Mahabalipuram
58 km south of Chennai is an ancient historic town dating to the time of Periplus (1st century CE) and Ptolemy (140 CE), from whence ancient Indian traders sailed to countries of South East Asia.
Shore Temple a structural temple with the entrance from the western side away from the sea. Recent excavations have revealed additional structures here.
Five Chariots Pancha Rathas (Hindi) – five monolithic pyramidal structures named after the Pandavas (Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhishtra, Nakula and Sahadeva) and Draupadi. An interesting aspect of the rathas is that, despite their sizes they are not assembled – each of these is carved from one single large piece of stone.
Krishna's Butterball Vaan Irai Kal – is a gigantic granite boulder resting on a short incline in the historical town of Mahabalipuram in India. The boulder is approximately 6 meters high and 5 meters wide and weighs around 250 tons.
Descent of the Ganges or Bagiratha's Penance is a giant open-air rock relief.
