[sekharr]

Hi: I am planning to do Madurai-Rameswaram this month, also trying to visit Dhanuskodi. Can anyone let me know:
a) Road condition / travel time Madurai-Rameswaram
b) Whether cars are allowed into Rameswaram now? (I last went there as a kid, 30 years ago! No cars on the island then!!), I beleive the bridge is now open to road traffic?
c) Whether one can drive to Dhanushkodi (I am in a Honda City) I read somewhere that only 4-WD vehicles can make it up to Dhanuskodi, else one has to travel in a fish truck?
Any info on this would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance, guys!!

[amohit]

I did that trip last month.
Took NH49. Roads are quite ok. Don't remember jumping over humps at high speed, so either there are none or they are well marked
It took me 5 hrs to drive, but then I was driving quite slow.

From Rameshwaram to dhanuskodi, the initial 500mts of the road is very bad. Will make your heart sink down, but after that the road is narrow but good. Very scenic drive. Plan to do this stretch in early morning. There will be no crowd and weather will also be good. IMO you can give Rameshwaram a miss but not Dhanushkodi.

Regards,

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by sekharr

b) Whether cars are allowed into Rameswaram now? (I last went there as a kid, 30 years ago! No cars on the island then!!), I beleive the bridge is now open to road traffic?
c) Whether one can drive to Dhanushkodi (I am in a Honda City) I read somewhere that only 4-WD vehicles can make it up to Dhanuskodi, else one has to travel in a fish truck?
Any info on this would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance, guys!!

From Mandapam to Rameswaram Island, there is a magnificent 3-km long bridge, unlike earlier days when the only way to get to the island was by train.

You can go 14 kms from Rameswaram town towards Dhanushkodi till the check post. After that, you have to go in the 4x4 Mahindra Maxicabs to the actual old town (which has the ruins of the old railway station, hospital, church, etc that were destroyed during the 1960 cyclone). I don't think they allow regular cars beyond the check post point. In any case, it is better to go with the taxi operators since there is no well-defined road, the paths being eroded from time to time and covered by sea water during high tide.

[sdp1975]

Any latest updates on the madurai->rameswaram route ? How long would it approximately take to cover the distance ?

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Any latest updates on the madurai->rameswaram route ? How long would it approximately take to cover the distance ?

Depends on which part of Madurai From the Rameswaram exit at Madurai bypass, it will take around 3 hrs, from north Madurai it won't take more than 15-20 min to get here. If you are in South Madurai, it will take more than an hour to get to the exit point.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Depends on which part of Madurai From the Rameswaram exit at Madurai bypass, it will take around 3 hrs, from north Madurai it won't take more than 15-20 min to get here. If you are in South Madurai, it will take more than an hour to get to the exit point.

Actually I'm doing a Bangalore->Salem-Madurai->Rameswaram. Will be bypassing Madurai - sorry did not clarify earlier. So it would take 3 hrs I guess.

[venki.bala]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Actually I'm doing a Bangalore->Salem-Madurai->Rameswaram. Will be bypassing Madurai - sorry did not clarify earlier. So it would take 3 hrs I guess.

Yes. Absolutely correct. Till paramakudi the road will see traffic. After that it opens up. Road surface is good. 3 hours is absolutely doable.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Actually I'm doing a Bangalore->Salem-Madurai->Rameswaram. Will be bypassing Madurai - sorry did not clarify earlier. So it would take 3 hrs I guess.

It would take an hour easy to get from Samayanallur to Rameswaram exit. I hope you know the Rameswaram exit is on the bypass from Tirumangalam to Trichy.