Mahabalipuram and Crocodile Park

Last weekend, we visited Mahabalipuram (or Mamallapuram), an ancient temple about 1-1.5 hours south of Perungudi where we are staying. 

It is said to be one of the most beautiful sights in southern India, however, like many tourists, I was unaware of its historical details. I thought I would share (some of my favorite spots) here:

These lovely remains were once served as a major seaport of the ancient Pallava kingdom based at Kanchipuram, overlooking the Bay of Bengal. Kanchipuram was the capital of the Pallava dynasty during the 6th to 8th centuries and at this time, the Pallavas created the great stone monuments of Mahabalipuram. Lonely planet highlights 9 different sights at Mamallapuram. 

Shore temple: Built under Narasimhavarman II in the 8th century, it's the earliest significant free-standing stone temple in Tamil Nadu. The two-towered Shore Temple symbolizes the heights of Pallava kings. There are two towers that rise above shrines to Shiva, including the original linga (phallic structure that symbolizes the masculine aspect of the meditation god). Between the Shiva shrines is one for Vishnu, the preserver god, in a sleeping pose.

Trumurti Cave Temple: The Trimurti Cave Temple honors the Hindu trinity-- Brahma (creator), Shiva (destroyer) and Vishnu (preserver). On the back of the same rock is a beautiful 

group of carved elephants.

Five rathas: At the southern end of Mamallapuram, the Five Rathas were all carved from single large rocks. Each of these 7th century temples was dedicated to a Hindu god and is now named after one or more of the Pandavas, the five hero-brothers of the epic Mahabharata. The rathas were hidden in the sand until excavated by the British 200 years ago.

After seeing the ever beautiful Mahabalipuram, we visited a reptile sanctuary that housed turtles, snakes, crocodiles, and even iguanas. It was a nice change of scenery outside of the city.. so refreshing to breathe the fresh air and see so much wildlife and green space. The most exciting part was seeing the iguanas get fed/petted. They seem like very calm and loving creatures. Of course, many of the locals find the white chick more interesting than the animals. Every day, I feel like these animals being watched in a zoo ;) We also visited Kovalam Beach for a nice swim in the Bay of Bengal (but did not bring our phones/camera). It was a great relief from the sweltering summer heat.

** Information from Lonely Planet. All photographs by Katie Hoffman & Ganesh Pariyar **