For your next vacation, plan a tour to Mahabalipuram better known as "City of seven pagodas" in Tamil Nadu, India with Vacations India. A South India holiday package includes a tour of the Mahabalipuram group of temples, which is a U.N. recognized heritage site. These temples were built in the 7th century by the Pallavas and they consist of about 70 rock-cut monoliths, with sculptures which depict Gods and animals.

While on your tour or vacation there are numerous old sites you can see, such as the Five Rathas, Arjuna's Penance, Mandapams and Shore Temple.

One of the most important places to see is the site where The Five Rathas or Chariots are located. The Rathas are mini shrines carved out of one rock. The Five Rathas are Dharmaraja Ratha, Bhima Ratha, Arjuna Ratha, Draupadi Ratha and Nakul Sahadev Ratha. These Rathas are worth a close look, for you would notice that the Draupadi's Rath has the image of Draupadi carved on the inside whereas the Arjuna's Ratha has the image of Indra on its rear wall.

Since most of these places are quite close, you can also visit The Arjuna's Penance or the Bhagiratha's Penance which is a big panel with sculptures and life size images. According to one belief, Arjuna, one of the Pandav brothers, did penance so as to acquire a powerful weapon with which to destroy his enemies. The other or the second belief is that it is in fact Bhagiratha's penance to get Ganges River down to the earth. Supposedly the Lord Shiva answered his prayers and the cleft in the rock face depicts this very flow of Ganges.

Now your tour is incomplete without a visit to the eight Mandapams. They are- the Dharmaraja, Kotikal, Mahishasura, Krishna, Pandava, Varaha, Ramanuja and Shiva mandapams. These rock cut Mandapams depict mythical stories and epics. For instance, the Krishna Mandapam depicts a story of Krishna's childhood when he held aloft the Govardhana hill to protect the people of Gokulam from excessive rain. Then there is the Varaha Mandapam, depicting the two avatars of lord Vishnu. One as Varaha (with a boar head) and the other as Vamana avataram (dwarf Brahmin boy).

Then on your tour you can also see the Shore temple which is a structural temple unlike the rock cut temples. This shrine is dedicated to both Shiva and Vishnu. There are two Vimanas, the Ksatriyasimheswara, which faces the east and Rajasimheswara which faces the west. The former is dedicated to the Lord Vishnu and the latter to Lord Shiva.

With such great places to see, there is no doubt why Mahabalipuram, one of the many temple towns of South India is a favorite among the tourists or vacationers. The South India holiday packages or the Temple Tours of South India include a visit to all these various temples and sculptures which are not merely beautiful to look at but also represent the rich history of South India.

Vacations India gives you a chance to experience these great places, where you can enjoy a good time with your family and also learn a great deal about the architectural style as well as the great mythology of India through the numerous stories narrated by the sculptures.