Dhanushkodi is the last land or as it’s fondly called the “Land’s end” on the Pamban Island, the Island in South India that connects to the mainland Tamil Nadu via the famous Pamban Bridge. Also, Pamban Island hosts the town of Rameswaram – one of the most important Hindu Pilgrimage destinations in India, one of the Char Dhams. But more on Rameswaram later. Today, we will provide you a complete guide to visit Dhanushkodi which is emerging as one of the most popular tourist destinations in India.
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History of Dhanushkodi – a ghost town of India
Historically, Dhanushkodi is the place where Sri Rama instructed Hanumana to construct the “Ram Setu” bridge to Sri Lanka.
Dhanushkodi is the second ghost town in India that we have visited. The first one being the ghost town of Kuldhara on our trip to Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Once upon a time, it was a flourishing town and an important trade center in India, just 24 kilometers north of Sri Lanka. But in 1964 when a strong cyclone hit Rameswaram and Pamban Island, the residents of Dhanushkodi were forced to abandon their houses. And move further inland. Since then, Dhanushkodi remains an uninhabited town.
At the time when Dhanushkodi was a prosperous town, it had beautiful temples, houses, a lighthouse, it’s own school, hospital, church, hotels as well as shops and even a railway station with the rail tracks reaching literally upto the southern most point of India!! People traveled here by rain from Chennai and then took ferries to Sri Lanka from Dhanushkodi. There are ruins of all these places in the ghost of town of Dhanushkodi as of today. A testimony to the past. And a reminder that nothing is static. In fact, a visit to Dhanuskhodi reminded me of my visit to the Kadaikudi houses on my trip exploring the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu. Which narrates a similar story. With abandoned and empty houses from a flourishing past era, telling numerous stories.
Things to do in Dhanushkodi – how to go about exploring Dhanushkodi
Lets start our complete guide to visit Dhanushkodi with a list of things to do in Dhanuskhodi. Until I myself visited Dhanuskhodi, I thought visiting the Dhanushkodi beach was the only thing to do here. But when I finally visited here, I came to know there are so many things to do in Dhanushkodi. You should definitely set aside at least half a day to spend in Dhanushkodi.
Driving through the Rameswaram – Dhanushkodi Road
A drive through the Rameswaram – Dhanushkodi Road is definitely one of the most picturesque drives of India. And it is also one of the most exciting drives. For the last 10 kilometers of this drive, you drive through a road with hardly any land on either side. The road is flanked by the turquoise blue Indian Ocean on one side and the blue – green Bay of Bengal on the other side. Until it comes to an end on the Dhanushkodi Beach at Arichal Munai (Erosion Point), with no land beyond – only water on all three sides !! So, driving through to the Dhanushkodi beach is definitely the top thing to do as per our complete guide to visit Dhanushkodi.
Exploring the ghost town of Dhanushkodi
Nearly 5km before the Dhanushkodi beach lies the Ghost town of Dhanushkodi. As per our complete guide to visit Dhanushkodi, this is a must visit spot. Afterall, when you have come so far, you must visit the ruins of the old town of Dhanushkodi once. On our own trip to Dhanushkodi, we first drove straight through the Rameswaram – Dhanushkodi road to reach the Dhanushkodi beach. Then, on our way back from there, we stopped by the Dhanushkodi ruins.
We parked our vehicle by the road side. And then went on foot to explore the ruins of Dhanushkodi. There is not much left here. The first sight that you see is that of the old railway station. It is visible right from the road.
As you move further behind it, there are many huts in the area, of local vendors and local people. Couple of them host temple of Sri Rama. One of the temple has the famous floating Ram Setu stone to see.
After visiting these temples, we proceeded beyond them, to find the ruins of the original old Dhanushkodi Temple and some of the old houses of Dhanushkodi in dilapidated condition.
There are a few houses and temples by the beach as you continue watching. And the ruins of the old church But, it was the evening hours, almost sunset time. And there was hardly a soul here. However, I did encounter a lot of beautiful peacocks roaming around freely in this area, which was a delight to the eyes!!
