Mahabalipuram - Ancient Temples of South India
South of the Indian city of Chennai lies the ancient ruins of Mahabalipuram. Designated a UNESCO World Hertiage Site, Mahabalipuram is a treasure trove of temples, carvings, cave shrines and monuments. The temples and ruins of Mahabalipuram are a fantastic day out from nearby Chennai or Pondicherry; from the famous Shore Temple to Krishna’s Butterball Mahabalipuram is stuffed full of history and adventure.
The ruins are easily accessible from Chennai or Pondicherry by bus or car, just ride down (or up!) the Coromandel coast and you will find yourself amongst the amazing ancient relics.
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What is Mahabalipuram?
Mahabalipuram (or sometimes Mamallapuram) is a UNESCO World Heritage site wedged between the great Salt Lake and the Bay of Bengal. The modern town has risen up around a collection of cave temples, holy monuments, massive carved rock reliefs and famous sea shore Temples.
The town is named after its founding King - Narasimhavarman whose shortened name was Mamalla. It was a rich and important port city for the king and so a wealth of temples, shrines and monuments were built there.
Today, Mahabalipuram has lots to explore; there is the the Sea Shore Temple, one of the largest rock relief carvings in India, ‘Krishna’s Butter Ball’ and the plethora of cave temples. The ruins in and around Mahabalipuram make for a fantastic day out.
Where is and how to get to Mahabalipuram?
Mahabalipuram sits on the Coromandel coast, in the state of Tamil Nadu roughly halfway between the megacity of Chennai and the old French colonial town of Pondicherry.
From Chennai Mahabalipuram is easily accessible by bus, just head to the CMBT bus station (location) and ask the driver of any of the buses headed to Pondicherry if they stop near Mahabalipuram. Most of them do and it is around a 2 hours ride down the coast . The same applies, but in reverse if you are travelling from Pondicherry, just ask on the buses going towards Chennai! From Pondicherry it is a little further at around 3 hours.
The bus will drop you off at a junction between the main road and an offshoot that heads into Mahabalipuram (around here on a map). You can either jump in a local taxi or rickshaw (beware of the price - always agree it in advance and haggle!) or just walk the twenty minutes from here into the town.
If you like things sorted in advance, or want a more private, comfortable ride; you can book a taxi online with 12go.
If you are interested in an organised tour (a very good idea!) there are several available. Have a look at Get Your Guide for some inspiration. Most of the tours will start either at Chennai or Pondicherry. At Mahabalipuram itself you can hire a guide to take you around but the quality of the onsite hawker guides is unknown!
If you are coming from further afield, you will almost certainly have to go via Chennai (if coming from the north) or Pondicherry (if you are approaching from the south). The nearest train station to the site is Thirumani which is still a 40 minute drive away.
Hotels and accommodation in Mahabalipuram
Despite making for a great day trip from Chennai or Pondicherry, Mahabalipuram is also a great place to stay in its own right. With prime access to the temples and UNESCO sites, if you stayed the night you would be able to beat the crowds and the heat!
Mahabalipuram offers some high end resorts and hotels if you are looking for a more secluded, luxurious holiday. You would still be within striking distance of the big city of Chennai and the pretty town of Pondicherry.
You could also use a stay at Mahabalipuram to split up the travel between Chennai and Pondicherry. There are hotels and guesthouses for any budget.
Check out our handy map below for all of the hostel, hostel and resort choices:
Zoom out for more choices - some of the resorts are along the coast outside of the town.
Mahabalipuram opening times:
Both the main complex of ruins in the town and the Shore Temple are open between 6AM and 6PM everyday.
As always in India, these timings may be different during festive periods.
Entrance fee for the Mahabalipuram Group of Monuments.
You can buy a single ticket for all the sites at Mahabalipuram. The cost for a foreigner is 550 rupees (£5.24 or $6.59).
For Indian nationals the entrance fee drops considerably, to a mere 35 rupees (£0.33 or $0.42!).
There is a lot to see!
Tickets can be bought at the entrance to both the main site or the Shore Temple. You can also buy the tickets online from the Archaeological Survey of India here and skip the queue!
What to do in Mahabalipuram - Our day among the temples
Our day started out from Chennai and our cosy accommodation at Elements Hostel. The staff had clued us in to the fact that you could easily get to the ancient ruins of Mahabalipuram by public bus from Chennai. We just had to get to the CMBT bus terminal and jump on a bus heading towards Pondicherry. We grabbed some bananas, basted ourselves in sunscreen and headed for the metro.
A cheap, quick metro ride later and we emerged at the CMBT station. We quickly realised that, it was all well and good saying it was easy to find a bus heading towards Pondicherry / Puducherry, but we had apparently forgotten how much of a whirlwind Indian central bus depots can be!
You could get a bus going anywhere from the CMBT, it was huge. A swarm of government buses roared and honked their way around the terminal, all part of some choreographed square dance that we could not understand. Add in to this that the majority of the buses had their destination signs in an alphabet we could not translate (either Grantha, Malayalam, Singhalese or Tamil), and we were more than a little confused!
This wasn't our first rodeo however, so we did what we always do in overwhelmingly confusing situations - find a drink. We retreated from the crowds to a stall selling water and fizzy drinks and bought a couple of cold bottles of water. We caught our breath and decided on tactics: number one - have a systematic walk around. Number two - if one had failed, throw ourselves on the mercy of an attendant (John in particular will go to extreme lengths not to ask for directions or help!).
Whilst discussing strategy Ellie pointed out that all the buses next to us actually said “Pondicherry” on the front. Written across their windscreens, in the familiar roman alphabet, was indeed the word Pondicherry! We had been standing next to the correct set of buses the whole time. We excitedly leapt aboard the bus with the most people already on and … were quickly told that this one did not stop at Mahabalipuram. Red faced we clambered back down and slunk onto the next bus, one which actually was going our route!
There are two main ways to Pondicherry and only one of them clings to the coast and takes the bus past Mahabalipuram junction. So make sure you check when you get on! The whole bus station confusion could have easily been avoided if we had just asked someone where the bus left from.
Pride is a very dumb trait in a traveller…
Once aboard it was the familiar Indian bus journey story. No air con but the breeze through the windows, lumpy seats and loud music. We love it, it's an experience travelling around on local public transport and we do it everywhere in our travels that we can. It is not just because we are cheapskates, not at all!
A couple of hours into our journey down the coast, the bus conductor let us know we were coming up to our stop. Mahabalipuram junction is not actually in the town of Mahabalipuram but is the point where the main road and the towns approach road diverge and fork away from each other. There is a largish junction, with a covered bus shelter on the main road side, a couple of stalls and the traditional gang of rickshaw drivers waiting to pounce.
After warding off the offers of lifts, guides and novelty statues we walked the twenty minutes from the junction into the town of Mahabalipuram. As soon as you are in the town you can see that it has grown up around the ancient sacred sites. There are signs everywhere directing you to different temples, shrines and carvings. We had a whole day to explore as the buses to and from Chennai were meant to be pretty frequent throughout the day. We set off for a full set of ruin hunting.
The Descent of the Ganga River
(location)
Our first stop in town was the massive rock relief, the Descent of the Ganga River. Two enormous boulders squat next to each other, the whole of their faces covered in intricate, sculptural carvings. Every surface, even the filled in gap between the boulders, is stuffed with figures, animals and symbols.
The rock relief depicts the legend of the Ganga’s descent to Earth. The most holy of Indian rivers, the Ganga, falls to Earth and is divided into tributaries by flowing through Lord Shiva’s hair. Two sides of the relief show gods, people and animals all witnessing and paying homage to the descent of the river. At one point (at least according to Wiki) water would have collected on top of the boulders and flowed down the gap between them.
There is a little disagreement as to some meanings of some of the carvings, the figure shown next to Lord Shiva may, or may not be Arjuna. The alternate name for the rock carvings is “Arjuna’s Penance” and the carvings may show him doing said penance to receive the weapon that Lord Shiva is shown holding.
Arjuna (or possibly Bhagiratha) and Lord Shiva
The legend is that Arjuna needed help in an upcoming war and appealed to Shiva for a weapon. Demons attacked Arjuna but he fought them off with the help of a disguised Shiva. Shiva (still disguised) and Arjuna then fought over who had landed the killing blow on the demon. Shiva (obviously) won the fight, revealed himself and granted Arjuna’s wish for a weapon. After fighting a God Arjuna’s (understandably) had to do penance.
Alternatively, the figure may represent Bhagiratha who, according to legend, entreated the Ganga down to Earth to wash over the ashes of his relatives. This follows more of the legends depicted but is, for some reason, the less popular theory. Possibly because of the carved figures pose.
The reliefs are stuffed with amazing details; underneath the elephants their young kneel and lay their trunks on the floor, cheeky monkeys copy yoga poses from nearby devotees and there is even what looks like a flock of chickens! In the channel between the rocks naga (half human half snake mythical beings) coil like springs. The carvings are so large as to be almost life sized. It is a fantastic sight.
You can see the monkey on the right mimicking the yogi on the left!
