[nairrk]

Hi guys

Need some assistance from those who have travelled these routes or if some one staying nearby..

1st Day we will be staying at Madurai.

2nd Day we will be arriving in Rameswaram in the morning (thinking of leaving Madurai around 6.30/7:00 AM which means we will be reaching Rameswaram around 10/11 AM) and planning to stay at Rameswaram. What are the most important places to visit there - We all want to see the Pampan Bridge. Besides Pampan Bridge, what are the other must see places (Google shows - Arulmigu Ramanathan Swamy Temple, ADam's Bridge, Jadayu, Theertham,Hanuman Temple etc).?

The idea is that in case we finish sight seeing earlier in Rameswaram, then instead of staying there, we want to proceed towards Vellore and stay somewhere in between?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by nairrk

Need some assistance from those who have travelled these routes or if some one staying nearby..

Apart from the Pamban bridge (try to time it so that you can view a passing train on the Rail bridge) and the Ramanathaswamy temple, there are a bunch of other Theerthams/small temples with ponds that have some relevance to the Ramayana.
There is also former President Late APJ Abdul Kalam's home and now a very good memorial also that was opened in 2017.
You should also not miss a visit to Dhanushkodi, especially now since the road has been extended to the Land's end and was opened to public in 2017.
Dhanushkodi is too good to be missed
*If time is a constraint and you're not too religiously inclined maybe you can find the right balance and prioritise your choices of places to visit.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by nairrk

Hi guys

Need some assistance from those who have travelled these routes or if some one staying nearby..

1st Day we will be staying at Madurai.

2nd Day we will be arriving in Rameswaram in the morning (thinking of leaving Madurai around 6.30/7:00 AM which means we will be reaching Rameswaram around 10/11 AM) and planning to stay at Rameswaram. What are the most important places to visit there - We all want to see the Pampan Bridge. Besides Pampan Bridge, what are the other must see places (Google shows - Arulmigu Ramanathan Swamy Temple, ADam's Bridge, Jadayu, Theertham,Hanuman Temple etc).?

The idea is that in case we finish sight seeing earlier in Rameswaram, then instead of staying there, we want to proceed towards Vellore and stay somewhere in between?

Plan for a train journey across the Pamban Bridge. You can also visit the Kodaramar Temple that was worshiped by Vibeeshana, brother of Ravana

[nairrk]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Plan for a train journey across the Pamban Bridge. You can also visit the Kodaramar Temple that was worshiped by Vibeeshana, brother of Ravana

Thanks your guidance.

We will be reaching there on a traveler, also we need to leave Rameswaram by evening so there is no chance to travel across the Pamban Bride.

[chandras1]

AFAIK, no trains now run up to Rameshwaram as the bridge is under going repairs. All of them stop at Mandapam station.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by nairrk

We all want to see the Pampan Bridge. Besides Pampan Bridge, what are the other must see places (Google shows - Arulmigu Ramanathan Swamy Temple, ADam's Bridge, Jadayu, Theertham,Hanuman Temple etc).?

Pampan Bridge is on the way to Rameshwaram, so for sure you would see it. You need to be at Rameshwaram, you have to go via Pampan Bridge . I just crossed the bridge two days back, if the vehicle movement on the bridge is less the police generally allows people to stop the vehicle take the mandatory pictures and the move on. Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple is a big temple located at the end of Rameshwaram (close to the see). I think there is a dress code for men (dhothis/vella mundu required). I did not go inside the temple, just prayed from outside.

Adam's bridge I guess is another name of the road towards Dhanushkodi. Dhanushkodi is around 24 kms away from Rameshwaram, and I drove to the end of it early in the morning. If you leave Rameshwaram by around 0615Hrs you should be in time to reach the place when the sun is rising. No point in going earlier, because there is a Thamizh Naaad kaaval check post which would be closed.

The idea is that in case we finish sight seeing earlier in Rameswaram, then instead of staying there, we want to proceed towards Vellore and stay somewhere in between?

Google shows 497km as the distance from Rameshwaram to Vellore. In the route shown by Google, Thiruchirappali seems to be the mid-point and would ideally become the halting point as well. From Rameshwaram, I had gone via the ECR towards Velankanni & Tharagambadi side. Halted at Tharagambadi.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

I think there is a dress code for men (dhothis/vella mundu required).

No dress code. I was there in shirt and pants just 2 months back. One thing that is posted multiple times in the temple, is one shouldn't enter the temple wet (after the 22 well bath).

