CityDekho

Rameshwaram (Ramanathaswamy Temple)

pilgrimage site · Tamil Nadu

Rameshwaram sits at the very tip of a slender island connected to the Tamil Nadu mainland by the Pamban Bridge, looking out across the Palk Strait toward Sri Lanka.

State
Tamil Nadu
Type
Pilgrimage Site

Rameshwaram sits at the very tip of a slender island connected to the Tamil Nadu mainland by the Pamban Bridge, looking out across the Palk Strait toward Sri Lanka. At its heart is the Ramanathaswamy Temple, famous for the longest corridor of any temple in India — a nearly 1,200-metre passage of sculpted pillars that seems to stretch to the horizon. As one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and one of the four Char Dham, it draws pilgrims from every corner of the country, many of whom arrive after Varanasi, believing a visit to Rameshwaram completes the pilgrimage circuit.

Rameshwaram (Ramanathaswamy Temple) is known for

Ramanathaswamy Temple corridorsPamban BridgeDhanushkodi ghost town22 sacred theerthamsChar Dham pilgrimage

A short history

The temple is mentioned in the Ramayana, where Rama is said to have installed and worshipped a Shiva lingam here upon returning from Lanka. The current stone structure dates mainly to the 12th-17th centuries, with major expansion of its famous corridors completed under Setupati rulers of Ramnad in the 17th-18th centuries; Pamban Bridge, connecting the island to the mainland, opened in 1914.

Why Rameshwaram (Ramanathaswamy Temple) matters

One of the twelve Jyotirlingas and one of the four Char Dham — considered by many pilgrims to be the spiritual counterpart to Varanasi, closing the Rama-Setu pilgrimage circuit that runs the length of India.

How many people come

75 lakh

temple town in 2024 · Tamil Nadu Tourism (estimate)

When to go

October to April, before the coastal heat sets in

Why visit

Walk the pillared corridors of the Ramanathaswamy Temple at sunrise before the crowds arrive, take the ritual bath across the temple's 22 sacred wells (theerthams), and cross the Pamban Bridge — India's first sea bridge — for views of turquoise water on both sides. A short ferry or drive takes you to Dhanushkodi, a ghost town at the island's easternmost point wiped out by a 1964 cyclone, where the land narrows to a sandy spit between two seas.

Cultural notes

Rameshwaram is woven into the Ramayana — tradition holds that Rama built a bridge to Lanka from here and worshipped Shiva to atone for killing Ravana, a Brahmin. The temple's present structure was expanded over centuries by Pandya, Jaffna and Nayak rulers, and Adi Shankaracharya is said to have visited during his travels establishing the Char Dham.

How to reach

Nearest airport is Madurai (~170km); Rameshwaram has its own railway station connected to Chennai and Madurai, reached via the Pamban Bridge.

Food & cuisine

Signature dishes and local flavours to look for in Rameshwaram (Ramanathaswamy Temple).

2 dishes

Rameshwaram Temple Prasadam

Simple rice-based prasadam distributed after darshan at the Ramanathaswamy Temple.

Rameshwaram Seafood

Fresh catch from the Palk Strait — crab and prawn fry are the local specialities along the coastal stalls near Dhanushkodi.

Rameshwaram (Ramanathaswamy Temple) guide & itineraries

Reviews & ratings

What travellers say about Rameshwaram (Ramanathaswamy Temple)

CityDekho traveller reviews

★★★★★★★★★★

No CityDekho reviews yet

Be the first traveller to review this place.

Sign in to write a review

Community

Ask questions and share tips about Rameshwaram (Ramanathaswamy Temple)

Sign in to ask a question or share a tip about Rameshwaram (Ramanathaswamy Temple).

Loading…

Been to Rameshwaram (Ramanathaswamy Temple)?

Write what you would tell a friend — where you stayed, what you would skip, the thing you wish somebody had mentioned before you went. We read every submission before it goes up.

Share your story

More heritage & forts

More places you'll love

Karnataka

Daria Daulat Bagh (Srirangapatna)

Daria Daulat Bagh is the elegant summer palace of Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, set in a garden on the river-island of Srirangapatna near Mysuru. Built largely of teak in 1784 in the Indo-Saracenic style, its walls and ceilings are covered in vivid frescoes, floral motifs and murals, including a famous depiction of Tipu's forces at the Battle of Pollilur.

Assam

Sivasagar

Sivasagar, once the capital of the mighty Ahom kingdom that ruled Assam for six centuries, is a town rich in monuments around its great tank. Its highlights include the Rang Ghar, often called Asia's oldest surviving amphitheatre, the Talatal and Kareng Ghar palaces, and the towering Sivadol temple.

Tripura

Neermahal

Neermahal is a striking water palace rising from the middle of Rudrasagar Lake near Melaghar in Tripura, built by the Manikya king in the 1930s as a royal summer retreat. Blending Hindu and Mughal architectural styles, its white-and-red pavilions are reached by boat and beautifully reflected in the lake.

