian Dance Festival, late December or January. For the rest of the state, see our Tamil Nadu travel guide.

• By air: Chennai International Airport is about 52 to 55 km away; the district administration and Tamil Nadu Tourism give slightly different figures.
• By train: the nearest station is Chengalpattu, about 22 to 23 km away. Chennai's main stations, about 57 to 60 km away, have far more trains, with services from Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, says the Chengalpattu district administration.
• By road: the East Coast Road along the shore and the Old Mahabalipuram Road both link the town with Chennai, and Tamil Nadu Tourism lists daily buses from Chennai, Puducherry, Madurai and Coimbatore to the ECR bus stand.
• On our routes: the South India Temple Trail allows about an hour and a half for its morning drive down the coast from Chennai on day 2.