With flowery landscaped gardens and its own stretch of beach, this laid-back resort, 3km north of town, is popular with weekending families and couples. Though dated in parts, it's quiet and secluded, there's a lovely poolside restaurant, and comfy rooms come with tea/coffee sets, hairdryers and, for some, open-air showers. Nonguest pool/beach day passes cost ₹500.
Ideal Beach Resort
Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram)
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.33 MILES
The crowning masterpiece of Mamallapuram’s stonework, this giant relief carving is one of India's greatest ancient artworks. Inscribed on two huge,…
29.15 MILES
Housed across from the striking British-built Pantheon Complex, this excellent museum is Chennai’s best. The big highlight is building 3, the Bronze…
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26.76 MILES
Mylapore is one of Chennai's most characterful and traditional neighbourhoods; it predated colonial Madras by several centuries. Its Kapaleeshwarar Temple…
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19.03 MILES
There’s a tropical bohemian groove floating around Injambakkam village, site of the Cholamandal Artists’ Village, 10km south of Chennai's Adyar River…
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2.22 MILES
At the northern end of the Mamallapuram Hill compound, the Trimurti Cave Temple depicts the Hindu 'trinity' amid guardian figures: Brahma (left), Shiva …
2.97 MILES
Huddled together at the southern end of Mamallapuram, the Five Rathas were, astonishingly, all carved from single large rocks. Each of these fine 7th…
26.85 MILES
This soaring Roman Catholic cathedral, a stone's throw from the beach, was founded by the Portuguese in 1523, then rebuilt by the British in neo-Gothic…
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2.31 MILES
Standing like a magnificent fist of rock-cut elegance overlooking the sea, surrounded by gardens and ruined courts, the two-towered Shore Temple…
Nearby Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) attractions
0.5 MILES
The Tiger Cave, 5km north of Mamallapuram, is an unfinished but impressive rock-cut shrine, dedicated to Durga (a form of Devi, Shiva's wife), probably…
2.22 MILES
At the northern end of the Mamallapuram Hill compound, the Trimurti Cave Temple depicts the Hindu 'trinity' amid guardian figures: Brahma (left), Shiva …
2.27 MILES
You can't miss this enormous boulder (and favourite photo spot), balancing precariously on Mamallapuram Hill, right opposite the compound's northernmost…
2.3 MILES
Decorated with lion-shaped pillar bases, the Ganesh Ratha is carved from a single rock and was originally a Shiva shrine.
2.31 MILES
Standing like a magnificent fist of rock-cut elegance overlooking the sea, surrounded by gardens and ruined courts, the two-towered Shore Temple…
2.33 MILES
Home to some of Mamallapuram's most brilliant carvings, the Varaha Mandapa depicts Vishnu's boar avatar, Varaha, lifting the earth out of the oceans (left…
2.33 MILES
The crowning masterpiece of Mamallapuram’s stonework, this giant relief carving is one of India's greatest ancient artworks. Inscribed on two huge,…
2.35 MILES
Generally thought to be an unfinished gopuram dating from the 16th century.