Tripura

Unakoti

Unakoti, in the forested hills of northern Tripura, is an ancient Shaiva pilgrimage and archaeological site famous for its colossal rock-cut carvings and stone images dating back over a thousand years. Legend says there are one less than a crore of images here, giving the site its name, set amid waterfalls and greenery.

Delhi

Safdarjung's Tomb (Delhi)

Safdarjung's Tomb is a garden-tomb built around 1754 for Safdarjung, the powerful Nawab of Awadh and a prime minister of the Mughal empire. Set in a formal charbagh garden, its red-and-buff sandstone dome and symmetrical layout make it one of the last great monuments of the Mughal era.

Maharashtra

Bibi Ka Maqbara (Aurangabad)

Bibi Ka Maqbara in Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) is a grand Mughal mausoleum built in the 1660s to 1670s for Dilras Banu Begum, the wife of Emperor Aurangzeb. Closely modelled on the Taj Mahal, its marble and stucco dome earned it the nickname the Taj of the Deccan.

Karnataka

Gol Gumbaz (Vijayapura)

Gol Gumbaz in Vijayapura (Bijapur) is the mausoleum of Sultan Mohammed Adil Shah, completed in 1656. Crowned by one of the largest masonry domes in the world, it is famous for its Whispering Gallery, where even a soft sound is carried clearly across the vast circular hall and echoes many times over.

Rajasthan

Kumbhalgarh Fort

Kumbhalgarh, a UNESCO-listed Mewar fort in the Aravalli Hills, is famed for its immense perimeter wall, which stretches roughly 36 km and is often called the second-longest continuous wall in the world after the Great Wall of China. Built mainly in the 15th century by Rana Kumbha, it was the birthplace of Maharana Pratap and a refuge of the Mewar rulers.

Maharashtra

Daulatabad Fort

Daulatabad Fort (historically Devagiri) stands atop a steep 200-metre conical hill roughly 15-16 km northwest of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), Maharashtra. It is a massive fortified hill-city built up over about 1,000 years, enclosed by three concentric fortification walls and two moats, best known for Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq's failed 14th-century attempt to shift the Delhi Sultanate's capital here.

Delhi

Lotus Temple (Delhi)

The Lotus Temple is a Baha'i House of Worship and one of Delhi's most photographed modern landmarks, shaped like a half-open lotus with 27 marble-clad petals set among nine pools and landscaped gardens. Completed in 1986 and open to people of all faiths, it is kept silent, and that is the point of going.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Cellular Jail (Port Blair)

The Cellular Jail in Port Blair, known as Kala Pani, is a colonial-era prison built by the British between 1896 and 1906 to hold Indian freedom fighters in solitary confinement. Its original seven wings radiated from a central tower like spokes; today the surviving structure is a national memorial to the independence movement.

Delhi

India Gate (Delhi)

India Gate is a 42-metre war memorial arch on the ceremonial Kartavya Path, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and completed in 1931. It honours around 74,000 Indian soldiers who died in the First World War and the Third Anglo-Afghan War, their names inscribed on its sandstone walls.

Trending in Tamil Nadu

Madurai (Meenakshi Amman Temple)

Madurai (Meenakshi Amman Temple)

The Meenakshi Amman Temple is a historic Dravidian temple complex located in the heart of Madurai, an ancient city on the banks of the Vaigai River. Dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, a powerful form of Parvati, and her consort Sundareswarar, a form of Shiva, the complex stands as a supreme architectural masterpiece of South Indian civilization. The complex is enclosed by massive high stone walls and dominated by 14 towering gateway towers, or gopurams, completely carpeted with thousands of brightly painted stone sculptures of deities, demons, and celestial beings. Inside, the temple features grand columned assembly halls, including the legendary Hall of a Thousand Pillars, and a sacred golden lotus pond that serves as a ritual center for millions of annual devotees.

Ooty (Udhagamandalam)

Ooty (Udhagamandalam)

Ooty sits at 2,240 metres and was built by the British as a hot-weather escape, which is still exactly what it is used for — and why April and May are the months to avoid, when the plains empty into it. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is the best thing in the district. It climbs from Mettupalayam on a rack-and-pinion section, takes about five hours, and is UNESCO-listed. Book ahead in season or take the ordinary carriage, which is fine. Doddabetta, the highest point in the Nilgiris, is ten kilometres out and usually inside cloud by afternoon. The Botanical Garden dates from 1848 and has a fossil trunk around twenty million years old in it. The lake is man-made and rented out by the hour. Tea here is grown for volume rather than for named estates, and the roadside shops sell a great deal of flavoured dust. Buy from an estate if you care about it. September to November, and January to March.

Chettinad (Karaikudi)

Chettinad (Karaikudi)

Chettinad, centred on Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu, is a region famous for the grand mansions of the Nattukottai Chettiar merchant community and for one of India's most celebrated cuisines. The palatial 19th and early 20th-century homes, built with Burmese teak, imported marble and Athangudi tiles, reflect the community's global trade, while Chettinad food is prized for its bold, aromatic spices.