Hello Readers,
This was my first trip to see some ancient place & Indian art. Really If you are a lover of ancient Indian Heritage, Culture & Carving Art, definitely Mabalipuram trip would be irresistible & interesting for you. Also this place’s beauty is blessed with scenic sea shore of Bay of Bengal.
The group of monuments at Mahabalipuram is a collection of 7th and 8th-century religious monuments. It’s listed in UNESCO world heritage. It is located in the south of Chennai around 60km in Tamilnadu State.
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| Mahabalipuram Beach |
How to get there:
Source Station: To reach the Mahabalipuram first we have to reach Chennai and There are many trains too for Chennai.
Bangalore to Chennai (Train Kaveri Express -Friday 23:25). Fare RS 140 /-. (SL Approx RS 250 /- )
We were planned to go with Chennai Central Mail at 22:40. but we faced too much crowd because we were 15 Min late and the train was already there on the platform. In a rush even there was no place to keep a foot on the train. So we came out of this train. We scared and my friend suggested me to cancel this trip but also I was obsessed to reach Mahabalipuram and kept patients to wait for next Train. Friends also agreed with me. Next train came at 23:25 and this time anyhow we managed to grab the place on the train. It was big relief of sure hope to reach Mahabalipuram.
Morning 7:00 AM we reached Chennai.
Chennai to Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram):
From Railway station you have to reach CMBT Bus stand. But for that, you have to catch one another bus. Once you reach there to look for the “ECR-Pondicherry” bus. This public transport bus will go to Mahabalipuram. But one thing I must specify while taking ticket ask for “Mamallapuram”. It’s fare around Apprx 70 Rs /-. We reached Mahabalipuram at 12:00 PM. It was actually too late because we waste much time to find the exact bus in confusion of Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram.
Places to Visit :
Since we were restricted to a time limit of one day, we covered only important spots. All are within walkable distance and yes can cover in one day. Route map as below-
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| Rout Map |
1) Mahabalipuram Beach:
Guys if you are walking from bus stand toward Shore temple, this would be your first point of attraction. If your plan is for two days, this is the place you can easily spend one day here. Beach is very nice. This is an attraction for foreigners because of “Surfing”. If you are expert really would enjoy here. It’s also famous for Seafood.
While on the beach you can get a nice view of shore Temple which is settled on the heap of rocks.
Along the beach, if you walked toward temple there is one cave as well.
We had a limited time so spent only one hour here with lot’s photos we enjoyed this place. Also wished for Surfing but didn’t go because we loved to be alive for more trips J
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| Cave on Beach |
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| Beach |
2) Shore Temple:
The Shore Temple (built in 700–728 AD) is so named because it overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal. It is a structural temple, built with blocks of granite, dating from the 8th century AD.
Since 1984 it’s in UNESCO world heritage record.
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| Shore Temple |
3) Krishna’s Butter Ball :
It is also known as “Vaan Irai Kal”. It is a huge granite boulder resting in an inclined position on a rock. The boulder is approximately 6 meters high and 5 meters wide and weighs around 250 tons. It stands on an approximately 4 ft base on a slope and is said to have been at the same place for 1200 years.
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| Butter Ball |
4) Arjuna’s Penace:
There is big logic behind the carving of this sculpture. The concept depicted here has been derived from Mahabharatha’s story. For more details click on below link-
5) Tiger Cave :
The Tiger Cave is considered to be one of the Mahabalipuram rock-cut temples constructed by the Pallava’s in the 8th century AD.
6) Light House Museum :
This is the place where you can see an overall top view of Mahabalipuram which is situated on the shore of Bay of Bengal. Here Entry Fees is Rs 10 /- only. If you have a Binocular can really these views. This is also a good place for photography.
In the same place also have one big cave which is visible as of giant animal sleeping on the floor from the lighthouse.
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| View from Lighthouse |
7) Pancha Rathas:
Pancha Rathas is an example of monolithic Indian rock-cut architecture. Dating from the late 7th century, it is attributed to the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I (630–680 AD; also called Mamalla, or "great warrior") of the Pallava Kingdom.
Here also you can take many photos. It has the big status of Elephant, Lion, and Caves as well.
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| Pancharathas |
So this was our last place we covered all spots except only Butterball and Lion Caves.
Mahabalipuram to Chennai:
There are so many buses which flow toward Chennai. By walk only we reached to Mahabalipuram bus stand. It’s around 2.5 KM from Panch Rathas. We caught the bus and reached to Chennai.
Chennai to Bangalore :
(Train Chennai-Bangalore Mail -Sat 23:15). Fare RS 140 /-. (SL Approx RS 250 /- ).
We were so tired also wish to take a proper rest but we had to catch a train. Since Chennai is a source station for this train we got a nice place in the train. After this successful trip we reached to Bangalore around 5:30 am. We really enjoyed a lot.
Note: At one of above place, entry fees around 40 Rs /- is collected. Also, the same receipt is acceptable in all places. No need to pay extra fees.
Photos:
