Heritage

Pallava coast: Kanchipuram and Mamallapuram

பல்லவக் கடற்கரை: காஞ்சிபுரமும் மாமல்லபுரமும்

Two days with the Pallava builders: Kanchipuram's temples and silk, then the shore monuments of Mamallapuram.

Duration: 2 days · 1 night
Start → end: Chennai → Chennai
Pace: Moderate pace
Best season: November to February; the Mamallapuram dance festival runs in December and January

The Pallavas ruled from Kanchipuram and carved their port, Mamallapuram, into an open-air gallery in the 7th and 8th centuries; its monuments are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This short circuit starts with Kanchipuram's sandstone Kailasanathar temple, the Ekambareswarar temple and a silk weavers' street, then moves to the coast for Arjuna's Penance and Krishna's Butterball in the evening light and a sunrise walk past the Shore Temple and the Five Rathas. Visiting all five Pallava sites inks the Pallava Coast trail in your Heritage Passport.

நாள்வாரியாக

Day by day

About 198 km of travel in all

Day 1
Kanchipuram, then the coast
- Chennai → Kanchipuram · ~75 km · ~2 h by road
  Leave Chennai by 6 am.
- Experience · 08:00
  Kanchipuram Kailasanathar & Silk Weavers Walk
  Kanchipuram
  ₹2,000 per person
- Visit
  Kailasanathar Temple
  Kanchipuram
- Visit · 12:00
  Ekambareswarar Temple
  Kanchipuram
- Kanchipuram → Mamallapuram · ~65 km · ~1 h 30 min by road
- Visit · 16:30
  Arjuna's Penance
  Mamallapuram
  Best in the soft light before sunset.
  entry ₹40
- Visit · 17:30
  Krishna's Butterball
  Mamallapuram
☾ Overnight: Mamallapuram
Day 2
Shore Temple at sunrise
- Experience · 06:30
  Shore Temple & Pancha Rathas Mamallapuram Walk
  Mamallapuram
  ₹2,000 per person
- Timed tickets · 06:30
  Mamallapuram Monuments Entry (Shore Temple & Five Rathas)
  Mamallapuram
  One ticket covers the Shore Temple and the Five Rathas.
- Visit
  Shore Temple
  Mamallapuram
  entry ₹40
- Visit
  Pancha Rathas
  Mamallapuram
  entry ₹40
- Mamallapuram → Chennai · ~58 km · ~1 h 30 min by road