Day 01
Mahabalipuram Heritage Tour from Chennai
- Get picked up from your hotel and meet your local tour guide.
- Drive towards the historic site of Mahabalipuram in a private air-conditioned vehicle.
- Make the first stop of the day at the Pancharathas, or Five Rathas, a series of monolithic temples built by the Pallavas. These rock-cut monolithic temple structures were built in the 7th century.
- Marvel at the architecture of each of the five Rathas, or chariots, dedicated to the lead characters of the Mahabharata epic - Draupadi, Arjuna, Nakul-Sahadeva, Bhima and Yudhister.
- Visit Arjuna's Penance, a bas-relief monument considered one of India's most magnificent pieces of ancient art, depicting vivid scenes from the Mahabharata.
- Learn from your guide the main story of how Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers, performed severe austerities to obtain Lord Shiva's weapon.
- Visit the India Seashell Museum, whose collection of more than 40,000 seashells is the singular effort of Raja Mohamad, who spent 33 years collecting them from around the world.
- Stop at Krishna's Butterball, a granite boulder poised on a stony slope. This curious boulder seems to defy Newton's laws of gravity and has not moved an inch despite its precarious position for more than a thousand years.
- Make a final stop at the Shore Temple. This magnificent temple overlooks the Bay of Bengal and was an important centre during the Pallavas' reign, when Mahabalipuram was the main port of their kingdom.
- Roam around the Shore Temple, a landmark in the architectural landscape of India. Marco Polo referred to it as the Seven Pagodas. The existing temple is the last surviving one of the seven, which once stood as a beacon for seafarers.
- Conclude with lunch at Hotel Mamalla and drop-off back in Chennai.
