Rameswaram – The Indian Island

We all heard about Ramayan the hindu Epic and most people also seen the Epic Ramayan over television through Ramanand Sagar. This Epic showed us how lord Rama and his vanar sena fought with Raavana the lanka king and how they gain victory over Ravana and escaped sita (wife of Rama) from lanka. So guys today I am going to present my article over Rameswaram the island which is situated in southernmost part of India in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu and it is also known as Pamban Island.

Rameswaram is located in Gulf of Mannar it’s a small town cum island of Tamil Nadu(India) this island is surrounded with Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean and it is about 55 KM from Mannar Island. This is the place where  Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva for the power and blessings and created Jyotirlinga which is now known as Rameswaram jyotirlinga and it is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga according to Hindu Mythology where Lord Rama built a bridge Ram Setu to Lanka.

Rameswaram is included in char dham with Badrinath, Dwarka and Puri and it is highly sacred by Hindus to visit Char Dham during one’s lifetime. The Ramanatha Swamy Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva which covers the major part of Rameswaram. The Ramanatha temple is believed to have been consecrated by Shri Rama Chandra there is a high compound wall on all four side of the temple premises about 865 feet furlong from east to west and one furlongs of 657 feet from north to south with huge Gopurams (Towers) the temple is consist of long corridors in its interior, running between huge colonnades on platforms above five feet high.

Rameswaram is considered as the major pilgrimage to the Hindus. On every year many devotees visits Rameswaram from various parts of India and it is one of the major tourist place in Tamil Nadu. Rameswaram consist majority of 87.4% Hindus,  and minorities of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists.

There are few places in Rameswaram which is highly preferable tourist destination such as Dhanushkodi  and it is about 29 KM west of Talaimannar in Sri Lanka it is the place where lord Rama a built called Ram Setu which connects the mainland to Sri Lanka it is tourist destination and about 500-600 Pilgrims visits Dhanushkodi on daily basis and the number increases on festive season it goes up to 1000. Transport facility is available from Rameswaram to Dhanushkodi such as City Buses, Private Buses, Auto Rickshaw and CABs is also available for the visitors. 

Many shops and stalls available at the Beach which is operated by the Dhanuskodi localities where tourist can get the snacks and waters. The Land’s End of the peninsula to the south east of Dhanushkodi  which is known as erosion point from there we can able to see the rocks and islets known as Rama’s Bridge.

The famous places in Rameswaram which attracts the tourist from across the country let’s have a look on it,

1) Ramanathswamy Temple:-

The famous Dravidian architecture temple which shows the vast design and culture of Tamil Nadu.

2) Kothandaraswamy Temple:-

This Kothandaraswamy Temple situated 12KM from Rameswaram. This temple is consist of Lord Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Hanuman and Vibhishna.

3) Dhanushkodi:-

This is the place where Lord Rama built a bridge which called Rama Setu.

4) Erwadi:-

Erwadi is famous Muslim pilgrim spot, this place is famous for the tomb of Ibrahim Sahid Auliya and is located in Erwadi.

There is a small market which is situated near Ramanathswamy Temple which is famous for the shells and perls items where different type Jwellery available which is made up of shells and perls available from sea. Rameswaram is also famous for it’s silk sarees many different types of silk sarees are available here which attracts the tourist from across the country.

Rameswaram is also famous for it’s Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian food especially sea food many famous restaurants are there in Rameswaram which serves many different types of cuisines. Though Rameswaram includes typical south Indian delights Rice, Curd Rice, Sambhar Rice and tourist can also get a taste of North Indian cuisine because many north Indian restaurants are also available in Rameswaram.

The tourist who visit Rameswaram can start a day with a south Indian style with a hot coffee or Filter coffee which is very famous in south india and among south Indian especially for tamilian and can get a breakfast of Idli, Vada or Upma which is very famous breakfast for south Indians so if you visit Rameswaram you also can taste the breakfast of Idli, Vada or Upma which is very light for body and it is also cheap in terms of money everyone can afford such breakfast.

In terms of breakfast I have suggested such light breakfast for the tourist to start a day and now let’s move to the lunch because lunch is important for everyone to get energy for body and without proper lunch a day will be incomplete and if you come to Rameswaram you get numbers of option for lunch because many different cuisine are available and after eating such light breakfast everyone wants a heavy lunch so let’s have a look over it because many tourist comes from across the country and they visits the temples so they opted for a vegetarian lunch and it’s a very good option because many vegetarian restaurants are available in Rameswaram which serves a quality food to the customers.

Restaurants in Rameswaram serve the food in Plantain leafs which gets a south Indian touch in it. Since Rameswaram is a fishing spot so it’s also famous for the sea food many restaurants serve fresh sea food such as cuttle fish, crab meat which cooked in south Indian style, Rameswaram is also famous for the non vegetarian delights chicken curry, Mutton curry, Meat balls.

We have discussed about Breakfast and Lunch and I know that now all of you were thinking about dinner right so guys dinner at Rameswaram is also very delightful, we can taste a spicy and delicious food at Rameswaram so now I am going to tell you about the most loved night food includes chapatti, Paratha made up of Maida flour which serves with Kurma (Spicy Gravy), Roast and Biryani. This all are food which are very popular among localities so tourists should also try this food.

Top Hotels in Rameswaram:-

1) Hotel Pearl Residency

2) Hotel Brindavan Residency

3) Daiwik Hotels

4) Hotel MCM Towers

5) Jiwan Residency

Top Restaurants in Rameswaram:-

1) Ram Nivas Restaurant:- Cuisine – Chinese and Indian

2) Gujarat Bhavan :- Cuisine – Gujarat Food

3) Ahaan – The Restaurant:- Cuisine – Vegetarian , Chinese and Indian

4) Hotel Tamil Nadu:- Cuisine – Chinese, café, International, Asian and Fusion

5) Shabari Restaurant:-  Cuisine – Chinese, Indian and Vegetarian

How to reach Rameswaram:-

1) By Road:- We can reach Rameswaram via Road near by cities available are Madurai 163 KM, Trichy 232 KM and Chennai 431 KM. Rameswaram is having one major bus station from where all buses are available for Madurai, Trichy and Chennai and apart from this private buses and cab facilities is also available for this cities.

2) By Train:- Rameswaram is having one Railway station from where local and Express trains are available for major cities of Tamil Nadu and other trains are also available for Varanasi (UP) and Okha (Gujarat).

3) By Air: Nearest airport is Madurai around 157 KM to Rameswaram, another nearest airport is Trichy airport around 227 KM and last Chennai international airport is 421 away KM from Rameswaram from where we can reach Rameswaram.

Author : Harish Yadav