Mahabalipuram – a place of historic monuments

It is also called as Mamallapuram. Mahabalipuram is a town in Kancheepuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is 7th century port city and it is around 60 km south from Chennai. It has been classified by the UNESCO world heritage site as a place with lot of historic monuments.

The beauty of the place not only lies in the architecture and monuments but the casuarinas trees and the silver sandy beach also adds fame to the place. The hand made crafts is also a collective splendor.

Following are some of the information about Mahabalipuram.

Mahabalipuram Area: 8 sq. km.

Mahabalipuram Altitude: Sea level

Mahabalipuram Population: 12,000

Mahabalipuram Clothing: Tropical

Mahabalipuram Languages Spoken: Tamil and English

Mahabalipuram Tourist Season: Through the year

Some important tourist attractions include:

Thiukudalmallai – the temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu



Descent of the Ganges – an open air bas relief

Arjuna’s Penance – an episode from the Hindu Epic (Mahabharata)




Varaha cave temple – a mall rock cut temple




Shore temple – structural temple at the shores of Bay of Bengal



Pancha Rathas (Five Chariots) – 5 monolithic pyramids structure which was named after the pandavas (Arjuna, Bhima Yudhishtra, Nakula, and Sahadeva).