The “Descent of the Ganga” rock relief is not behind any ticket counter and is free to go and see at any time - Although it does get quite busy!
The Krishna Mandapam
Just next door to the rock reliefs is the Krishna Mandapam. We wandered along and joined the groups moving into and around this giant stone structure. Like the rock relief, the Krishna Mandapam has been carved out of the solid granite stone of the area. A large ornate building has been excavated from the granite complete with columns and carvings. It looks like the entrance hall to a grand temple has just grown out of the rock face.
It was a beautiful but scorching day!
The Krishna Mandapam gets its name from the amazing carvings within. According to Wiki, the carvings came first and their impressive housing afterwards. The stone carvings retell the legend of Krishna saving cowherds and milk maids from a flood of rain. Krishna gave sanctuary to the maids and shepherds by lifting up a hill on one finger and letting them shelter beneath!
Using a mountain as an umbrella is quite the flex!
The Mandapam is very impressive from the outside but surprisingly calm and understated within. There are carvings on the floors, walls and even the ceilings, there is always something new to catch your eye. You do not need too long inside the Mandapam, despite the grand entrance, it is not huge inside.
The Krishna Mandapam, like the rock relief is freely open to the public and require no tickets to enter.
Mahabalipuram park - Cave shrines, unfinished temples, a throne, a bath and Krishna’s Butterball!
(location)
A few steps down the road from the rock relief is the ticket counter and entrance to the largest of the Mahabalipuram sites (location). The tickets set us back 550 rupees a piece and were valid throughout all the sites in Mahabalipuram, not just the park we were in now.
Spread out amongst green lawns, sloping rock terraces and rolling hills, this UNESCO designated area of the town houses some of Mahabalipuram’s most popular attractions.
As soon as you enter you are greeted with the bizarre sight of Krishna’s Butter Ball - a massive, improbably balanced dollop of rock sitting on a slope.
It really doesn't look stable but repeated attempts throughout the centuries have failed to shift this giant stone. The Butter Ball gets its name from tales of a mischievous young Krishna stealing butter - the shape of the rock looks like a dropped scoop of butter so locals coined the name.
Walking off to the right of Krishna’s Butter Ball, the path took us first around a set of amazing rock carvings (including some fantastic elephants), and then through to the Thirumoorthi Cave.
Thirumoorthi cave is a beautiful temple carved into the rock with ornate statues on the engraved door frames and incredibly detailed depictions of gods and legends sculpted from the rocks. The word Mandapam (as in the previously seen Krishna Mandapam), means a square vestibule cut into rock and this seems to have been the design basis for many of the Mahabalipuram shrines and monuments. There are lots of these little temples scattered about the grounds and it was always fun, when you had wandered off the main path, to stumble on them.
Everywhere you go in the complex, you will stumble upon amazing little details.
Something we noticed (and then looked up later!) about the temples and shrines at Mahabalipuram is that a lot of them are decidedly unfinished. They are not just ruins but half built ruins! This is (again thank you internet) due to the fact that after their principal sponsor passed away, King Rajasimha (also known as Narasimhavarman the second), his replacements became embroiled in wars and territory disputes. Being so busy fighting, preparing to fight or catching up with sleep after a fight, the new kings did not have the time or inclination to finish the old king's works. The fact that lots of the temples and monuments are unfinished actually is something of a boon for archeologists. The Mahabalipuram complex has allowed rare insights into the building methods for other cave temples and rock structures across India.
We continued on up the central Mahabalipuram hill, our route alternating between bare stone, ancient carved steps and modern pathways. We passed the gorgeous Kodikkal Mandapam, and the Koppiyar Pond as we made our way to the top.
At the peak of the hill was not only a fantastic panoramic view of the countryside surrounding Mahabalipuram but another collection of monuments to explore.
There was Dharmaraja's Rock Cut Throne, thronged with people waiting their turn at a selfie on the austere rocky chair. Just past the throne was Draupadi's bath. The bath has a series of tiny steps carved into it that, once we had climbed them, allowed us an even more impressive view of the surrounding hills and plains.
The plateau top of the central hill was fantastic, large enough that you didn't feel swamped by the crowds of visitors (it is a very popular site) whilst still having lots of amazing ruins to check out and vista’s to admire.
The top of the hill also is home to the unfinished Roya Gopuram. Only the massive base layer of this temple entrance was completed but it is clear from this alone it would have been monumental in scale. We wandered through the enormous entranceway admiring the figures sculpted into the walls and columns, there is something bittersweet about an ancient, unfinished ruin, it didn't even get a day to be its whole self before being abandoned to time.
The gopura would have been massive….
