[Bibin]

Done with Dhanushkodi trip over the weekend, Started by 3AM in the mornng from Bangalore and reached Dindigul by 7AM and then got a little struggled in Madurai and the roads post Madurai were not that easy which made us to reach Rameshwaram by around 12.30PM, then we had a non veg lunch at a small restaurant there called Chola restaurant then headed to Pamban bridge and spent some time there as well on the bridge, then we reached Dhanushkodi by around 2PM and the vans were getting filled and thus we also took a van, its 150 per head to reach the old Dhanushkodi town via the shallow sea. 30min journey to the point, 30mins to spend time there and 30mins for return trip. The new road is still closed for visitors and the new road is in excellent condition and I got to know that its closed for now because some part of the road was attacked by high waves and is damaged partly. Within some 3months they ll open it for public, and till that tie on the 4x4 Mahindra van ride will be available. will post few photos soon.

After finishing Dhanushkodi we set out for Velankanni which was 200Kms away and started by 4PM and reached late by 8.30PM in Velankanni

[RapidRavi]

Hi,

I am planning for a drive till Dhanuskodi next week. Is this road drivable now? Last time i visited, this road was under construction. From latest post this seems to be under repair now. Please help with updates from last visits. Also, Is June bad time to enter this road with monsoons in few days?

Thanks in advance .

[Snehal Sekhar]

Originally Posted by RapidRavi

Is this road drivable now? Last time i visited, this road was under construction. From latest post this seems to be under repair now.

I had ridden there in May this year and only two wheelers and local jeep/tempo taxis were allowed to go until Dhanushkodi. All private cars/4 wheelers had to park their vehicles a few kilometers ahead and use one of these taxis to get to the place. Not sure if there has been any change in a month.

[tharian]

That's a bummer. I was planning to visit Dhanushkodi just to drive on the new road till Lands end. I was driving to Velankanni and was to drive down to Rameshwaram on day 2.

[Gannu_1]

Finally!

Modi to inaugurate Dhanushkodi road

Prime Minister Narendra Modi would inaugurate the much awaited newly laid Dhanushkodi road, which linked the abandoned pilgrim town, more than five decades ago after it was devastated in the 1964 cyclonic storm.

After dedicating to the nation, the memorial of former president APJ Abdul Kalam at Pei Karumbu near Rameswaram on July 27, the Prime Minister would ‘dedicate to the nation, the missing link of 9.5-km-long stretch of NH 49 (new NH no 87) from Mukuntharayar Chathiram to Arichamunai,’ official sources said.

Overcoming many hurdles, the National Highways began the work three years ago and completed the 9.5-km-long road – 5 km from Mukuntharayar Chathiram to Dhanushkodi and 4.5 km from Dhanushkodi to Arichamunai, the eastern tip in October last at a total cost of ₹ 70 crore.

Even after completing all works and laying rotary at the end in Arichamunai for vehicles to turn around, the road remained closed for traffic as high tides dislodged the gabion boxes in November last year. Later, the NH built a 1.5- km-long sea wall at Arichamunai point and 500-metre-long sea wall at Dhanushkodi point and made the stretch ready to be opened for traffic.

[arunramaswamy]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Finally!

Modi to inaugurate Dhanushkodi road

This is awesome news.

Finally we get to enjoy probably the only "ghost" town in Tamil Nadu and probably in the whole of India.

Hope this does not turns out to be another Leh/Ladhak situation where the van operators form a cartel and stop self riding and private cars from entering Dhanushkodi.

Does it take us to Ram sethu itself?

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by arunramaswamy

Does it take us to Ram sethu itself?

Please check Google Maps - Dhanushkodi

You can see a newly laid road till Dhanushkodi.

This comes as a good news to me! Will be headed there next month-end.

[arun_josie]

Good to hear that finally this road is being opened for public. Here is a pic from the newly laid stretch(last 5Kms), this was taken during my drive last year.

[Torino]

We did a Chennai-Pondicherry-Velankanni-Dhanushkodi-Tiruchendur-Manapad-Kanniyakumari-Chennai drive during the long weekend earlier this week and I am happy to say that the newly laid road all the way till Arichal Munai is open to public vehicles. During the initial planning stage I was skeptical about the entry of private vehicles in this newly laid road and the online info were not positive either. The only saving grace was the news about PM Modi's visit and road inauguration. All I wanted was to visit this beautiful place and drive as far as I can go. As soon as we entered Dhanushkodi I was surprised to see vehicles speeding across the final check post and into the newly laid road. We visited Dhanushkodi on Sunday at around 12:00pm and the final 500mts of the road had lot of people and vehicles parked on either side of the road. One should drive to this amazing place early in the morning or don't visit on public holidays to avoid speeding vehicles and the crowd.

