Heritage

Five Rathas

#2of 10 places to visit in MahabalipuramMahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu

Also known as Pancha Rathas · Pandava Rathas

Quick answer

Opening hours: 06:00–18:00. Entry: ₹40 Indian · ₹600 foreign. Allow 1 hr. Best time: 16:00 – 17:00.

Updated 18 September 2026 · Compiled by Traveliac, AI-assisted · 4 min read

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

Opening hours: 06:00–18:00
Entry fee: ₹40 Indian; Ticket from
Time needed: 1 hr
Best time of day: 16:00 – 17:00
Best months: Oct – Mar
Address: Five Rathas Road, Mahabalipuram, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu 603104

About 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.

Best time of day: 16:00 – 17:00. For low-angle light across the carved plinths, after the midday tour-bus wave has cleared.

Five Rathas timings

Five Rathas opens at 06:00 and closes at 18:00. Those hours hold on Saturday and Sunday too.

Opening hours: 06:00–18:00; Mon–Sun 06:00–18:00
Closed on: Open every day

Mon–Sun	06:00–18:00

Opening hours compiled from tamilnadutourism.tn.gov.in and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Five Rathas ticket price

Entry fees for Five Rathas
Ticket	Price
Indian visitors	₹40
Foreign visitors	₹600
Children	Free
Camera	Free

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.

Prices compiled from tamilnadutourism.tn.gov.in and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Best time to visit 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

History of 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.

Rules & etiquette at 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.

Tips for visiting 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.

How to reach Five Rathas

The red star is Five Rathas; the numbered pins are the 7 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.

Five Rathas Road, Mahabalipuram, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu 603104Directions in Google Maps

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

Nearest airport

From Chennai International Airport (MAA)

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

Nearest railway station

From Chengalpattu Junction (CGL)

approximately 29 km, 45–60 minutes by road.

Five Rathas FAQs

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.

Compiled with AI assistance from official sources and public records, and published only after the checks in How we write these guides. Nobody from Traveliac has visited this place. Last updated 18 September 2026. How we rank and check places