Adam's bridge I guess is another name of the road towards Dhanushkodi. Dhanushkodi is around 24 kms away from Rameshwaram

Adam's bridge is the shallow formation in the sea between India and Srilanka beyond Dhanushkodi. It is not the road between Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi.

Dhanushkodi was functioning seaside village until the Christmas super cyclone of 1964. At that time, Boatmail used to run until Dhanushkodi and a ferry used to run between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar in Srilanka.

Originally Posted by nairrk

we want to proceed towards Vellore and stay somewhere in between?

As Sachin mentions, Trichy would be ideal. It is 4 hrs from Rameswaram and another 6 hrs to Vellore. The only constraint is you won't find stay options across the range beyond Trichy.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Dhanushkodi was functioning seaside village until the Christmas super cyclone of 1964. At that time, Boatmail used to run until Dhanushkodi and a ferry used to run between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar in Srilanka.

When you are in Rameshwaram, you need to cross almost 2 km of a bridge over the Bay of Bengal - either in Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge or the Pamban bridge. Pamban bridge was commissioned in 1914. It is a cantilever type of bridge which allowed workmen to haul the moving part up when small ships needed to pass under it. For the English and the Indian crew who built the steel bridge at that time, it must have been a herculean task.

This bridge faces the worst kind of weather every year and it is a feat it still is up. The road bridge was built in the later part of 20th century. Talking of bridges, there was a rail link from Pamban - the main land of India to Danushkodi - the end point of the small island - about 18 km from Rameshwaram island. On the night of 25th December 1964, ( there must be something dark about this time - 1964/2004), a train carrying about 115 people was washed away in a tidal wave killing all of them and reducing the Danushkodi township to a ghost town. It wiped out almost 2000 people.

Interesting for the History buffs, is there was a train service called as Boat Mail - till 1960s from Madras Egmore to Danushkodi where you board a ferry service to Talaimannar in Ceylon ( present Sri Lanka). This was established during the British Raj. British Raj administered large tracts of land from South India extending to Ceylon from its Madras HQ.

For the history buffs, I have quoted from a Travelogue here:https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post2632386 (Braving Cyclone Thane to see Temples, Basilicas)


Danushkodi in those days remained a Ghost town. With proper roads now, the situation may have changed now. The ruins of the town and the local legend kept people away from the island during the night. The local legend used to say that you can hear ominous cries during the late evening. It was a haunted island. The LTTE at that time probably used this haunting to their advantage when they smuggled fuel and medicine to Srilanka when they were active.


Sorry about the Off topic.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Am not 100% sure on the Chidambaram-Vadalur section. The ECR until Chidambaram is good. Vadalur-Vriddachalam-Veppur-V Koot Road-Salem is in top shape. Beyond V Koot Road it is 4-laned.

Updates on this road. And to be frank, this would have been the most beautiful stretch of the route which I travelled. Looks like this route lies in the big agricultural belt of Tamil Nadu. ECR going on the coastal areas had a dried/arid look, but that changed on the Tharagambadi->Chidambaram route. Tharagambadi->Chidambaram section had good roads, but it was narrow with heavy vehicle traffic. One slow moving bus, or worse tipper truck caused a big head-ache to vehicles following it. Skipped the Chidambaram town via a byepass. Some where right after Bhuvanagiri, Google maps rerouted me to what can be called typical village roads. It was via Manaveli, Alambadi, Muthukrishnapuram etc. Narrow road with a water canal on the left side. This was a bus route, but the villagers often gave strange looks to a KA registered car with a wonderstuck driver in it. At a few places real big agricultural fields/farms were seen on the sides of the road with not even a vehicle any where near my own. I took multiple breaks in this section just to appreciate the sereneness of the area. Often I could see a vehicle approaching me from a very far distance. Finally I was led into the NH (36?) coming from Sethiyathope leading to Vadalur. Please note, this route may not be "family friendly" as a family may get worried, and there are also no hotels, public toilets etc.

Vadalur town was crowded, and the wide roads have been encroached and made into a two wheeler parking lot. But from here on till Virudachalam byepass and then further beyond to Veppur the roads were good. Typical SHs of TN with good road and big trees giving shade. At Veppur there was a nasty intersection which had to be crossed and this was also a market area. From there on I was on the "Mettupalayam-Cuddalore road" *. Some where, this road joined with a road coming from Chinna Salem side. And from then own it was the usual "life on the express highway" . I started from Tharagambadi at 0800Hrs sharp and reached my home at 1600Hrs sharp. This was after taking multiple breaks of around 1 hour.

