In the beginning of this year I have visited Mahabalipuram,Chennai, India. This is one of the ancient towns and used to be an important sea port during the ancient times ( around 1st century). This was an amazing look back into the time for me. This ancient town was established by Pallavas dynasty (around 7th-8th centuries).The main attraction here is the rock-cut caves and temples which were built in 7th century, during the reign of Pallava dynasty. Its amazing to see they are still standing and mesmerize you with the beautiful carvings . Seashore Temple, The five rathas ( Chariot shaped temples ) , rock carvings,Bay of Bengal sea shore and so on.
This place is also associated with Hindu mythology ,descent of Ganges , and there is also a myth saying that there used to be 7 pagodas near the shore where the shoretemple stands now, today there's only one temple stands at the shores of bay of Bengal ,called shore temple. The remaining 6 pagodas are said to be under water.
The shore temple ( deity:- Shiva )
Some pics of the five rathas (Chariot shaped temples, also called vimanas ) :