Visit Mamallapuram's Temples
Ancient South Indian Temple Art In A Backpacker Beach Resort
The Tamil Nadu town of Mamallapuram is an old temple town, a modern day stone carving center, and a cheap beach resort all in one.
Mamallapuram (also known as Mahabalipuram) was an ancient seaport as well as the second capital of the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram. The Pallavas constructed many of Mamallapuram's Dravidian-style temples in the 7th and 8th century AD.
Nowadays Mamallapuram is a backpacker beach resort, a stone carving centre and an open-air display of Pallava art. Its most famous sight is the 7th century Shore Temple, one of the oldest temples in South India.
The Shore Temple
As the name suggests, the Shore Temple stands on the shore of the Bay of Bengal. Due to its closeness to the ocean it has suffered damage from erosion, but a rock wall has now been built to protect it from the sea. The Dravidian-style temple was originally constructed in the 7th century and completed later by the Pallava king Narasimha Varman II, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The 2004 tsunami uncovered previously undiscovered ruins.
Foreigners pay US$5 for a combined ticket with the Five Rathas, Indians pay much less.
Arjuna’s Penance
Arjuna was the hero of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and Arjuna’s Penance is a large bas-relief depicting scenes from the book. The atmosphere around the open-air relief is slightly destroyed by the presence of a large group of desperate salesmen and –women.
The Five Rathas
The five rathas are five rock temples in the form of chariots, devoted to the Pandava brothers and their wife Draupadi from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Like many temples in Mamallapuram, they are carved out of a single rock.
The road leading to the five rathas is lined with stone carvers and their sculptures. Mamallapuram is famous for its stone carvings, and sculptures are exported to temples around the world. Mamallapuram sculptures are also popular souvenirs.
Mamallapuram Dance Festival
The Mamallapuram Dance Festival is held every year in December/January and lasts four weeks. It celebrates dances from around India, including Bharatanatyam from Tamil Nadu.
Where To Stay
Mamallapuram is filled with cheap guesthouses of variable standards as well as restaurants serving banana pancakes and other backpacker favorites. The Mamallapuram beach does not look very clean or inviting, although outside the town itself beaches become nicer. North from Mamallapuram, along the beach, are several beach resorts that look much nicer than the backpacker lodges in town.
Mamallapuram is 60 km south from Chennai, and has regular bus connections to Chennai as well as south to Pondicherry. A taxi from Chennai along the East Coast Road takes about an hour.
