Visit January 2023 - This is one of the sites I struggle to pronounce even after I visited. Still I think Maha Bali Puram (that is how I try to memorize it) is a great site and should be mentioned when talking about India’s best sites.

We took a taxi from Chennai. I offered a generous 3000Rp flat to bring us there, drive us from site to site and drive us back. Be aware that traffic inside the zone is terrible. If you travel without children or elderly, I suggest you walk between locations.

The first location were the Five Rathas with it’s amazing monuments carved out of huge rocks. This is also where the main ticket office is located. I first had to shake off an aggressive guide who wanted an outrageous 1500Rp for his services. The location is very small and the main challenge is to take pictures without people on them.

The second location is the largest and you need some time to explore the rock-hewn temples, caves and carvings. The “Decent of the Ganges” (picture) is directly mentioned in Criterion (i) and probably the highlight of Mahabalipuram. Krishna’s Butterball, a huge balancing rock, is also in this location. Don’t miss out on Draupadi’s bath and the Lions Throne further up the hill.

After shaking off more “guides” and “photographers” we went to the third location, the shore temple. As Els mentioned, wind and weather have a visible impact on the carvings. Further, it is rather small and due to the completely overcrowded Pilgrimage Beach right next to it by far the busiest part of Mahabalipuram. We did not spend more than 15mins at this location. Enough time I would say.

We combined Chennai with a day trip to the Chola temples WHS. From Chennai there are flights in the morning and evening to and from Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), making it an easy day trip.