[GeeTee TSI]

Bangalore lends itself to drives in all directions owing to its geography, with every Friday spent with the persistent thought of which general direction should I head out over the weekend. An open Google Maps tab on my computer aiding this very important decision point.

One particular week made me look at a stretched weekend drive commencing on a Friday afternoon and Mamallapuram beckoned. Despite my numerous drives to Chennai to visit family, I had never been beyond ECR toll plaza (which is where the ECR really starts!). A later afternoon start from Bangalore (Yelahanka) could result in 2 sunrise moments being witnessed. Some quick scans on hotels zeroed in on Landmark Pallava for the stay. A quick telephonic enquiry resulted in a better tariff than travel portals and the advance paid meant there was no turning back.

ECR location triggered the thought to pack my bike along, with the previous night spent in 'loading' the bike in place. I use gloves to work on the bike and its grip really helped load and insert the bike in without banging around the boot area. Quick release front wheel makes light work of dismantling (I had practiced enough by then!)

Left Yelahanka around 14:30, envisaging late check in at the property. Taking the inside roads intentionally, I joined the highway beyond Aavalahalli with relatively smooth progress avoiding arterial city roads almost entirely. Given the last 80 odd kms would be different to my usual route to Chennai, timely, helpful tips in the Bangalore Chennai route thread helped to avoid poor, unknown roads at night (More on how lucky I was later). I went off NH48 at Sunguvarchattram - SIPCOT - Padappai - Vandalur - Kelambakkam - ECR

ECR was bliss to drive on late night where I could definitely sense the sea although dark, ended my drive a ilttle past 22:00

[GeeTee TSI]

Bike in place


Morning ride along ECR to Mamallapuram and back


Vast parking at the property, almost resembled my basement parking with these two


Drove to Mamallapuram after breakfast and parked near the Maragatha Poonga. All the places of interest were walkable (at a pinch) from there


Started with the Olakanneshwara Temple and the lighthouse



Next up, the Pancha Rathas further down


Retracing back, Arjuna's Penance had me gazing at it for a long time



The Lighthouse and Maritime Museum was interesting and devoid of crowds too

The Varaha cave and Krishna's Butter Ball are adjacent to Arjuna's Penance. I could not really get a good enough (and empty) frame for the latter



The Shore temple in all its majesty against the stunning backdrop of the sea



Evening ride on the ECR from the resort



A click of the property


Shore Temple at dawn



One really bad stretch somewhere between Uthukadu and NH48. In hindsight, I was just fortunate


The rock sculptures deserve another unhurried and closer look and might volunteer to take someone down there for this!

[raptor_diwan]

Wow, these pictures are stunning! The last one really had me going though. I was all ready for a blockbuster movie, and then it turned out to be a still image. I guess I'll just have to settle for the amazing quality and composition of the photo instead of a full-on cinema experience!

[abacusv]

Wonderful travelogue, nice shots. Your post made me put mamallpuram in the list of places to visit immediate next. Thanks.

[GeeTee TSI]

For those interested in trivia, I would recommend this book 'Pallavas of Kanchipuram' by G Vignesh and K Ram

A treasure house of trivia, the book brings out those nuggets about the monuments otherwise unseen by a casual visitor