Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) travel information, Tamilnadu

Mahabalipuram Temple Town of Tamil Nadu is located at a distance of 58-km from Chennai, Mahabalipuram has everything that makes a site memorable; tradition, history, piety, western annals, and current importance as a centre of tourism.

The proper name of the city is "Mamallapuram", after Mamalla, an honorific of the Pallava king, Narasimha Varman I (630-668), who created the earliest of its monuments. But it is popularly called "Mahabalipuram", or "The city of Bali", whom Lord Vishnu chastised for his pride and of whom there is a relief in one of the excavated temples here.

The history of Mahabalipuram dates back to two thousand years, it contains nearly forty monuments of different types including an "open air bas relief" which is the largest in the world, for centuries it has been a centre of pilgrimage, it figures in the early annals of the British search for the picturesque in India in the 18th century, today it attracts shoals of foreigners in search of relaxation and sea bathing, and most strange of all, it has an atomic power plant for neighbor. A small library has been written on it. Over its history and that of its monuments a number of scholarly controversies rage.

Mahabalipuram was already a centre of pilgrimage when, in the 7th century Mamalla made it a seaport and began to make temples fashioned of rock. It was through Mahabalipuram that many Indian colonists, who included sages and artists, migrated to Southeast Asia. Sri Lanka's national chronicle, the "Mahavamsa" testifies to this fact.

Mahabalipuram - A Classical Site of Indian Historical Archaeology
When the first British visitors went to Mahabalipuram in the eighteenth century, they found the monuments under sand, a few completely so. It must have fallen into neglect after the fall of the Vijayanagar Empire or, at least, Vijayanagar authority. It had prospered under the Cholas and their successors until about the seventeenth century. Europe knew of it as early as the 13th century when, following Marco Polo's visit, it appears in the Catalan Map of 1275.

The first European to mention it directly, but with no personal knowledge, of it, did so in 1582. The first English visitor was William Chambers in 1788. Following this, earnest antiquarians from Madras puzzled over it. One of them, Colin Mackenzie, dug out some of the monuments from sand and deputed assistants to collect its traditions and coins. In this way Mahabalipuram became one of the classical sites of Indian historical archaeology.

Tourist Attractions

Arjuna's Penance
Arjuna's Penance is the pride of not only Mahabalipuram and Tamilnadu but also of India. Arjuna's Penance is the world's largest bas-relief that measures 27 meters and 9 meters along its length and breadth respectively. This huge whaleback shaped rock contains figures of Gods, Demigods, Men, Beasts and Birds. The whole structure looks like the penance of Arjuna, the Pandava prince and one of the protagonists of Indian epic Mahabharata; hence the name.

Five Rathas
Five Rathas are the one of the most magnificent tourist attractions at Mahabalipuram Beaches. Five Rathas are actually five monolithic temples, each created in a different style. They are modeled around chariots that are called 'Rathas' in Hindi. They are also known as the 'Pancha Pandava Rathas', which means that each one of them represent 5 Pandavas, the protagonists of Indian epic Mahabharata. The most mesmerizing aspect of this monument is the fact that the four of the Rathas are supposed to have scooped out of a single rock formation.

Dakshinachitra
A must visit site on the Mahabalipuram beach is Dakshinachitra, a heritage village that is the brainchild of the Ministry of Culture. The village falls to your left when you start moving from Chennai to Mahabalipuram. The place is being developed as a model village that will have dedicated sectors depicting 19th century villages of states like Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Everything, right from roads to utensils will represent that era. This ambitious project will take years to complete and is currently home to hundreds of artists and masons who are working on this project.

Shore Temples
Shore Temple is one of the oldest temples in South India and the oldest one based on the Dravidian style architecture. It belongs to the early 8th century AD and is considered a pioneer in the Dravidian temple art. The monuments are floodlit at night in order to make it visible in the night. In fact, the temple looks great in moonlit night.

Tiger's Cave
Tiger's Cave is just 4 kilometers off to the main monument complex of the Mahabalipuram beach. The place is actually an open-air theatre, where activities and programs highlighting the cultural heritage of Tamilnadu are held. As this place is ashore Coromandel Coast, it is very serene and calm.

How to reach

By Air - Chennai (58-km) is the nearest airport with both domestic and international terminus. Chennai is connected with all the major places in India through the numerous domestic flights. International flights operate from various parts of the world to Chennai.

By Rail - The nearest railway stations are Chengalpattu (29-km) and Chennai (58-km). From these stations one has to take road to reach the Mahabalipuram.

By Road - Buses are available from Pondicherry, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu and Chennai to Mahabalipuram daily. The road to Mahabalipuram is good. Tourists can also hire a taxi from Chennai.

Tourist Destination

Tamil Nadu in Details