Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram

This weekend we visited Mahabalipuram. This is a small town full of world heritage listed monuments of religious significance. It’s a busy tourist destination about an hours drive from our hotel in Chennai.

We arrived on Sarturday and spent the afternoon at a hotel, swimming and relaxing. Then on Sunday morning straight after breakfast we left to visit the monuments.

The view from our hotel. The bit that sticks out in the distance is the peninsula bit that the Temples are on. If you squint, you can see the temples too.

We could see the Shore Temple from the beach outside our hotel. It was in the distance but definitely walkable so we decided to walk. We forgot to factor in how much that would suck with two kids and temperatures of 33 degrees. Sand walking is hard. Having so much sand in your shoes that there is not enough room for your feet is sucky. We walked along the beach for ages, noticing the bizarre bits of washed up trash strewn along the beach. I wondered how the tourists could just put a towel down and sunbathe with all that rubbish around them. Mind boggling.

The temple is heavily fenced but we were able to walk through the back gate of another hotel to gain entry to the area. However, after walking to the temple gate we were told we needed tickets which were sold at another gate 300 metres away. We walked back there and bought our tickets. We nearly didn’t. I was over it by then. The journey here had been long and hot and painful, we were constantly being accosted by people trying to sell their services as temple guides, sell us necklaces or just beg for money. Several people had tried to take our photo and touch the kids. I was sweating litres and my feet were cut up from evil sharp sand. But after a quick discussion with hubster, it was agreed that we would be super pissed off to come all this way, stay in an overpriced resort, and not see the temple.

Buying tickets for the monuments.

So to the ticket window we went.

The sign on the window reads “Indians: 10 rupees. Others: 250 rupees.”

Children are free, Indian or otherwise. The ticket is valid for all of the monuments in the area. At AUD$4.77 – it’s a bargain.

Tickets in hand we trekked back to the temple.

This temple was built for Lord Shiva in the 7th century. Legend has it, that the temple was part of a group of seven temples known as the Seven Pagodas. The Shore temple is the last one standing. The granite rocks show the wear and tear of centuries of sea erosion, but the fact it’s still standing is impressive.

Instead of destroying the temple, the tsunami that struck on boxing day, 2005 exposed some long hidden rocks that are believed to have been part of the Seven Pagodas. A large lion statue dated back to the 7th century was completely uncovered by the tsunami. Information here in Wikipedia tells of witness accounts of seeing a long stone wall when the water receded, before it came crashing back to shore with disastrous consequences.
Searches have revealed walls and two submerged temples that indicate the area was home to a large complex of temples. The search for more continues.

Bats; Not my favourite creatures.

The Shore Temple includes three cave-like shrines. Two are for Lord Shiva and one is for Lord Vishnu. The shrines are also home to many bats. Darren ventured inside and took a photo for me, because I don’t like bats much.
I’ve heard that the temple looks it’s best in the light of dusk. I imagine it would look pretty amazing at sunrise too. But we were there at 11am. It was still pretty amazing.

Walking around the temples, between the walls, it’s very pleasant and cool. The sea breeze whistles through the narrow corridors and creates a natural air conditioning effect.

Immediately outside the Shore Temple gates are many market stalls selling food and beverages and also souvenirs, from plastic palm trees to postcards and jewellery. For good souvenirs, the surrounding streets of Mahabalipuram have handicraft stores aplenty.

If we were to do this again, I would not walk along the beach, I would go the front way. Along the road. Or take a rickshaw. Which is how we got home – it took only three minutes. We didn’t visit any of the other monuments as we were running out of time and the kids were hot, cranky and tired …and so were we.

A nice shade of red despite the sunscreen. Hats are on the shopping list. Xanthe keeps taking hers off, so we may need an umbrella.

I may go back for a better look one day without the kids. It could be done in a day, leaving early from here and coming back in the afternoon, without the need for a pricey hotel. Maybe I’ll pay for a guide, maybe I’ll learn something. Maybe I’ll buy a plastic palm tree.. or not.