Sixty kilometres south of Chennai, along the picturesque East Coast Road, lies the UNESCO World Heritage site of Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram. The 7th century Pallava temples are some of the finest examples of temple carving. Of the many monuments there, the magnificent two-towered Shore Temple is the pièce de résistance. While a large part of the carvings has been entirely lost to years of erosion, the proportionate structure flanked by the ocean is a sight to behold.
