The intensity of faith, the bustle of rituals, the depth of history,
the music of silence, the picture of simplicity, the intrigue of legendary stories…

Holy town of Rameshwaram - the station

Welcome to the Land of Rameshwaram!

 11 - 15 November 2016:

 I had a taste of all of the above and more in my recent trip down south to the holy pilgrim town of Rameshwaram during the auspicious festival of Diwali.

 Along with Dwarka, Puri and Badrinath - Rameshwaram is one among the chaar dhaams of the Hindus situated on the Pamban island in the state of Tamil Nadu, connected to the Indian mainland via the architectural marvel Pamban bridge. According to Ancient Hindu Puranas or Scriptures, a pilgrimage to holiest of the holy city Varanasi is incomplete without a visit here. How deeply rich is this land's antiquity!

 The prospect of the trip, my second call to the place (the first one being when I was very young) excited me as soon as my father had suggested it. Excitement further soared when the trip was stamped - with the tickets to the place being booked 2 months in advance.

PLANNING RAMESHWARAM:

We had 3 days to spare for the holy town, arrival and departure inclusive, followed by 1 day in Chennai from where we had our flight back to Mumbai.

While the Temple Darshan was scheduled for the main Diwali day, a lot of flexibility went into the planning and itinerary of the other days.

The mystical abandoned town of Dhanushkodi was one place that ranked high up as one of my places to visit along with a few other places in and around the town that were duly jotted down by dad after reading a few random blogs on the internet.


I, to my credit, scouted for a good hotel for our stay both in Chennai and Rameshwaram. Rameshwaram is packed with hotels for every budget, pocket and needs, so do your research and choose accordingly.

WHERE TO STAY IN RAMESHWARAM? HOTEL BRINDAVAN RESIDENCY.

 TTDC’s hotel had fabulous reviews and pictures on TripAdvisor, immediately capturing my attention. I tried booking their sea-facing family room but alas! All their sea-facing rooms had gone.

Next, I settled for Brindavan residency, and though it didn’t afford a sea-facing view, it definitely proved worth the money.

Brindavan Residence, Where to stay in Rameshwaram

Brindavan Residency is a neat, budget hotel conveniently located at walking distance to the temple and the sea-shore, Agni Teertham. Despite its proximity to the sacred shores, the location of the hotel is such that it keeps all the cacophony of the pilgrim centre at bay. We booked a 4 bedded family room (Rs. 2200 per night) for ourselves in advance via e-mail by paying a sum of Rs. 1000 upfront.

Brindavan Residency, Where to stay in Rameshwaram

Brindavan Residency room, where to stay in Rameshwaram

The room was not very spacious but comfortable enough for our two nights stay. The bathroom was well-kept and clean as well. The room came with Wi-Fi, good enough for me to engage in a few Instagram posts and some twitter as well.

We booked a cab from the hotel for the third day for Dhanushkodi + sight-seeing for Rs. 1800/- and found it pretty reasonable considering the places we covered.

Tariff for 4 bedded AC: 2200/- incl. taxes.
Address:
Hotel Brindavan Residency A/C,
21/26-A1,Agasthiyar Theertham St, Near Agni Theertham, 
Rameswaram-623526.
Phone: 04573-222252.
Mobile: 09655814595 , 09443060011.
Email: info@hotelbrindavanresidency.com / hotelbrindavanresidency@gmail.com

HOW TO REACH RAMESHWARAM?

Rameshwaram is located on the Pamban island connected to Indian mainland via the iconic Pamban bridge. The best period to visit Rameshwaram is between October and April.

 We reached Chennai from Mumbai by air and then took a connecting train - Rameshwaram Express (16101) to Rameshwaram from Chennai.

Landscape view from Rameshwaram Express from train

Views like these kept me enthralled throughout the train journey.

 And then, there came the Pamban Bridge, India's first sea bridge and second longest! No matter the nature of the transportation mode, don’t miss the sight of this engineering spectacle Pamban Bridge - it is a major highlight in the journey to this pilgrimage city!
I clicked this sight of the pedestrian version of the Pamban bridge from the train moving on the rail bridge while standing at the door, much to the chagrin of my brother!

Panbam bridge from the Rameshwaram express

And this picture of the clear aqua blue Rameshwaram Sea
or the Palk Straight from the other door.

Crossing the Panbam straight from Rameshwaram Express train

 Besides railways, alternatively you can go for air or roads to reach the place. Rameshwaram is well connected to all major cities across India and can be reached through air, railways and roads.

 By Air: The nearest domestic airport is in Madurai, 163 km from Rameshwaram. Once you reach the airport, you can take a private cab or taxis to reach the pilgrim town.

By Road: Via road, the city is well connected to major cities in Tamil Nadu like Madurai (169 km), Tiruchirappalli (271 km), Thanjavur (231 km), Kanyakumari and Chennai (600 km) via frequent buses.

From Chennai, it takes around 10 hours to reach the destination.

By Train: Rameshwaram is well connected with major cities like Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai, Thanjavur and Chennai by Indian railways as well so reaching Rameshwaram by trains is easy.

 As the rickshaw driver charged Rs. 100 to drive us to our hotel, I looked forward to explore this little but deeply mythical Land of Lord Shri Ram… the same place where He built a bridge to cross over to Sri Lanka to rescue His beloved, Sita from the demonic clutches of Ravana... the same place where He prayed to Lord Shiva to absolve Him of His sin of killing the demonic monster Ravana, a brahmana... today, I am back from Rameshwaram but remnants of the time I spent wandering among those sacred sands continue to stick in the chambers of my soul. Will spill a few of these in the posts to follow. Do come along!