Patrimoine

Five Rathas

#2sur 10 lieux à visiter à MahabalipuramMahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu

Aussi appelé Pancha Rathas · Pandava Rathas

L'essentiel

Horaires d'ouverture : 06:00–18:00. Entrée : ₹40 pour les Indiens · ₹600 pour les étrangers. Comptez 1 hr. Meilleure période : 16:00 – 17:00.

Mis à jour le 18 septembre 2026 · Rédigé par Traveliac, avec assistance IA · 4 min de lecture

ItinéraireSite officiel

Photo: Arupparia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Horaires d'ouverture: 06:00–18:00
Prix d'entrée: ₹40 pour les Indiens; Billet à partir de
Durée nécessaire: 1 hr
Meilleur moment de la journée: 16:00 – 17:00
Meilleurs mois: Oct – Mar
Adresse: Five Rathas Road, Mahabalipuram, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu 603104

À propos de Five Rathas

Five Rathas rise from a single elongated granite outcrop as five unconsecrated shrines, each carved to a distinct architectural template rather than assembled from separate blocks. Pallava king Narasimhavarman I, known by his title Mamalla, meaning 'great wrestler', commissioned the group in the mid-seventh century as what archaeologists read as a sculptor's workshop of prototypes — a stone catalogue of vimana roof styles rather than five working temples. Popular tradition names each ratha after a character from the Mahabharata (Dharmaraja, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula-Sahadeva, and Draupadi), but Archaeological Survey of India site plaques note plainly that this association is folklore layered on centuries after construction, not an inscriptional fact.

Meilleur moment de la journée : 16:00 – 17:00. For low-angle light across the carved plinths, after the midday tour-bus wave has cleared.

Horaires de Five Rathas

Five Rathas ouvre à 06:00 et ferme à 18:00. Ces horaires valent aussi le samedi et le dimanche.

Horaires d'ouverture: 06:00–18:00; Mon–Sun 06:00–18:00
Fermé le: Ouvert tous les jours

Mon–Sun	06:00–18:00

Horaires d'ouverture établis à partir de tamilnadutourism.tn.gov.in et de sources publiques, mis à jour le 18 septembre 2026. Ils peuvent changer sans préavis — vérifiez avant de partir. Comment nous rédigeons ces guides

Prix d'entrée de Five Rathas

Entry fees for Five Rathas
Billet	Prix
Visiteurs indiens	₹40
Visiteurs étrangers	₹600
Enfants	Gratuit
Caméra	Gratuit

Covered by the same ASI composite ticket sold at Shore Temple, valid the same calendar day at both sites once bought at either counter. Children under 15 enter free. ASI revises fees periodically, so as of 2026, verify the exact figure at the counter.

Tarifs établis à partir de tamilnadutourism.tn.gov.in et de sources publiques, mis à jour le 18 septembre 2026. Ils peuvent changer sans préavis — vérifiez avant de partir. Comment nous rédigeons ces guides

Meilleure période pour visiter Five Rathas

Quiet
Moderate
Busy
Very busy

06:30 – 09:00
Morning OpeningBest time to go
First arrivals after opening; the compound is calm enough to photograph individual rathas without other visitors in frame.
Quiet
09:30 – 13:00
Coach Tour Window
Day-tour buses from Chennai concentrate here alongside Shore Temple. Paths between the rathas narrow with foot traffic.
Very busy
13:00 – 15:30
Midday Lull
Crowd thins as groups move on to lunch or other sites. Flat, harsh light makes this the least photogenic window.
Moderate
15:30 – 18:00
Golden-Light Session
Photographers and a second wave of domestic visitors return for the low-angle evening light on the granite plinths.
Busy

Histoire de Five Rathas

Five Rathas were quarried and carved between roughly 630 and 668 CE, during Narasimhavarman I's reign, from a single ridge of pink-grey granite running along what was then the town's southern edge. None of the five structures was ever consecrated with a deity or opened for worship; unfinished plinth carvings on several rathas, abandoned mid-chisel, support the archaeological reading that Mamallapuram's stoneworkers used the site to trial different temple silhouettes before committing a finished design elsewhere in the Pallava kingdom. Bhima Ratha's barrel-vaulted roof previews the gopuram form that would dominate Tamil temple architecture for the next thousand years, while Dharmaraja Ratha's stepped pyramidal tower anticipates the vimana of Kanchipuram's later Pallava temples. A free-standing stone elephant and a Nandi bull, carved from separate boulders, stand beside the rathas as full-scale companion pieces, reinforcing the reading of the site as a workshop display rather than a temple complex. UNESCO listed the group in 1984 within the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram.

Règles et étiquette à Five Rathas

Five Rathas requires the same ASI composite ticket sold at Shore Temple — ₹40 Indian / ₹600 foreign as of 2026 — and a ticket bought at either site admits the holder to both on the same calendar day. Climbing onto any of the five structures is prohibited and actively enforced by ASI guards stationed around the compound; the granite surfaces are original seventh-century stone with no restoration coating, and repeated foot traffic accelerates surface wear. Shoes may be worn throughout, since none of the rathas is an active shrine. Tripod photography and drone flights require advance written permission from the ASI Chennai Circle office, the same rule that applies across all Mahabalipuram monuments.

Conseils pour visiter Five Rathas

1
Five Rathas rewards a slow circuit rather than a straight walk-through — the five structures sit close enough together that visitors often photograph only the front three and miss Nakula-Sahadeva Ratha's apsidal, chariot-shaped rear wall tucked behind the stone elephant. Late afternoon light around 16:00–17:00 rakes across the carved plinths at a low angle and brings out relief details that flatten under the harsh midday sun. The compound has minimal shade, so carrying water is worth it even for a 45-minute visit. Combine the stop with Ganesha Ratha, a ten-minute auto ride or a manageable 20-minute walk north into town, to see a sixth, later-consecrated ratha built in the same quarrying tradition.

Comment se rendre à Five Rathas

L'étoile rouge indique Five Rathas ; les repères numérotés sont les 7 lieux les plus proches de nos guides, chacun avec son classement dans sa ville. Touchez un repère pour plus de détails.

Five Rathas Road, Mahabalipuram, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu 603104Itinéraire sur Google Maps

Depuis Shore Temple / ASI Ticket Counter
₹60–₹100
3 km · 8–12 min
Auto
Depuis Chengalpattu Junction (CGL)
₹550–₹750
31 km · 50–65 min
Auto/cab
Depuis Mahabalipuram Bus Stand
₹50–₹80
1.5 km · 18–20 min walk / 6 min auto
Auto

Aéroport le plus proche

Depuis Chennai International Airport (MAA)

approximately 58 km, 1h 15m–1h 45m by road via ECR/OMR depending on traffic.

Gare la plus proche

Depuis Chengalpattu Junction (CGL)

approximately 29 km, 45–60 minutes by road.

FAQ — Five Rathas

Are the Five Rathas active temples?

No. None of the five rathas was ever consecrated with a deity; ASI signage describes them as unfinished architectural prototypes carved by Pallava stoneworkers, not functioning shrines.

Is the ticket separate from the Shore Temple ticket?

No. The same ₹40 Indian / ₹600 foreign composite ticket, bought at either location, covers both Five Rathas and Shore Temple on the day of purchase.

Why are the five structures named after Mahabharata characters if they were never consecrated?

The Dharmaraja, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula-Sahadeva, and Draupadi names are a later folk tradition, not an original inscription; the ASI treats the association as legend rather than documented history.

Can visitors touch or climb the rathas?

No. ASI guards enforce a no-climbing, no-touching rule across the compound to protect the unrestored seventh-century granite surfaces from further wear.

Rédigé avec l'assistance de l'IA à partir de sources officielles et de registres publics, et publié seulement après les vérifications décrites dans Comment nous rédigeons ces guides. Personne chez Traveliac ne s'est rendu sur place. Mis à jour le 18 septembre 2026. Comment nous classons et vérifions les lieux