Luxury Mahabalipuram Tours

Ancient Pallava stone monuments among trees in morning fog at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu.

Overview

Mahabalipuram At A Glance

Mahabalipuram, also called Mamallapuram, is a small coastal town about two hours south of Chennai on the East Coast Road. It was a port and a workshop of the Pallava kings in the seventh and eighth centuries. What they left is a group of temples and reliefs cut straight from the granite, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Shore Temple stands on the beach. The Five Rathas are carved as whole chariots from single rocks. Arjuna's Penance is one of the largest rock reliefs in the world. Stone carving is still the town's trade, and the sound of chisels carries from the workshops along the main road. There is a long beach, a line of seafood shacks, and a small travellers' quarter. Most visitors stay a night on the way from Chennai to Pondicherry, or use the beach resorts as a quiet base near the city.

Where To Stay: Radisson Blu Resort Temple Bay, Mamallapuram, Ideal Beach Resort, Mamallapuram
Continue To: Chennai, Chettinad, Madurai

What To See

What To See In Mahabalipuram

Mahabalipuram's real highlights are what a private guide builds each day around.

Fort / Palace / Heritage

Shore Temple

A pair of Pallava granite towers on the Mamallapuram beach, built around 700 CE and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Fort / Palace / Heritage

Pancha Rathas

Five monolithic Pallava shrines at Mamallapuram, each carved whole from a single outcrop of granite in the 7th century.

Fort / Palace / Heritage

Arjuna's Penance

A vast 7th-century bas-relief at Mamallapuram, about 30 metres long, carved across two granite boulders.

How To Travel

Journeys Through Mahabalipuram

Every journey comes with a private guide and driver for each day on the road. Full details live on each journey's own page.

A towering tiered Dravidian gopuram of a South Indian temple rises against the sky at Tiruchendur.

13 Nights

Slow Tamil Nadu

Chennai · Chettinad · Madurai · Mahabalipuram · Ooty · Pondicherry · Thanjavur

Misty tea gardens roll across the hillsides around Coonoor in the Nilgiris.

11 Nights

Tamil Nadu in Depth

Chennai · Chettinad · Madurai · Mahabalipuram · Ooty · Pondicherry · Thanjavur

The pillared frontage of a traditional Chettinad mansion with its deep verandah.

9 Nights

Classic Tamil Nadu

Chennai · Chettinad · Madurai · Mahabalipuram · Pondicherry · Thanjavur

The towering granite vimana of the Brihadeeswarar temple rises over the complex at Thanjavur.

8 Nights

South India Temple Trail

Chennai · Madurai · Mahabalipuram · Pondicherry · Thanjavur

Waves roll onto a Coromandel beach with the silhouette of a Mahabalipuram temple on the horizon.

8 Nights

Tamil Nadu Honeymoon

Chennai · Chettinad · Madurai · Mahabalipuram · Pondicherry · Thanjavur

The painted gopuram towers of the Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam glow at sunset.

7 Nights

First-Timer's Tamil Nadu

Chennai · Madurai · Mahabalipuram · Pondicherry · Thanjavur

The Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram silhouetted against the sky at sunrise above the Coromandel coast.

4 Nights

Pondicherry & the Coromandel Coast

Chennai · Mahabalipuram · Pondicherry

Where To Stay

Where To Stay In Mahabalipuram

Stays are chosen for the setting and the service, then matched to the pace of your route.

resort · luxury

Radisson Blu Resort Temple Bay, Mamallapuram

★★★★★

Temple Bay is a beach resort on the East Coast Road, a short walk from the Shore Temple. Its centrepiece is one of the longest swimming pools in India, running most of the length of the grounds toward the sea. Guests stay in rooms in the main block or in private cottages and villas scattered through the garden, some with plunge pools. The beach here is wide and largely empty, watched by lifeguards. There is a spa, a kids' club, and several restaurants, including one on the sand. It is the comfortable base for the monuments, and an easy weekend distance from Chennai.

resort · premium

Ideal Beach Resort, Mamallapuram

★★★★

Ideal Beach Resort is a family-run garden resort on the coast road, a few kilometres north of the town. It has been going since the 1970s, and it feels settled: low cottages among old trees, a lawn running down to a small private beach, two pools and a seafood restaurant. The rooms are simple and clean rather than grand. It is the sort of place people come back to, quieter and better value than the larger resorts, and still an easy drive to the monuments and to Chennai.

years crafting private India journeys

30,000+

travellers guided end to end

4.5

from 15 reviews on Trustpilot