“Want a Tuk-Tuk, Sir ? Only 50 rupees !”
These are the first few words I hear as soon as I stepped out of the bus.
After a 2hrs journey from Auroville one on of those Pondicherry-Chennai green buses, we finally reach Mahabalipuram. The town itself is known for its amazing bas-reliefs (e.g. Arunja’s penance) as well as for some of the most beautiful temples in Tamil Nadu (Shore Temple and Five Rathas). A note to the readers, from the moment you get there till the moment you hop on the bus again to leave, you have to be mentally and physically ready to say NO at least 20 times per second. Whether its a tuk-tuk offering a a ride for a cheap price, any “official” guide offering you a special tour or some stone-carver gifting you the piece of his gallery, trust me, kindly refuse for the moment. Will you need anything a few minutes later ? No worries, look around and in a snap of fingers you’ll be sorted. No need to get stressed.
In order to get to the centre of Mahabalipuram where all the main monuments can be found, it takes around 30min walking at a slow pace as the actual distance its only 2.5km. The walk itself is something quite enjoyable (even at 30°C !) since its pretty much all flat and there is plenty of shadow most of the time. Feel relaxed and adventurous ? Then do it, we found it well worth (and money-saving). Otherwise, just get a tuk-tuk but careful not to get tricked, the right fare is around 50-60INR for the village centre, don’t pay more !
[spacer height=”10px”]Arunja’s penance
On the way to the village centre, the first monument we found was Arunja’s Penance, Krishna Butter Ball and the Varaha Cave Temples. All of these are part of a lovely archaeological garden, which quite likely is the public park of Mahabalipuram as there is no entrance fee to pay. After our visit, we decide to accept the offer of one guide to go and visit its stone carving gallery. Note for the future: ABORT MISSION ! There are so many stone-carving galleries around the main road that is better to take your time and whenever you fancy just enter the one you like without being pressured by third-parties.
At around noon, the indian heat starts to hit us with everything it has. The air is getting thicker, skin is on the edge of melting and even the cows are now starting to hide under the cooler shadows of the trees. We decide to take a break and stop for some lunch in one of the many tiny roadside-resturants (?). An hour and some cookies later, we are on the move again but this time toward the Shore Temple. Just over one hour has passed and yet you can definitely feel the difference in the temperature. The road to get to the Shore Temple is pretty much the same of the one to get into town; on the other hand, as soon as you enter the gardens of the temple complex, man… that’s VERY different ! Walking through the gardens of the shore temple is like finding yourself in another world. Simply wow !
[spacer height=”10px”]Shore Temple
After paying the (expensive) entrance fee of 500INR (valid also for the Five Rathas) we finally step enter the vast garden area meant to act as a corridor and connect the temple to the entrance gate. Once we reach the temple, the view in front of us is amazing. Imagine having history, elegance and feeling of freedom all in one shot. The ancient temple, the majestic gardens around you and the wild roaring ocean in the background. Could you ask for better ?
The visit of the site doesn’t take us much time, in fact after just 40-45min we are already on the way of the Five Rathas situated the furthest away from the village centre. From the Shore Temple to the Five Rathas the walk is once again very similar to the other walks we did so far, nothing new. One more time, we decide to walk to the Five Rathas and not take a tuk-tuk as on the way there we also want to stop to visit the Lighthouse. At around 3pm, we reach our final destination: the Five Rathas. From the first moment we see this group of statues and small temples, we both fall in love with the place. The site itself its quite small but the things to see there are simply breathtaking ! And on top of that, the guides “assault” is not even that bad ! Hence, we take our time and in between a temple and a shrine we also find some time to relax on the soft grass just behind the complex.
[spacer height=”10px”]Five Rathas
After we have enough of the site, we head over to the exit of the site where a guide convince us, a bit pulled by curiosity and a bit pulled in for the hope of a cool AC breeze, to visit his gallery. The gallery itself is nice and since we also wanna buy something to bring back as a souvenir… Shopping Time ! Finally, with no power left (all drained by the bargaining) we aim back toward the bus station in the hope of finding the right bus. On the way there, a few tuk-tuk stop us but the fare asked for the short distance to the bus station is simply ridiculous, over 100INR !!! We say we prefer to walk and with the last strength in our bodies we reach the bus station just as the right bus stops in front of us ! With a radiant smile on our faces, we enter the bus and sit down in the only available places: the steps near the doors which offer no protection from rolling out on curves ! Hahaha what a ride that was !
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