Rameshwaram

The temple town of Rameswaram in state of Tamil Nadu in South India, is an island in the Gulf of Mannar off the tip of the peninsula. As the legend goes this is the place where Lord Rama and his monkey army built the bridge to Ravana's Lanka to rescue Sita, as per the epic Ramayana.

The Ramanathaswami Temple is about a hundred meters from the shore. It marks the place where Rama is said to have earned Shiva's forgiveness for killing Ravana. The temple is huge with a 54 meter high gopuram and a corridor that is 1220 meters long, lined with 1200 huge granite pillars. The Agni Teertham is when devotees purify themselves in the seawater around. The temple complex has 22 wells, each of which is supposed to have different tasting water. Gandamadham Parvatham is the highest point in the island. The hall has a wheel (chakra) which bears a footprint believed to be Rama's.

 Dhanushkodi, an island named after Rama's bow is eight kms from the southern tip of the island. The boulders around are believed to be from the bridge that Rama's monkey army built to get across to Ravana's Lanka. Devastated by a cyclone in 1964, all that remains here is an ancient temple and its idols of figures from the epic.

 Rameswaram is not only a pilgrimage, the Kurusadai Islands west of the Pamban Bridge are of great interest to marine biologists as is the entire area around here. The gulf has been declared a biosphere reserve. The coral reefs are beautiful and home to lots of sea-creatures. Boat rides to the islands can be arranged from Mandapam.

 The district headquarters at Ramanathapuram (55 km) are to be visited for the Ramvilas Palace of Sethupati kings. The walls are very entertaining, with oil portraits of the kings and murals of such sundry occasions as battles with Marathas and business meetings with the Brits!

 Kanchirankullam (35 km) is a water bird sanctuary and is home to many species throughout the year. The season is from November to February.

 Valinokkam (90 km) is a seaside village largely untouched by consumerism and tourism. The water is clear and clean and ideal for swimming. The seaside is peppered with little stalls selling wares of seashell art; corals, conches and palm leaf drawings are available around the beach.

 When to go:

 The weather here is hot and humid all through the year and summer and winter temperatures don't vary by much. However, the months of Jan/Feb are more comfortable than May/ June.

 How to get there:

 Air: The nearest airport is at Madurai (167 km), which is linked to major cities in the country by domestic airlines.

 Railways: The railway station receives meter gauge trains from Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai, Thanjavur and Chennai, which in turn are connected to the rest of the country.

 Road: Rameswaram is well connected to all the main towns in Tamil Nadu by road as well. Chennai is quite a distance by road (666km); Madurai is the nearest big town (167 km). The Pamban Bridge connects Rameswaram to the mainland.