Courtesy a visa interview, I found myself in Chennai on a Friday morning (why they don’t have a visa centre in Bangalore, beats me!), leaving the rest of the day, plus the weekend for myself. I had to be back home by Sunday night, and hence could not travel very far. Mahabalipuram (also called Mamallapuram) was an obvious choice - it’s ideally located 1.5 hours from Chennai, is a UNESCO World Heritage site, plus has vibrant beach cafes. I needed no other reasons to head to Mahabalipuram, though I did end up discovering more!

Duration and Time of Visit

3 days, 2 nights
March beginning

To and From

Ola Outstation and Uber Intercity are easily available from Chennai to Mahabalipuram and back. It’s a beautiful drive along the Bay of Bengal - starts with the Marina Beach, followed by a splendid coastline interspersed with lakes and pretty cafes. And before you can manage to get bored, Mahabalipuram is there!

Stay

Whenever I travel solo, I prefer not to book a hotel beforehand so that I can explore the area first and find the most suited one, keeping in mind:

• Proximity to the spots I want to visit, since I travel on foot when alone
• Security, since I definitely don’t want to end up in a suspicious neighbourhood
• Access to the bus / train station (either close-by or having some readily available means of transportation)

Hence, on reaching Mahabalipuram, I deboarded the cab at one end of the beach (at the Shore Temple) and went hotel-hopping on foot. I realised that the main part of Mahabalipuram Beach was extremely crowded, and hence went in the opposite direction (north). There were a couple of resorts (albeit shabby), costing ~Rs. 5K per room per night. Since I didn’t want to spend that much, I proceeded to the hotels next to them, found Seashore, Santana and Kalo’s to have decent rooms - and chose to stay at Seashore. It had a modest room (a little too modest to be frank!) with a beautiful sea-facing view and a rooftop cafe, costing Rs. 1.8K per night. If luxury is what you are looking for, you have Radisson, Welcome Group, Taj resorts as well, all further north.

Itinerary

Day 1: Chilling at beach cafes; swimming

• I checked-in to my hotel, Seashore, around 1 pm
  • Being March, the Sun was unforgiving, and tired from all the hotel visits, the first thing I did was to take a shower!

• I headed straight to the rooftop cafe, ordered pasta and some drinks and spent the afternoon with a book and some solemn music
  • A beautiful sea, a sparse beach (being a Friday), soothing wind, a pretty cafe, an intellectually stimulating book and slow music. What more could I have asked for!
  • Here’s what more I could have asked for: less Sun and a prettier beach! It was a bit littered and had several fishing boats anchored haphazardly. That said, I think it was definitely better than most Indian beaches - the water was clean, sand not as dirty and crowd good (less in quantity, sensible in quality)
• As the Sun set, I decided to go in for a swim
  • I like to just lie in water - floating on the back, ears underwater, eyes shut. You are able to hear the water - the waves along with the tiny particles moving in the current - and it cancels the rest of the outside noise. This, plus the gentle pressure on the ears, is one of the most calming and meditative sensations I have experienced. Try this whenever you are next in water!
• Late evening, I went to Radisson for dinner
  • It’s a beautiful property. They have a gorgeous restaurant by the beach (which is ~0.5 kms from the entrance! Hence they have golf carts to ferry people)
  • I spent about 5 hours there, again in the company of my book and some good African music, slowly eating a delicious vegetarian Lasagna and sipping my drink

• I walked back, all set for the sunrise the next day

Day 2: Exploring the monuments

• The Sun rises at ~5:45 am in Mahabalipuram in March beginning. I got up in time to see it rise through my window. Luckily, the sky was kind enough to be clear that day

• When I finally woke up for good, I was starving. Sri Anand Bhavan happened to be close-by and a recommended restaurant for a heavy vegetarian meal
• Around 1 pm, I headed to the main attraction of Mahabalipuram - the famous archaeological monuments
  • There are three separate complexes with some monuments within each
  • A single ticket (Rs. 30 for Indians; Rs. 500 for foreigners) allows you entry to all three complexes

Itinerary for the monument visit:

• I planned to visit the largest complex first, then the Pancha Rathas and finally the Shore Temple, which is by the sea, hence offering a great view to relax after the tiring day
• Largest complex (1.5-2 hours):
  • I entered from Krishna’s Butterball side and exited from the Lighthouse side, which is closer to the second complex
  • There are several excavated temples and structures, and thankfully, direction-signs to guide you
  • Tip: But still, I felt the need to follow Google Maps, so as to not miss any site. For eg. Arjuna’s Penance and Krishna Mandapa are accessible from the road outside and not from within the complex
  • Highlights: I liked Krishna’s Butterball, Arjuna’s Penance, Mahishasuramardini and Krishna Mandapam the most - the former for its magnificence, the latter three for their intricate details

• Pancha Rathas (20 minutes):
  • This is about 800 m away from the Lighthouse exit of the first complex
  • It has 5 beautiful chariots made out of rock, named after the five Pandavas
• Shore Temple (20 minutes):
  • It’s about 1.5 kms from the Pancha Rathas - so I took an auto-rickshaw
  • It’s a beautiful temple complex with lawns around it and the sea in front of it
  • I stayed here till the sunset

(For more information about the monuments, you can refer to the links posted at the end)

• On my way back, I unwound at a Kerala massage centre
• Finally, I returned to the hotel, took a shower and headed to the beach cafe of Sea Breeze Resort for dinner, again with the same old company of my book
  • It was an average restaurant, with basic ambience, menu and service
  • However, the weather and the view made up for everything else :)

Day 3: Long walk on the beach

• Having woken up to a lazy morning - sitting on my balcony, casually watching the people on the beach - around 9 am, I decided to go for a walk on the beach. I plugged in my headphones and started walking north of my hotel
  • Mornings at the beach are amazing! The weather is ideal, wind is perfect, sand is soft and cool - it is serene and joyful
  • I walked for about 1.5 kms, seeing on the way, other tourists calmly walking along, happy kids playing in the water, some locals catching fish / shells, beautiful resorts and a dead turtle washed ashore, all the while listening to soothing music
  • People ask me what I like about solo trips. I don’t think these trips provide me a gateway for introspection particularly; just being with oneself in the present and figuring out things on one’s own is surprisingly refreshing.

• Post that, I spent the rest of the morning at the rooftop cafe, till ~1 pm, when I took a cab to Chennai (Ola / Uber to the rescue again)

Summary of Things To Do

Things I did:

• Seaside hotel and cafe
• Swim in the sea
• Monuments:
  • Main Complex: Krishna’s Butterball, Arjuna’s Penance, Mahishasuramardini and Krishna Mandapam
  • Pancha Rathas
  • Shore Temple
• Local market

Things I didn’t do:

• Tiger Cave: This could be worth visiting, but since it is situated away from all other monuments, I didn’t want to go all the way only for this
• Crocodile Farm
• India Seashell Museum
• Surfing

Major Expenses

• Travel by Cab: Rs. 850 X 2 = Rs. 1,700
• Hotel: Rs. 1800 X 2 = Rs. 3,600
• Kerala massage: Rs. 2,400
• Ticket for monuments: Rs. 30
• Food and drinks

Tips and Resources

• Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram: About the monuments, on Wikipedia
• Mahabalipuram: History of Mahabalipuram, on ancient.eu
• Mamallapuram: About Mahabalipuram, on mahabalipuram.co.in