10 Things To Do In Mahabalipuram: The City Of Demon King

Mahabalipuram is one of the oldest cities of India with the
serenity of beaches and ethnicity of sculptures, monuments, caves and
hand-carved temples built by the Pallavas in the 7th and 8th centuries. Plan your visit
to Mahabalipuram and discover these magnificent wonders of the city.

The city is privileged to have the Group of monuments
including Pancha Rathas, shore temple, descent of Ganges, named as a UNESCO
World heritage site.

With beautifully hand carved temples and sculptures and
peaceful beaches, Mahabalipuram is a hot spot for tourists who are enthusiastic
about ancient Indian architecture and it’s magic.

This city of Mahabali has much more to offer then it seems
to.

Let us explore it together by looking at what 10 things we
can do in this city of historical treasure.

Pancha Rathas, also known as Five Rathas or Pandava Rathas,
are five monolithic temples built during the 7th century by the Pallavas.

These five temples are beautifully hand-carved on one large
boulder of stone.

As the name Pandava Rathas depicts, this historical monument
is named after the five Pandavas – Yudhisthira, Arjuna, Bheem, Nakul, Sahadeva
and their wife Draupadi. However, except the name, these temples are not
related to these mythological heroes.

These temples with precise and ethnic carvings were left
incomplete after the death of Narasimhavarman the first.

This remarkable stone engraved structure is a part of the
Group of monuments in Mahabalipuram which depicts the tale of Ganga descending
from heaven to earth, led by Bhagirathi.

This beautiful stone tale is known for its unseen before
carvings, precision and life sized sculptures cut out of pink granite.

Shore temple is a clear depiction of the royal taste and
architectural knowledge of the Pallavas.

This temple has three shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva and
Lord Vishnu. In one shrine there is a Shivalinga the Garbhagriha and in another
shrine there is a sculpture of Lord Vishnu lying on Sheshanaga.

The walls of these shrines are well painted and sculpted
with images of everyday life and history.

This complex, situated by the Bay of Bengal, gets its name
from the 11 tiger heads crowned on the entrance gate of the cave.

This cave is famous for an exquisite sculpture of Goddess
Durga.

These caves hold a lot of mysteries which make them a place
of archaeological as well as tourist interest.

This serene shore of the sea lies on the Bay of Bengal and
has various sculptures, caves and Rathas, making it more than just a beach.

This beach offers a place to relax and get refreshed after a
storming visit to the shrines and temples.

Mahabalipuram beach offers the visitors with attractions
like – crocodile den with around 5000 crocodiles belonging to six different
species and a snake venom extracting centre.

This beach provides visitors with a surreal experience
amongst the golden sand and pearl sea.

Formerly known as the Kovalam beach, situated in the Kovalam
village, along the coastline of Bay of Bengal, Covelong beach is a mixture of
beauty and serenity `with palm trees running till where the eyes could see.

Covelong beach is a treasure of nature which the locals have
made best use of, with various water activities like jet skiing, boating and
surfing and fishing.

The first school of surfing in the country is also situated
in the Kovalam village.

This boulder ball is of mystical significance as it has been
on the same spot for the last 1200 years with no clue of its origin and no one
has ever been able to move it.

There is a mythological belief that this rock is a droplet
of butter dropped by Lord Krishna, and hence the name.

A fort covered in layers of shrubs, creepers and traces of
life, is one of the breath taking views of the city.

This fort holds the significance of a trading port of
historical times.

The beauty of the fort has attracted various movie shoots
and advertisements over the place.

No matter how un-talked about this fort is, it has never
failed to enchant the tourists over the years.

This lighthouse stands next to the oldest lighthouse of the
country, built in around 640 A.D by Pallava king Mahendra Pallava. This
beautiful structure, made out of natural stones commissioned its first light in
1887.

This lighthouse became available for public visit in 2011.

The view from the top of this lighthouse, situated at the
shores, is breath taking.

Mahabalipuram Harbour Asia’s second largest Seashell museum,
which itself becomes a great attraction for the city. The special thing about
this museum is the shopping centre where you can buy all the sea products you
want and make a sea world of your own.

This museum is not just a place of exhibit, it is like a sea
world mall with sea food courts, aquariums with different fish species, and
other sea products.

The architecture of the museum itself gives a view of the
deep down sea and takes you to the underwater realm.

The founder of the museum, Mr K Raja Mohamed, put all his
efforts to bring this surreal dream to reality.

Mahabalipuram is a miracle city in itself as it touches all realms
ranging from ancient history to architecture, and from mysteries to dream
worlds.

If you are planning a trip to the south of the country,
Mahabalipuram is a must have in your list. So, I would suggest to go for it
once in your travel endeavour.