Dhanushkodi – A Place where Land ends

Now known as Ghost Town, Dhanushkodi once played an important role in the history and still considered as a sacred place for Hindus because of an interesting story in the epic Ramayana. It is said that when Rama came back after giving the throne to the Vibhishana in Lanka, Vibhishana requested Rama to break the Setu – built to cross the sea so that Rama's army could reach Lanka. Rama broke the Setu with the end of his bow here, hence got the name Dhanushkodi (Dhanush means bow and Kodi means end).

Dhanushkodi is at the eastern most tip of the Pamban Island which is connected with the mainland with a 2 km long bridge known as Pamban Bridge. It is located in Tamilnadu state of India some 18 kms away from Rameshwaram, the main pilgrimage center of Hindus. In 1964, a terrible cyclone hit the area and it wrecked the complete village and swept a complete passenger train into the sea, leaving the area complete barren and uninhabited as after this disaster, town was declared unfit for living. Locals informed us to leave the place before sunset as according to them it is still scary to be there in night. Although we did not feel that but yes I can say that on our way back from Dhanushkodi to Rameshwaram, roads were so lonely giving us some creepy feel and we decided to not to stop in between until the next habitation.

With these stories in mind, very excitedly we started from main temple of Rameshwaram towards Danushkodi - to see this mystical and mythological place. On the way, there is a Snake Park that we decided to skip as already running short of time. Next was Kodanda Rama temple, which is famous, again with one more story from the Ramayana. People believe that Vibhishana, brother of Ravana, surrendered here before Lord Rama. This temple survived the 1964 cyclone which destroyed the whole town of Dhanushkodi. But to our bad luck, we found it locked and after waiting for few minutes we started towards the beach.

 

Back of Kodanda Rama Temple

We were driving on the road, which lies between the two seas. On one side you can see Indian Ocean along the road and get to see Bay of Bengal after some time. We saw some mini buses were standing at a point, as we reached there, we were asked to park our car as that was the last point upto which your personal vehicle is permitted. After that point, you need to catch those mini buses which run on the sandy beaches towards the Sangamam. The bus charged us INR 100 per person for the to-and-fro journey. But they depart only when bus gets full so we started to explore the beach with speedy and high waves. Water there was of green color – the color of sea that I was looking at first time. That color is still unique to me as until I am writing this post I could not find this color anywhere else and the feel of it can only be felt (no word can’t express) because I can still see that color captured in my eyes and feeling that I m still standing at Dhanushkodi Beach J .

The bus driver started calling us and we got into the bus which was in no time running on the sandy shores. There were no roads; only and only sand was there with water at some of the points. After a journey for half-an-hour, bus came to the halt and driver asked to each of us to come back in 45 mins. After getting down we realized that we are in middle of two seas, on the sand bed. We started to walk, but there we faced the “Sand Rain” – Wind filled with sand which was making cuts on our faces, hands and every part of the body left uncovered. We were facing that kind of wind the very first time, so were finding it difficult to move against it.

Till that day, I had only heard of the meeting point of the rivers or where the river meet the sea, but that day was different in my life as I was going to see Sangamam of two oceans – Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. As I was walking towards the Sangamam, I could notice the difference between two. That point is the confluence of deep and rough waters of Indian Ocean with the shallow and calm waters of Bay of Bengal. The Sangamam could easily be noticed because of this difference between the two. It was a deep serene feel to stand at that point and look at the confluence of two seas. Eventually water of Indian Ocean started to come under our feet and we decided to move backwards from that point. Indian Ocean is so violent there it’s tough to dare to put your feet in its water so we decided to be on Bay of Bengal side.

Sangam Point

There are many controversies about the existence of the Setu, but NASA satellite images have confirmed the existence of this ancient Setu connecting India with Sri Lanka and aged it be around 1,750,000 years old which corresponds to the Treta Yuga. We also tried to find out some left over signs of Rama Setu there, but our efforts went in vain. Despite this,we all were extremely happy after being there, but due to time consideration we started to move towards our bus which was far away. Saw some of the boats there indicating the presence of fishermen in that area else it was completely abolished.
 

While returning we saw the wrecked town of Dhanushkodi, railway line was there which had been covered with sand at most of the places, the ruined structure of the Church was still standing and few other demolished structures clearly telling the story of destruction caused. We explored the area and found a Hanuman temple which was having the famous floating stone - used to construct Rama Setu over the sea water to reach Lanka. We tried to sink that in water but it forced us believe that it is the one. Actually it was having very small pores through which water goes inside it and help it to float. Anyways we were happy to be the part of the history about which we had only read and heard.


Abandoned Chapel & Town

Mini bus left us at the point where our car was parked and with a little enjoyment at the Dhanushkodi beach which was still roaring with its high waves, we started our journey back to the main town of Rameshwaram.

 

Roaring Indian Ocean

Notice the Color


Floating Stone

General Information with Day Plan:

 

Date of Visiting: 26th July 2013, Friday

Distance from Bangalore : 620 kms

Entry Fee : No Entry fee is there.

Mode of Travelling : Upto Dhanushkodi beach personal vehicle is allowed, but need to take mini buses/tempos for Sangam which is around 7kms away.

Days Required : No night stay is allowed so after enjoying for 3-4hrs, come back to Rameshwaram.

Kind of Place : Its considered a sacred place for Hindus, but this place has been declared as ghost town. 
 

Some more points:

Ø       Take sufficient snacks/food with you, as there is nothing to eat except 1-2 shacks which have cold-drinks and snacks.

Ø       It is advisable to leave the place before sun set as this town has been declared ghostly.

Ø       Wear sufficient clothes to cover yourself if planning to visit in Summer months as Sandy Wind is very dangerous there.