Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram in a day trip from Chennai by Wonder tours

Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram in a day trip from Chennai by Wonder tours

You can easily spend a full day exploring Kanchipuram and Mamallapuram's marvellous temples, caves and rock carvings. Most were carved from the rock during the 7th-century reign of Pallava king Narasimhavarman I, whose nickname Mamalla (Great Wrestler) gave the town its name. Official Archaeological Survey of India guides can be hired at sites.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Pass By: Wonder tours, 51/107 86th street Ashok nagar 1st Floor, Chennai (Madras) 600083 India

Tour orientation

Stop At: Ekambareswarar Temple, Ekambaranathar Sannidhi Street, Kanchipuram 631502 India

Of South India's five Shiva temples associated with the five elements, this 12-hectare precinct is the shrine of earth. You enter beneath the 59m-high, unpainted south gopuram, whose lively carvings were chiselled in 1509 under Vijayanagar rule. Inside, a columned hall leads left into the central compound, which Nandi faces from the right. The inner sanctum (Hindus only) contains a lingam made of earth and a mirror chamber whose central Shiva image is reflected in endless repetition.

Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Kanchipuram India

Kanchipuram's oldest temple is its most impressive, not for its size but for its weight of historical presence and the intricacy of its stonework.The low-slung sandstone compound, in oleander-dotted grounds, has fascinating carvings, including many of the half-animal deities in vogue in early Dravidian architecture. It's framed by walls of subshrines topped by domed roofs and carved elephants and Nandis. Note the rearing lions on the outer walls and the large Nandi facing the compound from outside. The inner sanctum is centred on a large 16-sided lingam, which non-Hindus can view from about 8m away. The tower rising above is a precursor of the great vimanas of later Chola temples.

Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Kailasanathar Temple, Pillaiyarpalayam, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu 631501, India

We will visit the magnificent temple of Kailasanathar Temple from Pallava times. Kanchipuram was the capital of the medieval South Indian Kingdom of Pallavas. The Pallavas were instrumental in the transition from rock-cut architecture to stone temples. We will appreciate these architectural wonders built in 600 AD.


Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Pancha Rathas, Kancheepuram District, Mahabalipuram 603104 India

Huddled together at the southern end of Mamallapuram, the Five Rathas were, astonishingly, all carved from single large rocks. Each of these fine 7th-century temples was dedicated to a Hindu god and is now named after one or more of the Pandavas, the five hero-brothers of the epic Mahabharata, or their common wife, Draupadi. The rathas were hidden in the sand until excavated by the British 200 years ago.

Ratha is Sanskrit for 'chariot', and may refer to the temples' form or to their function as vehicles for the gods. It's thought they didn't originally serve as places of worship, but as architectural models.

Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Arjuna's Penance, West Raja Street Near Ganesha Ratha, Mahabalipuram 603104 India

We also visit Arjuna’s Penance, a 100 feet x 45 feet bas relief where an entire masterpiece from the Mahabharata epic has been carved.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Krishna's Butter Ball, E Raja St, Mahabalipuram 603104 India

The next halt is at Krishna’s Butterball, a curious sight of a 5 meters diameter ball shaped boulder which is perched precariously on a slope and defies Newton’s laws of gravity!

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Sea Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram India

Standing like a magnificent fist of rock-cut elegance overlooking the sea, surrounded by gardens and ruined courts, the two-towered Shore Temple symbolises the heights of Pallava architecture and the maritime ambitions of the Pallava kings. Its small size belies its excellent proportion and the supreme quality of the carvings, many now eroded into vaguely Impressionist embellishments. Built under Narasimhavarman II in the 8th century, it's the earliest significant free-standing stone temple in Tamil Nadu.

Duration: 45 minutes