En route to Dhanushkodi.


The last mile before you reach the land's end.


One of the best driving roads in the country.


Easily the best place to park and admire your ride. That's our Ertiga a.k.a Starship.

[ampere]

Great update and great to know about the end to end drive as well. One of the best actually to go along the coast: the ECR. In fact south of Velankanni it brings out the best. And now this completion makes it really complete!

[CAPTAIN REX]

Originally Posted by Torino

One should drive to this amazing place early in the morning or don't visit on public holidays to avoid speeding vehicles and the crowd.

Finally managed to visit Rameshwaram during this long weekend. This had been one (among a lot) destination that had been long pending ever since we moved into Chennai.
Drove down to Rameshwaram on Saturday. It was a straight Chennai to Rameshwaram trip. No other destinations in between. I like to take things one at a time.
Left Chennai at 0700 hrs on Saturday.
Route taken Chennai (kottivakkam) - Chengelpet - Trichy - Pudukotai - Ramnad - Rameshwaram.
Reached the hotel at Rameshwaram at 1830 hrs.

Major stops : breakfast - 1 hour, lunch - 1 hour, and then stopped for around 30 minutes at Pamban bridge. Got to the bridge just in time to see a train pass by.

Except for a stretch of roads between Pudukotai and Ramnad which was potholed n bad, the roads were excellent. 4/6 lane till Trichy, and then 2 lane after that.

Total TOLL paid was Rs 310/ one way.

Stay was at SS Grand, Rameshwaram. Quite an okay hotel. Sufficient parking within the compound, fairly decent rooms and service, and a good vegetarian restaurant.

The staff at the hotel were not aware that the road to the tip was accessible to private vehicles. When asked, they informed me that after a certain point, we will have to use the local Jeeps, and was open from 6 am to 6 pm only.

Since we had nothing much to do that evening, we decided to drive down towards Dhanushkodi at night, and check what the status was like, first hand.

Drove down till we reached a police barricade, and was stopped from proceeding further by a policeman. This check post was about 5.5 km from the tip. He informed us that the road to the tip is now open to all, and there is no need to hire a jeep etc. Timings were the same, from 6 am to 6 pm, so returned back to the hotel, happy to know that we could drive our own vehicle right till the end.
Next day, Sunday woke up at 5 am, got ready, picked up the 2 sleepy heads and left the hotel for Dhanushkodi at 0535 hrs. Distance from hotel to the tip was 22 km.

Reached there just in time for the sunrise, and what a sight. The sea and sand, all around the tip of land. All grumbles from wife and kids were laid to rest.

Below is the last leg before the end of the road. Since we were early, (most others were busy going to the temple ) there was not much of a crowd, and we had ample space to park.

https://youtu.be/-eEu6YFWFzE

We returned back to the hotel at around 0930 hrs, the kids having a blast playing in the water. The water was quite shallow with light waves, and they could wade into the water safely. And by that time the crowd had started to pile up.

Few photos of the place.

The location on the phones GPS. We are in the sea.


Sunrise. Was a bit cloudy, but still eye catching.


The sea at Dhanushkodi. Calm and serene.


A piping hot breakfast from one of the road side thatched stalls. Idlis, dosas and vadas.


This lady mistook my son for a girl. The matter was sorted out when she went in, came out with a comb and combed his hair to make him look like a boy.


Enroute to a temple on the Dhanushkodi road. (Kothandaramasamy Temple).




The road at night.


The check post (5.5 km before the tip), closes at 6 pm. No entry after that.


SS GRAND by day


SS GRAND by night

[dean5545]

Originally Posted by ampere

Great update and great to know about the end to end drive as well. One of the best actually to go along the coast: the ECR. In fact south of Velankanni it brings out the best. And now this completion makes it really complete!

Originally Posted by Bibin

After finishing Dhanushkodi we set out for Velankanni which was 200Kms away and started by 4PM and reached late by 8.30PM in Velankanni

Any one done Dhanushkodi-Velainkanni recently? Google maps suggest AH-49.
Planning to do so in the coming week. How are the roads between Dhanushkodi and Velankanni?
Will be starting for Dhanushkodi from Kodungalloor(Kerala), stay a night (good stay options welcome) drive on the famous stretch early morning and leave for Velankanni by 11.00am. Next day go for mass at Velankanni and leave for Bangalore, from where I carry on to Mumbai.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by dean5545

How are the roads between Dhanushkodi and Velankanni?

I've done the ECR partially which is in good shape till Kattumavadi. The road is unlikely to have deteriorated, since there is hardly any usage since its surfacing in 2010.

Since you are coming from KL I expect you'd be via Madurai, watch out for diversions on Madurai-Ramnad sector as it is being 4-laned.