A Trip to Dhanushkodi | The Last Point of Southern India

In this post I write my experience about “A Trip to Dhanushkodi” which is the last point of Southern India. In this post we discuss about travelling from Madurai to Dhanushkodi, The last point of Dhanushkodi, and the Ghost Town of Dhanushkodi.

This is in continuation of our 8 days trip to Southern India. You must read the earlier posts [8 Days Trip to South India] and [A Trip to Meenakshi Temple]. Before you reach and see Dhanushkodi yourself, there would be many questions in your mind. You might read through different blogs and travel sites, and they make you feel like a fool. They list places and will make you feel that it is impossible to visit the place in a day. However, Dhanushkodi can be travelled in few hours. However, I would suggest spending at least the first half of the day or the 2nd half of the day in peace in Dhanushkodi.

We visited the place in the early hours and had a good time there. One thing I noticed that in the list of places in Dhanushkodi, you will find many temples. However, India is a country of temples, and it is impossible to see all the temples. So, our main motto was to visit the last point, see the beach and enjoy. Let us read through this post and you will like this.

Madurai to Dhanushkodi

This our 3rd day of the trip and we left the hotel in Madurai by 3:00 AM and started driving towards Dhanushkodi. We had our hotel booked in Rameshwaram and the plan was to return to Rameshwaram by 3:00 PM and take rest there. The visit to Rameshwaram temple will be covered in a post completely dedicated for the same. In this post we will discuss Dhanushkodi.

It was a nice drive as there was no traffic during the early morning. It was easy to come out of the city of Madurai and reach the highway to Rameshwaram and later Dhanushkodi. We did not stop at Rameshwaram as it was planned for the second half of the day.

After two and half hours of drive, we crossed the Pamban bridge. Pamban bridge connects the Pamban Island or Rameshwaram to the rest of India. As it was dark, we could not see a thing. So, we marked the bridge to visit later while returning to Rameshwaram. It was like going back 15 Kms. but that was okay. If you plan to return from Rameshwaram to another part of India, you will cross this bridge again. So, no big deal.

So, I drove slowly towards Dhanushkodi. After crossing Rameshwaram, we found a petrol pump and freshened up. If you want to enjoy in Dhanushkodi, it is advisable to get fresh and get something to eat and drink. Once, you reach the place, it would be tough to get the places to freshen up or eat good food. As we were travelling in the early morning, no shops were to open before 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

We reached the barricade around 5:30 AM and it was to open by 6:00 AM. The weather was a bit cloudy, so we did not expect to see a sunrise.

While people were speeding towards the last point of India, we found a road going to the left. I took a left turn and reached Kodandarama Temple.

Kodandarama Temple

It is believed that the temple is about 500- to 1000-year-old. The idol of lord Rama is depicted having a bow in his hands and thus it is named Kodandaramaswamy.

As the legend of Ramayana, Ravana abducted Sita, the wife of Rama and took her to Lanka. Rama went in the pursuit to attack Lanka and rested near Dhanushkodi. Vibhisana, the younger brother of Ravana when advised him to return Sita to Rama, and exiled Vibhishana from Lanka. This was the place where Vibhisana took Rama’s refuge. After Rama killed Ravana, he made Vibhisana the king of Lanka.

As it was early in the morning, the temple was not open. So, we moved forward towards our destination to the last point.

Ghost Town of Dhanushkodi

You may need to deviate from the path to see the Ghost Town. I was really not in a mood to do that. Rather I think that it is absurd to call it a ghost town. The place was washed by the Rameshwaram Cyclone of 1964. There are remains of houses on the sides, that you can just see by stopping your car on the side. If you are more interested, I will tell you the best way to see it.

The cyclone killed almost 2000 people on the island. The town had a higher elementary school, a panchayat union dispensary, a railway station, a customs office, a post and telegraph office, two medical facilities, one railway hospital, and port offices prior to the cyclone. It was also a significant commercial hub.

Now, the remains of houses and building form the Ghost Town of Dhanushkodi. You can feel the sadness and emptiness of the place and in your imagination, you will try to build the old city.

While moving towards Dhanushkodi, after Kodandarama Temple, you will find an opening on the right side of the road. Take a right and park your car on the side. Walk along the sea to reach the Ghost Town of Dhanushkodi. Take care of the sand there, the car may get stuck.

We again moved forward to the last point. By the time we reached there it was 7:30 AM. Crowd was less, I took my car to the last point.

The Last Point of Dhanushkodi

We reached the last point and felt like the top of the world. We enjoyed being there and witnessed the meeting of 2 sea, the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. At the meeting point one can identify the color of the water changing. Bay of Bangal water is muddy and Indian ocean is bluish green. However, people have polluted the place.

We clicked few pictures and spent around 2 hours and returned by 9:30 AM. We were fortunate enough to reach early as we saw the crowd had started growing and there was a struggle for the parking space.

While we moved back from Dhanushkodi, we headed towards Rameshwaram and as mentioned earlier, we had to go to the Pamban bridge as well.

We stopped at a peaceful location while driving back to Rameshwaram. There was an old sea bridge, or it looked more like a ship dock. While returning, it was on the left side of the road. We parked the car there and rested for a while. We had our breakfast and some snacks. Soon the shops opened, and we bought some shells and conches. It was around 11:00 AM and the Sun was getting brighter.

I enjoyed on this sea beach and went into the water as well. It is not advisable to go far here as the sand level will suddenly go down and if you do not know swimming, you can put your life in risk. I know a little bit of swimming so, as soon as I slipped, I stroked my hands and legs and with another wave, I was able to come out to a safe distance.

While returning, we went to the Pamban bridge. It was a picturesque view. Private vehicles and buses stopped in the middle of the bridge for the sightseeing and that was disturbing the traffic.

After crossing the Pamban bridge, on the left there is a sea park. This is a good place for kids to play and adults to rest. We rested here for a while and then turned back towards Rameshwaram. We crossed the Pamban bridge again and headed for our hotel in Rameshwaram. Our plan was to rest in the hotel for the day and visit Rameshwaram temple early in the morning.

Rameswaram to Dhanushkodi

Many people visit Rameshwaram first and then they go to Dhanushkodi. This is perfectly fine and easy as well. However, the place becomes more crowded during the day.

Generally, you complete the visit to Rameswarm temple by 11:00 AM if you follow the time precisely. Then either you can drive or take a taxi to all other places in Rameshwaram and to Dhanushkodi as well.

We were not interested in seeing all the temples around. Because we were exhausted after our visit to Rameshwaram temple. So, we took rest for a while and went to Kanyakumari.

The complete plan to visit the Rameshwaram temple will be covered in a dedicated post to Rameshwaram, which was our next visit after Dhanushkodi. So, keep reading.

Summary – A Trip to Dhanushkodi

In this post you read about our trip from Madurai to Dhanushkodi. The places to rest and enjoy and how to make your trip a good experience. Second half we went to Rameshwaram and rested in the hotel. If you wish, you can visit the Rameshwaram temple first, you will be free by 9:00 AM and then you can go to Dhanushkodi. However, I do not know how the crowd will be as most of the people visit it after Rameshwaram. We visited it before Rameshwaram early in the morning and did not face much crowd.

So far, we enjoyed our trip. I was travelling in my car with my old age mother, my wife, and 2.5 years old kid. However, it was great, and the trip worked out perfectly as planned.

Hope you enjoyed reading the post. If I added some information that is valuable to you, I am glad.