About 15km west of Mamallapuram is this hilltop temple dedicated to Shiva, reached via approximately 500 steps. According to legend, two vultures (easily confused with eagles) fly here each day at noon from Varanasi, a good 2000km away, though they haven't been seen since the 1990s.
Vedagirishvara Temple
Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram)
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
9.03 MILES
The crowning masterpiece of Mamallapuram’s stonework, this giant relief carving is one of India's greatest ancient artworks. Inscribed on two huge,…
25.1 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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At the northern end of the Mamallapuram Hill compound, the Trimurti Cave Temple depicts the Hindu 'trinity' amid guardian figures: Brahma (left), Shiva …
8.84 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…
29.23 MILES
Of South India's five Shiva temples associated with each of the five elements, this 12-hectare precinct is the shrine of earth. You enter beneath the 59m…
9.47 MILES
Standing like a magnificent fist of rock-cut elegance overlooking the sea, surrounded by gardens and ruined courts, the two-towered Shore Temple…
28.78 MILES
This imposing temple, dedicated to Kamakshi/Parvati, is one of India's most important places of shakti (female energy/deities) worship, said to mark the…
26.77 MILES
This enormous 11th-century Chola-built temple in southeast Kanchipuram is dedicated to Vishnu. Non-Hindus cannot enter the central compound, but the…
Nearby Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) attractions
8.84 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…
8.94 MILES
A beautifully carved throne or seat in the shape of a lion, a little west (uphill) from the Raya Gopura on Mamallapuram Hill.
8.94 MILES
At the southern end of the Mamallapuram Hill complex, the Mahishamardini Mandapa is carved from the rock, displaying very fine scenes from the Puranas …
8.95 MILES
This empty cave temple sits south along the road from Arjuna's Penance.
8.96 MILES
Accessed via steep, narrow steps, Mamallapuram's lighthouse offers wonderful panoramas.
8.97 MILES
South of the Raya Gopura the main Mamallapuram Hill path passes the Ramanuja Mandapa.
8.99 MILES
Similarly sized to Mamallapuram's famous Arjuna's Penance, this unfinished relief carving is just south along West Raja St.
9.01 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…