Near the road, there are some stalls selling items made of sea shell and local handicrafts. Overall, within 15-20 minutes I was able to explore the whole area and be back in my car.
Interesting Fact: Many parts of the ghost town of Dhanushkodi remain submerged under the sea. In December 2004, when the sea had receded around 500 meters, a lot of these submerged ruins could be seen from the roadside! Even the wreckage of the half submerged Rameswaram – Dhanushkodi train lies here. This train was hit by the same cyclone that turned the town of Dhanushkodi into a ghost town.
Dhanushkodi Beach
One of the most unique beaches in India, the Dhanushkodi beach is the last beach of India. It is surrounded by water from all 3 sides. This is where you can see the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean meeting together. While one side is calmer, there are huge waves crashing against the shore on the other side. And the uninterrupted wind is insanely strong.
You can cross the boulders and reach the fine sand beach. But it is not advised to go in the water here. For, the sea gets suddenly deep here. And also, the weather is very unpredictable here, you can expect strong waves anytime.
Viewing of Sri Lanka from Dhanushkodi
Yes, it is possible to get a glimpse of Sri Lanka from Dhanushkodi on a clear day. And also there are vendors with telescopes setup where at a nominal cost you can get a very good view of the Sri Lankan mainland, which is just 24 kilometers from Dhanushkodi!!
Enjoy seafood in Dhanushkodi
As you approach the Dhanushkodi town and Dhanushkodi beach, you will see numerous stalls on both sides of the road selling sea food. Although being a vegetarian, I can’t comment on the quality and taste. But I have heard good things about the food here from my friends. So, we put enjoying the sea food in Dhanushkodi as one of the main things to do in our complete guide to visit Dhanushkodi. Do time your visit in such a way that you can stop here for lunch.
Visit The Kothandaramaswamy Temple
The Kothandaramaswamy Temple is located on the way to Dhanushkodi, at a little deviation of around 250meters from the main road. Located amidst the sea, this temple is the only structure that remained intact during the 1964 Rameswaram cyclone. The idle of God Rama inside this temple holds a “Kothandam” which literally means a bow. And hence the temple is named the Kothandaramaswamy Temple.
This temple is believed to be over 1000 years old. It is said that as per Ramayana, this is the place where Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana, took refuge and surrendered to Rama.
Enjoy birdwatching in the bird sanctuary on way to Dhanushkodi at Gulf of Mannar
There is a bird sanctuary called “Gulf of Mannar” on the shallow lands besides the Bay of Bengal where you see a lot of local and migratory birds while driving to the Dhanushkodi beach. It is a feast to the eyes. Not just the birds sitting on the shallow land, waiting to catch a fish. But at times, you even see huge batches of birds gliding through the clear skies above the sea!! Some of the birds include flamingoes, curlew, gulls, terns, sandpipers, plovers, reef herons and egrets.
Try your hands on some excellent photography in Dhanushkodi
I will not be exaggerating if I say Dhanushkodi is a photographer’s dream. Anywhere you turn your head, you see picture perfect scenes. I myself stopped my vehicle and jumped out at least 5 times to take photographs while on my way to and from Dhanushkodi at random spots. Apart from the endless effort to capture the beauty of the beach itself. See some of the pictures below and you will understand what I am talking about.
One of the beautiful boats on the Dhanushkodi beach
A sight of horses on the beach side – resonates with something you would expect to see in Leh & Laddakh!!
