Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, India

Statue of Hanuman

We looked at our phone again, the fluorescent backlight blinked 7:15am and we were still standing alone on the dirty backstreet of Mamallapuram. Maybe he wasn't coming? 

The sand-swept street was quiet and the sun had only just risen, blinding us with its harsh golden rays. A man dressed in a white sarong which twisted around his legs sat at a broken plastic table across the road, smoking rolled tobacco and idly watched us. 

We waited another five minutes standing by our tired two story guesthouse, the car wasn't coming.

Our little yellow tuk-tuk

Undefeated we begun walking down Mamallapuram's back road. The shops were still shut although some doors lay wide open allowing the flies and mosquitos free will to a hearty breakfast. 

Our Plan B was to hail an air-conditioned taxi at the small bus station. But we couldn't find one, rather we ended up negotiating a rate with a driver of a small old yellow tuk-tuk, surrounded by male on-lookers, to take us to the Hindu Eagle Temple in a small village called Tirukalukundram. 

It was almost 8am by the time we set off with our driver who spoke next to nothing in English but displayed excellent body language in telling us the temple doesn't open until 10am and would we like to stop somewhere else first? Here, Here? So begun our bumpy route across the pot-holed roads of the Kencheepuram district. 

View from Siva Guest House

The small coastal fishing village of Mamallapuram on the south east coast of Chennai where we are staying dates back to the Tamil Pallava dynasty in the 7th-9th century and is home to India’s most famous sculptures and rock carvings. Among the oldest existing examples of Dravidian architecture in India.


The air is thick with the smell of the salty sea and when the breeze rises it is warm and sticky. 

Unsurprisingly the area is scattered with large granite boulders in which 14th century carvers carefully chiseled intricate representations of life in worship to their gods. 

Looking for the Mahishamardini Cave

Climbing over the granite bolders

Lion statue

Top of the granite temples

Krishna's Butter Ball

Exploring Five Rathas

Seventh century ruins 

Sadly in the town these beautiful carvings now swim amongst an ocean of rubbish, which is a pity. Hawkers, beggars, gypsies, snake charmers and guides like to follow you around the town encouraging you to visit their 'sculpture shop' where you can admire fake overpriced replicas or hold their snake or 'I guide you'.

Over-exposure in the Varaha Cave

Detailed granite carvings

So we set off in the little tuk-tuk driving out of the coastal town. We toured ancient temples along the roadside and were prayed over, blessed and encouraged to make offerings to the different deities. 

The temples were ancient structures built of local granite and had been there for hundreds of years. It was amazing to be so warmly welcomed and the temple men were not at all worried that we had no idea what we were doing. 

After stopping at several temples we were still too early so went for breakfast at a local dining room where our embarrassed driver was bombarded with questions 'who are these people?' 'why are they with you' and our favorite 'do they really like Indian food?'. He was more than happy when we were ready to go, probably never having been the centre of attention in his life.

Exploring the dudhi vegetable patch en-route (white pumpkin)

Top of Thirkazhukundram Temple

Walking up the 500+ stairs

Stopping at a roadside temple

Goats en-route munching in the rice fields 

Just down the road from breakfast was the entrance to the Hindu Eagle Temple dedicated to the deity Shiva. The historic temple, with the formal name of Thirukazhukundram sits high on a hilltop. Our driver keen to join us grabbed a wooden monkey beating stick and clambered up the 500+ steps behind us. As a brief history there were once two sages who fell under a curse of being reborn as eagles until they absolved all their sins and attained nirvana. The eagles regularly flew around the hill and so a temple was built in their honor and pilgrims would climb the hill to give daily offerings to the sages. 

Sacred Eagles' viewpoint

Blessed Kara

Blessed John 

Friendly monkeys watching over the paddy fields

After watching the monkeys, who watched us more closely, we followed the stairs lined with trees which were covered in red paper offerings. We soon arrived at the Temple of Vedagiriswarar, meaning the protector of Vedas. 

View from Vedagiriswarara

Decorated with wilting flowers, ornaments, rusty iron fences and the ever present stream of litter the temple base was worn and tired. But inside small oil lamps glowed, lighting beautiful engravings in the stone walls. There were huge dark statues, adorned in offerings and coloured dye. 

Kitikal Mandapa dedicated to Durga, Trimuriti Cave Temple

The air was thick with incense and we were ushered in towards the main statue of Nandhi. Outside we rested, enjoying a cool fresh breeze and looking down across the village of Tirukalukundram.

Our temple tour ended back at our guest house, in Mamallapuram just a stones throw from the beach where we can hear the waves at night. 

Watching the women build houses brick by brick

Monkey on the main street

On the beach 

The afternoon we arrived from Chennai, we watched local fishermen arriving and with their sons in long wooden boats brought their daily catch into the beach, untangling fish from the nets and taking them over to the nearby restaurants. We could hear them again today, calling out to each other. 

Shore Temple in the background built 700AD

The coastal village has a genuinely friendly laid-back vibe where the sand travels carelessly up from the beach coating the roads. 

Temples dot between the dirty old buildings and there's a surf school offering classes for tourists. There is a healthy population of well dressed young students, all who have been living the big city life but return during the semester holidays to work for their families in hotels and at restaurants.

Tot siens,

John and Kara