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Chennai attractions and Mahabalipuram visit Q&A

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Chennai attractions and Mahabalipuram visit

Posted by Govind | Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:40 pm

So far in Chennai I have visited

Marina Beach
VGP beach
Valluvar Kottam
MGR Memorial
Guindy National Park

Which are the places I have missed?
[b]I came to know about a place called Mahabalipuram how far is it from Chennai ? and also please provide me with the list of attraction I can visit in mahabalipuram. I want to go there as i heard a lot about it and its a historical place. How can i travel to Mahabalipuram from Chennai? And how long i need to put up in Mahabalipuram? Is 2 days enough ?

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Re: Chennai attractions and Mahabalipuram visit

Posted by Madhumita | Tue Mar 27, 2012 5:08 pm

There are a couple of places more worth a visit in Chennai:
1-Vandalur Zoo
2-Besant Nagar Beach
3-Kapaleeshwar Temple in Mylpaore (if you are spiritual)
4-Shop for sarees at T.Nagar (if interested!)

Mahabalipuram is a nice place for a day out from chennai. If you want to savour the sights in a bit relaxed way-one day would be enough.

The main attractions there are
1-Shore Temple
2-Arjuna's Penance
3-Five Rathas
4-Krishna's Butterball and the adjoining temples
5-The beach and
6-The light-house. The first three are wonderful depiction of Pallava era architecture.
7-Have awesome sea-food. Moon-rakers seems to be a local favourite. Its on the Ottavady St.

On the way to Mahabalipuram from Chennai, there are a few interesting places:
1-Muttukadu Boat House ( Boating on the backwaters)
2-Crocodile Bank
3-MGM Dizee World (Amusement park)
4-Dakshina Chitra (showcases heritage of southern India)
5-Covelong/Kovalam-tiny fishing hamlet with a beach, off ECR
5-Tiger Cave-Nice gardens for picnic and a clean beach along with a li'l sculptured cave.

If planned well, two days should be sufficient. You may stay for one night at Mahabalipuram.

Re: Chennai attractions and Mahabalipuram visit

Posted by Sumit | Wed Mar 28, 2012 1:11 pm

Chennai has a reasonable number of properties of tourists' interest.

There are 3 beautiful beaches. The prominet being the 12 km Marina Beach. Others are the comparitively quiter Edward Elliot's Beach (popular among youth) and the Breezy Beach.

Covelong is a fishing village about 40 km from Chennai housing a fort built by Saadat Ali, not a resort. Its a good day trip option.

Chennai also houses some most beautiful churches. The St. Mary's Church is one of the oldest surviving churches built by the British in India in 1680. St. Thomas Church. St.Thomas, is one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. He is one of the prime witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus.St. Thomas is believed to have been martyred here.

Big Mosque, constructed in 1795 is an architectural marvel built in memory of Nawab Muhammad Ali Walajah.One distinctive feature of this mosque is that the chronogram engraved in stone and fixed on the inside of the western wall of the mosque is by a non-Muslim. As far as is known, no other mosque in the world has a chronogram composed by a non-Muslim.

The Parthasarathy Temple, one of the oldest temples in Chennai (8th. century). The Temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna.

Kapaleeswarar Temple, also one of the oldest (the present structure dates to the 1600s).

One of the most prominent landmark of Chennai is the Fort St. George. The establishment of Fort St. George marked the birth of the new city that is Madras, in the year 1640 and it was from this small trading post (or 'factory' as it was then known) that British influence spread throughout India.

The Government Museum and the National Art Gallery are 2 important destination for art lovers.

Chennai has something unique in the truest of sense.

Guindy Snake Park. The park houses a number of snake species, lizards, crocodiles and turtles. The park breeds more than 30 species of Indian snakes (Tuesday closed. Monday to Friday 0830 - 1730 hours).

Guindy National Park happens to be almost certainly the smallest national park in the country and the only park within the city suburbs of India.

Arinjar Anna Zoological Park or The Vandalur Zoo is the first zoo in India started in 1855.This park is said to be one of the biggest in South East Asia. The wildlife population is exhibited in a large open moated island enclosure with a simulated natural environment.

60 km south of Chennai, one will come across Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram, an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The architechtural marvel will definitely leave everyone in awe. Built by the Pallava Dynasty during 7th. to 9th. century A.D., these granite structures are among the oldest existing examples of Dravidian (South Indian) architecture.

The Shore Temple...Five Rathas (Pancha Pandava Rathas)....Thirukadalmallai (Vishnu Temple)...Arjuna's Penance...Krishna's Butterball...Mahishamardini Cave...Varaha Cave...are must see objects in the area. Best is to make a day trip from Chennai.Frequent bus services are available apart from private taxis.