As we wandered back down the hill we found ourselves next to the three story tall Ganesha Ratha. The Ratha are huge, chariot shaped ceremonial buildings. Ganesha Ratha is especially impressive with its stepped roof full of decorations and detail. There are lots of Ratha’s across Mahabalipuram with the most famous collection being the Five Brothers Ratha.
The Five Brothers may be the most famous Ratha but they had managed to completely evade our attention as it was only when we left Mahabalipuram and started researching this article that we found out about them! They are situated around a kilometre down the road from the large site we were exploring. Do not be like us and miss them, you can find them here.
We wandered, explored and chilled out around the complex for a few hours. It is stuffed full of hidden corners, little viewpoints and secret temples. There was loads more to see than we have said here, we don’t want to ruin the joy of exploration for you! We would definitely recommend just taking it slow and wandering wherever your interest takes you.
India is always full of colour, never drab!
Mahabalipuram Sea Shore Temple
(location)
On the other side of Mahabalipuram town, on the edge of the Bay of Bengal, rises the magnificent Shore Temple. One of the oldest stone temples in Southern India, the Shore Temple was one of the structures completed under King Rajasimha - he of the unfinished Gopura, around 725AD (thank you Wikipedia). This UNESCO designated site was mentioned by Marco Polo in his travel writings and is one of the most iconic sights not only in Mahabalipuram but Tamil Nadu as a whole.
The ticket we previously purchased at the ruin complex in town also got us into the shore temple area, so we slathered on another layer of suncream (by this point we were 80% sunblock by weight), and walked towards the sea.
After a winding flower lined path we arrived at the temple. India is full of beautiful, unique buildings with massive differences from North to South. We had seen the serene beauty of the Key / Kee Monastery in the Spiti valley, the incredible Golden temple of Amritsar, the amazing Gopuras of Chennai’s Kapaleeshawara / Kapaleeswarar Temple and, of course, goggled at the wonder of the world, the Taj Mahal in Agra. The Shore Temple of Mahabalipuram was yet another example of the endless beauty and near infinite variety of India’s architecture.
The Shore Temple complex is actually made of three separate temples all sharing the same foundation. Two are dedicated to Lord Shiva and the third honours Lord Vishnu. We wandered about these structures admiring the sculptures and carvings and explored the huge empty temple water tank with its large lingam and lion guardian.
For the best views walk clockwise around the temples, find the fence that separates the site from the public beach, and look backwards. It is a unique and beautiful place.
Final thoughts and tips
As always, we explored Mahabalipuram independently, without a guide. However, in this rare instance, we can see that a guide may have actually been a good idea. Hopefully we have fooled you and come across as relatively informed in the above descriptions, but this was all knowledge that we found out afterwards. We had a fantastic day wandering the ruins but there is not much information available at the site without a guide. There are the occasional plaque or (rather dry) explanation, but these do not cover every area. To write this article we had to google a lot. It would have been nice to have some of this information whilst we were there, maybe we wouldn’t have missed the Five Brother Rathas!
Check out Get Your Guide below for some tour ideas:
The town of Mahabalipuram is very much set up to deal with tourists, resort vacationers and day trippers. There are souvenir shops aplenty as well as lots of restaurants and beachside activities. If you are travelling with little ones, there are fairground games and pony rides to be found on the beaches.
For food options in Mahabalipuram, you have plenty of choice. Within the sites themselves you will find your usual array of snack and drink vendors. Outside in the town itself there are lots of dhabbas, biriyani joints and restaurants. If you are staying at any of the resorts nearby, they nearly all have restaurants attached.
Come sizzling heat or driving rain, nothing will deter sellers at a tourist attraction.
If you have done the same sightseeing route as we did and fancy a seafood meal; come out of the Shore Temple complex and head around to the town and beach just to the north (location). You will find loads of restaurants for a good seafood lunch. Most of the restaurants have very similar menus and prices so just pick one with a nice view that takes your fancy. As a tourist town the prices are higher than normal and the restaurants are geared for dealing with crowds. If you are in the Chennai area and want a properly adventurous fish feast make sure you read our article on Chennai and the incredible Meenavan Unavagam restaurant.
Mahabalipuram made for the perfect day trip for us. A complete break from the city of Chennai and an amazing dive back into history. India is studded with incredible historical sites and we would definitely say Mahabalipuram should make it onto your southern India itinerary. The central complex park is so much fun just to explore and discover at your own pace and the Shore Temple is just so impressive.
Mahabalipuram had been a place we were not even aware of until we had checked into our Chennai hostel, but we are so glad we made the effort to get there!
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
Been spending most our lives, living in a posers paradise.
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