Landing in Chennai: Where to Go?

Have you booked a flight to India that lands in Chennai, and are you now wondering where to go? Chennai, on the southeast coast of India in Tamil Nadu, is a good alternative arrival airport in South India, and a starting point for trips down the coast. The modern East Coast Road connects Chennai to the temple town Mamallapuram and to the former French colonial town Puducherry, and you can easily visit all three places in a week.

Mamallapuram's Shore Temple in Tamil Nadu

The sad truth is, never really saw any sights in Chennai, because I visited in April and it was very hot and humid (tip number one: don’t go to the East Coast in April or May), and I spent most of the day in the Theosophical Society’s Gardens just outside the city (and first a couple of hours in a rickshaw looking for the gardens, after the prepaid rickshaw booth had assured me they knew the location, but the driver did not have a clue and took me to some sort of technical college instead), and then in an air-conditioned shopping centre drinking cold drinks.

There are, apparently, good classical music and dance performances in Chennai, and the city is the capital of the Tamil-language film industry. There is also a long town beach for seaside walks and some interesting temples.

Mamallapuram and the Shore Temple

Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) is a small temple town, a stonecarving centre and a backpacker beach resort around 60 km south from Chennai. The beach here is really not that great, but the cheap accommodation and the traveller restaurants attract backpacker crowds. There are also beach resorts along the coats between Chennai and Mamallapuram.

The highlight here is the Shore Temple, one of South India’s oldest temples and a Unesco World Heritage Site. This 7^th century temple was built by the Pallavas, who ruled the area from nearby Kanchipuram and built several beautiful temples in the area in the 7^th and 8^th centuries.  Also in Mamallapuram, the Five Rathas are temples carved out of a single piece of rock to resemble a chariot. Mamallapuram is also famous for its stonecarving industry and the carvers work day and night to create sculptures for local markets and for temples around the world. It doesn’t take long to see the main sights, and most people seem to stay longer mainly because of the beachside location.

The Five Rathas in Mamallapuram

There are frequent buses from Chennai to Mamallapuram. A taxi trip is affordable too, and takes around an hour. Mamallapuram is also a good base for exploring the temples in nearby Kanchipuram.

Croissants and Cakes in Puducherry (Pondicherry)

From Mamallapuram it is an easy bus trip down to Puducherry. Formerly known as Pondicherry (read here about the renaming of Indian cities), Puducherry is an old French colonial town, although if you arrive here expecting some sort of  a French seaside town you’ll be badly disappointed. However, if you arrive looking for a pleasant few days in one of the nicest South Indian cities, Pondicherry is a good place to take a break from travelling.

The city is divided into the French and the Indian part, and while the Indian part is just like any other South Indian city, the French part has cafés and restaurants that can seem like heaven if you’ve been in India long enough: croissants! fresh bread that is not a chapati! cakes! good coffee! There are also some good shops here; the Auroville boutique sells expensive, handmade, good quality souvenirs, groceries, clothes, soaps, incense etc. from the nearby Auroville community.

The French part of town has some pretty colonial buildings and gardens, a walkway along the town beach (there is no way I’m going to call it a “promenade”), and the most famous sight in Puducherry, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. The ashram (on Rue de la Marine) was established by the founders of Auroville: Sri Aurobindo and Mirra Alfassa, a Frenchwoman who was later known as “The Mother”. The ashram was founded in 1926 and is still very popular especially with French visitors. The tombs of both Sri Aurobindo and Mirra Alfassa are beautifully maintained on a peaceful courtyard, covered with flowers and always surrounded by devotees. The ashram is a nice place to visit even if you have never heard of Aurobindo, and you might even be inspired to continue to Auroville.

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