Mahabalipuram,Tamil Nadu - Information

Located near chennai,Mahabalipuram is one of the famous tourist attractions of Tamil Nadu.It can be found just right on the coromandel coast next to the Bay of Bengal. Mahabalipuram was a well established 7th century port city during of the pallava kings.Once upon a time, this place was a second capital of the Pallava dynasty.

The ancient name of the city was ‘Mamallapuram’ which means ‘the city of the great wrestler.It was later changed to 'Mahabalipuram' (City of Bali) by the King Narasimha Varman I,who largely developed it during the 7th century A.D.

During the reign of pallavas new style of art and architecture emerged.Mahabalipuram exhibits their excellent artistic and architectural creations.The whole area is dotted with rock-cut caves and numerous temples.Every tourist is stunned by the Cave temples,monolithic rathas (chariots), sculpted reliefs and structural temples here. The Shore Temple encompasses many bas reliefs, including one 100 ft. long and 45 ft. high, carved out of granite.

To our admiration, some temples were carved out of one enormous rock rather than simply constructed by the stones. The monuments are mostly rock-cut and monolithic stood a an live example of Dravidan style of architecture.

Apart from architectural beauty, the silvery sandy beach and vast casuarinas trees here fascinate every tourist.Being a tourist place near Chennai,Tamil Nadu,it attracts a lot of visitors from all over the world.Every tourist visiting Tamil Nadu should not miss this spot.

Mahabalipuram is located about 60 KMs from Chennai.It can be easily accessible by road and takes 1.5 hours to reach here by car.Plenty of buses are available from CMBT bust station located in Koyambedu. Mahabalipuram has no railway station, and the nearest one is Chengalpattu railway station. Nearest airport is Chennai Airport.