Tiger Cave

Tiger Cave at Mahabalipuram is a rock-cut monument from the 7th century CE featuring a remarkable facade carved to resemble the open mouth of a yali (mythical lion-tiger) with the central shrine set within its jaws. This unique form of rock-cut architecture — using the rock face to create an animal-face doorway — is found nowhere else in South India. The cave also features seated figures of apsaras on either side of the yali head. The Tiger Cave is located about 5 km north of the main Mahabalipuram complex near Saluvankuppam village and is a fascinating and lesser-visited Pallava-era monument.