*: Seems to be a historical road most likely charted and executed by the British. Cuddalore was an important port for the British, and Mettupalayam at the foot hills of a hill station (Ootacamund) which again was a favourite place for their relaxation. The mountain railway would take them all up from Mettupalayam to Ooty.

Originally Posted by Prowler

Danushkodi in those days remained a Ghost town. With proper roads now, the situation may have changed now. The ruins of the town and the local legend kept people away from the island during the night. The local legend used to say that you can hear ominous cries during the late evening.

The excellent road now leading to the very last point is now going to change things at Danushkodi. On the negative side, local people who used to take visitors on modified jeeps and Mahindra vans across the sand dunes have now made jobless. But on the positive side, I saw lots of eateries opened up in a few spots closer to the end of the road. This road is still blocked between 1700Hrs and 0600Hrs. I reached the Ashoka Pillar area by around 0645Hrs and by 0700Hrs I also found an enterprising local chap who came on his TVS 50 moped with hot tea & snacks.

The whole area still would give an eerie feeling at the night. Howling winds and rough seas would make lots of strange noises in the night. And the sad history of the town would also make the ambience more scary. But today I also saw lots of huts on the sides of the road, many of them with children in school uniforms. Which also means that the area is getting encroached and it is no more a "ghost town". Give it a few more years, perhaps the whole area would get changed.

The LTTE at that time probably used this haunting to their advantage when they smuggled fuel and medicine to Srilanka when they were active.

Modern history has been an area of immense interest to me, and so IPKF & LTTE etc had caught my attention quite early on. Danushkodi, Kodikkarai, Vedaranyam etc were the place names which came up quite often when I read books on LTTE. Tiruchi/Tiruchirappali was another prominent city which gets mentioned as well. This road trip I made also made me appreciate the details mentioned in the books. It was now that I checked the maps in more detail, and could easily understand the lay of the land. Danushkodi was real close to Talai Mannar, and Kodikkarai and Vedaranyam was real close to Jaffna, Velvetti Thurai & Kankesan Thurai (all in North Sri Lanka, and LTTE strong hold). And in the 1980s and 1990s this part of Indian coast line would have been more deserted, with lesser vehicles on the road. Good VHF walkie talkies would have been all that was required to maintain communication, coast to coast. The sea becomes a good natural "bouncer" of the signals as well.

[nairrk]

Thanks your updates which I missed as we all left home on the 2nd February early morning (5:30AM).

We reached Pamban Bridge on 3rd Feb around 3 pm, walked on the bridge from one end to another enable enjoy the beauty of the bridge. Then we proceeded to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial, and finally Ramanathan Swamy Temple.

We tried to get rooms in Rameswaram but found that most of the budget hotels were fully booked (those who had rooms were costlier ones, say Rs.2500 per double room and above) so we decided not to waste time and proceeded towards Vellore. At 9:30 Pm we reached Devakottai and settled there for the day.

[iVento]

Did Bangalore - Madurai - Rameswaram - Dhanushkodi in November 2018. Sharing couple of dashcam videos here.

Drive from Rameswaram Town to Dhanushkodi (Uncut)

https://youtu.be/eQbTY5AZWGA

Drive over Pamban Bridge & Entry in to Rameswaram Town (Uncut)

https://youtu.be/S2ZarqPov9k?list=PL...bTj1mdQuq6FQFx

[dsnaveen21]

Guys,

I am planning to visit Rameshwaram from Bangalore on 2nd week of August.
Plan is to reach same day.
Should i follow Google maps.

Please let me know.

Thanks,
Naveen

[laluks]

Originally Posted by dsnaveen21

Guys,

I am planning to visit Rameshwaram from Bangalore on 2nd week of August.
Plan is to reach same day.
Should i follow Google maps.

Please let me know.

Thanks,
Naveen

Please check my travelogue here (S-Cross'd : Land's End (Dhanushkodi))

Shows you the details of the route and also a GPS log as kml file for you to use. Have a great drive

[dsnaveen21]

Hi laluks, Thanks for reply.

Checked the link below, it says "The team -bhp database has encountered a problem"

GPS trail of our drive
Rameshwaram.kml

Thanks,
Naveen

[laluks]

Originally Posted by dsnaveen21

Hi laluks, Thanks for reply.

Checked the link below, it says "The team -bhp database has encountered a problem"

GPS trail of our drive
Rameshwaram.kml

Thanks,
Naveen

Just checked the link. It works. Please try again