Bengaluru to Rameshwaram & Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu
Rameshwaram is an island reached by a bridge over turquoise water, with one of India's great temples at its heart. A little further on, the road runs out at Dhanushkodi, a spit of sand where two seas meet and the ruins of a town lost to a cyclone still stand.
We leave on Friday night and cross the Pamban bridge at breakfast. Saturday is the temple, its sacred wells and corridors, Dr Kalam's memorial and a sunset from the island's highest point. On Sunday we are at Arichal Munai for sunrise, walk the old town's ruins and set off home by lunchtime.
From past trips
Day by day
Drop-off: Bengaluru (same pickup points, dropped back after the trip)
Day 1
An overnight run south ends with the drive over the Pamban road bridge at breakfast time. The day belongs to the Ramanathaswamy temple and its endless corridors, then Dr Kalam's memorial and a hilltop sunset.
Board the Tempo Traveller (Friday night). First pickup at RMZ Ecospace, Bellandur, then Silk Board and Electronic City (near M5 Mall). Have dinner before you board and pack a small separate bag with a change of clothes for the temple wells.
Midnight tea halt near Salem. A quick stop to stretch and grab chai before the long run south through Karur, Dindigul and Madurai.On your own
Morning tea stop near Ramanathapuram. Freshen up at a highway stop as the landscape flattens into salt pans, palmyra palms and the first glimpses of sea.On your own
Over the Pamban road bridge. The 1988 road bridge carries us across the strait onto the island. To one side, the new vertical-lift rail bridge opened in 2025 stands beside the retired 1914 span.
Check in and breakfast. Rooms near the temple are triple sharing. Change into temple clothes: dhoti or trousers for men, saree or salwar for women, and no shorts.
Agni Theertham and the 22 wells. A dip in the sea at Agni Theertham, then the ritual of being doused with water from the temple's 22 theerthams. Optional, but most people join; expect to get soaked.
Ramanathaswamy temple and its corridors. Walk the pillared outer corridor, among the longest in India, before darshan of the lingam. The shrine closes around 13:00; phones are not allowed inside.
Lunch near the temple. Pay-as-you-go. Simple vegetarian meals on banana leaf are the norm around the temple streets.On your own
Rest at the hotel. Dry off, change and rest through the hottest hours.
Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam National Memorial. At Peikarumbu, where the former President is buried, galleries trace his life from a Rameshwaram boyhood to India's missile programme. Cameras usually stay outside.
Panchamukhi Hanuman temple. A small shrine known for its floating stones, said to be from the bridge to Lanka in the Ramayana.
Sunset from Gandhamadhana Parvatham. The island's highest point, a low hillock holding the shrine of Rama's footprint, looks over palm groves and water on every side. The sun sets around 18:00.
Dinner in town. Pay-as-you-go. Try a crisp dosa or fresh fish fry from the eateries near the east tower.On your own
Overnight in Rameshwaram. An early night: we leave for Dhanushkodi before dawn.
Day 2
A dark-hour drive to the tip of the island for sunrise at Arichal Munai, a walk among the ruins of a town lost to the 1964 cyclone, then breakfast and the long drive back.
Leave for Dhanushkodi. About 20 km down a paved road with sea on both sides. Carry water and a cap; there is almost no shade out on the spit.
Sunrise at Arichal Munai. At the road's end, the calm Palk Bay and the rougher Gulf of Mannar meet in a thin strip of sand, with Sri Lanka roughly 30 km across the water.
Ruins of old Dhanushkodi. The roofless church, the skeleton of the railway station and broken walls half-buried in sand, left as they were after the cyclone of December 1964.
Kothandaramaswamy temple. A small temple on the way back, marking where Vibhishana is said to have joined Rama. The lagoon around it is often dotted with flamingos in the cooler months.
Breakfast and check-out. Back at the hotel for breakfast, a shower and packing.
Free time in town. Browse the stalls for conch and shell crafts, or revisit the temple corridors, which reopen around 15:00 after the afternoon closure.
Lunch before we leave. Pay-as-you-go lunch near the temple.On your own
Depart Rameshwaram for Bengaluru. One last look at the sea from the Pamban bridge before we head north through Madurai and Dindigul.
Dinner stop near Salem. Pay-as-you-go dinner at a highway restaurant, then the final stretch.On your own
Arrive Bengaluru after midnight. Drop-offs at Electronic City (M5 Mall), Silk Board and RMZ Ecospace in the early hours of Monday. Timing depends on traffic around Hosur.
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