Mahabalipuram

Mamallapuram மாமல்லபுரம் Mahabalipuram
town
View of Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram / Mamallapuram
Mamallapuram
Coordinates: 12°36′59″N 80°11′58″E / 12.616454°N 80.199370°E / 12.616454; 80.199370Coordinates: 12°36′59″N 80°11′58″E / 12.616454°N 80.199370°E / 12.616454; 80.199370
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Kancheepuram
Elevation	12 m (39 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	12,049
Languages
• Official	Tamil
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	603104
Telephone code	91-44

(Tamil:மாமல்லபுரம்) Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is a town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, around 60 km south of the city of Chennai. It is an ancient historic town and was a bustling seaport during the time of Periplus (1st century CE) and Ptolemy (140 CE), from where ancient Indian traders sailed to countries of South East Asia.

By the 7th century it was a port city of the South Indian dynasty of the Pallavas. It has a group of sanctuaries carved out of rock in the 7th and 8th centuries: rathas (temples in the form of chariots), mandapas (cave sanctuaries), giant open-air rock reliefs such as the famous Descent of the Ganges, and the Shore Temple, with thousands of sculptures to the glory of Shiva. The Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It has an average elevation of 12 metres (39 feet). The modern town of Mahabalipuram was established by the British Raj in 1827.

Mahabalipuram has a tropical climate. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is Aw. The average annual temperature is 28.4 °C. The temperatures are highest on average in May, at around 32.6 °C. In January, the average temperature is 24.3 °C, the lowest of the year. The average temperatures vary during the year by 8.3 °C. In a year, the average rainfall is 1219 mm. In winter, there is much less rainfall than in summer. The variation in the precipitation between the driest and wettest months is 309 mm.