A beautiful sunset at Dhanushkodi
Apart from the above things to do, you can do a lot of things on your trip to Dhanushkodi. For example, you can get an instant photo printed from one of the many photographers flocking the beach. Or, enjoy a snack of fruit salad or “jhal murhi” or other Indian snacks from one of the street vendors lining the sides of the beach. Or, just sit on one of the spots with beautiful views of the ocean and relax. (That would be my personal favourite thing to do in Dhanushkodi)
How to reach Dhanushkodi
The Rameswaram – Dhanushkodi road is an excellent road connecting the town of Rameswaram to Dhanushkodi. Dhanushkodi is located almost 19.5 km from Rameswaram. And the Dhanushkodi beach is located almost 5km further. You can reach Rameswaram, located on Pamban Island by both road and rail. The famous Pamban Railway Bridge connects Pamban Island from Ramnathpuram in Tamil Nadu mainland. Lots of trains comply from Madurai. By road, NH 87 connects Madurai to Rameswaram and is in excellent condition. It takes around 3 hours to reach Rameswaram from Madurai by road. And if you are coming from far, you can fly into Madurai and then take either the rail or road from there.
On our own trip, we drove from Bangalore to Madurai on day 1 and then from Madurai to Rameswaram on day 2. After reaching Rameswaram around 2:30pm and checking-in into our hotel, we proceeded to Dhanushkodi on the extension of NH 87 , on the Rameswaram – Dhanushkodi road.
Where to stay near Dhanushkodi
The town of Rameswaram has several hotels and hostels of all budget range to stay. We have personally stayed in the Daiwik Hotel on our first visit to Rameswaram. And in S S Grand hotel on our second visit. Both the hotels were comfortable with good food options. And both of these are located right on the main highway as you enter the town of Rameswaram. There are also some hotels and resorts near the beaches in Rameshwaram that you can try. Here’s a list of hotels for you to browse through in Rameshwaram.
Where to park on Dhanushkodi beach
When visiting Dhanushkodi, you can park by the side of the road as you reach Dhanushkodi beach. There is no large parking space as such given there is no land only! My advise, park a little further to the beach because as time passes, the space near the beach gets super crowded. And it takes a lot of effort to navigate through the crowd. When we arrived at Dhanushkodi beach around 5 pm in the evening, it was already crowded. So, we parked on the side of the road, almost the beginning of the line. And then walked around 500 meters to the beach.
What to wear when visiting Dhanushkodi
There is no dress code as such to visit Dhanushkodi. But given it is mostly hot here all through the year, wear comfortable breathing cotton cloths and comfortable walking beach appropriate slippers. Have your sunglasses with you and wear sunscreen generously. Also carry a water bottle with you and keep yourself hydrated.
What is the best season to visit Dhanushkodi
Although the region is hot and humid all through the year, best time to visit will be from November to February when it is moderately hot. When we visited Dhanushkodi in the third week of February, the temperature was hovering between 26 – 30 degrees celcius. Which was hot, but bearable.
Over the years, this region has started seeing frequent cyclones in December and sometimes in January. So, be aware of the weather conditions before you plan your trip. On our first trip to this region, we couldn’t visit Dhanushkodi as it was raining like crazy. While we visited the temples of Madurai, the Ramalingeshwara Temple in Rameswaram, Brihadeeshwara temple in Tanjore and Karaikudi Tourist places on our year end trip, we couldn’t visit Dhanushkodi. Because that one afternoon it rained insanely. We still took an attempt to drive to Dhanushkodi beach, but nothing was visible. And we had to turn back when we were half way through. Little did we know then that we will come back here within an year!!
What is the best time to visit Dhanushkodi
As per our complete guide to visit Dhanushkodi, Morning and evening hours are best time to visit Dhanushkodi as per our complete guide to visit Dhanushkodi. As, it is an excellent spot to see both sunrise on one side and sunset on the other side. If you want to visit at a time when there is almost no other soul on the beach, visit in the morning hours. While if you want to enjoy the buzzing beach, visit in the evening hours around 4:00pm. You can as well pack a picnic bag and enjoy a day here if you don’t mind the sun that much!!
The official Dhanushkodi visiting time is 6:00am to 5:00pm.
Also, there is an INR 20 entry fee to Dhanushkodi per vehicle.
Hope this complete guide to visit Dhanushkodi helps you plan your own successful trip to Dhanushkodi!!
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