RAMESHWARAM - KANYAKUMARI - TIRUNELVELI (FROM MADURAI)

At a distance of 2 km from Rameshwaram Railway Station (just 100 meters away from east entrance of Rameshwaram Temple), Agnitheertham is said to be the place where Rama worshipped Lord Shiva to wash off his sins of killing Ravana. It is one of the prime place to visit on a Rameshwaram trip.

It is a sacred place and piligrims believe that taking a bath in Bay of Bengal at Agniteertham will washout one's sins of life time. It is visited by the followers of Lord Shiva as well as Vishnu, whose incarnation was lord Rama.

The sea here is very calm and ideal for bathing.

About Ramanatha Swamy Temple

At a distance of 2 km from Rameswaram Railway Station, Ramanatha Swamy Temple is a Hindu temple located on Rameswaram Island in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the top pilgrimage sites in India, and among the must include places in Rameshwaram tour packages. Ramanathaswamy Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the twelve jyotirlinga temples in India. It is also recognized as one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, which are revered sites glorified by the Nayanars (Shaivite poet-saints) such as Appar, Sundarar, and Sambandar through their devotional songs. Additionally, it is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage destinations, and among the most prominent pilgrimage sites in Tamil Nadu. The religious importance of this temple can be seen from the popular belief according to which a visit to pilgrimage Kashi is incomplete without .....

At a distance of 18 km from Rameswaram, Dhanushkodi, Dhanushkodi is an abandoned town at the south-eastern tip of Pamban Island in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the must-include places in Rameswaram heritage packages.

Dhanushkodi is located at the southern tip of Pamban Island, separated from the mainland by the Palk Strait, approximately 24 kilometers west of Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. The town was entirely devastated by the Rameswaram cyclone in 1964 and has remained uninhabited since that disaster. The only remnant of the cyclone is the Kodanda Rama Swamy Temple. Following the storm, the Government declared the town as Ghost town and unfit for living. Although devoid of inhabitants, Dhanushkodi continues to attract tourists due to its significant historical and mythological associations.

The name Dhanushkodi translates to 'Tip of the Bow'. The location known as 'Arichal Munai' marks the convergence of the Indian .....

At a distance of 1.5 km from Kanyakumari Bus Station & 1.5 km from Kanyakumari Railway Station, Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a memorial located on a small island off Kanyakumari. It is one of the picturesque Kanyakumari places to visit.

Vivekananda Rock Memorial was built in 1970 in honor of Swami Vivekananda on one of the two adjacent rocks projecting out of the Lakshadweep Sea. This is the site where Vivekananda attained enlightenment. Below the statue was mentioned the year of death of Swamiji and the 'probable' dates when Swamiji attained Samadhi on the rock. Vivekananda's Rock also holds religious significance to the locals. It is believed that Goddess Devi Kumari blessed the rock while performing austerity.

The memorial consists of two main structures, the Vivekananda Mandapam and the Shripada Mandapam. The Shripada Mandapam has a study hall and a museum, where you can explore Vivekananda's .....

At a distance of 1.5 kms from Kanyakumari Bus Station & 1.5 km from Kanyakumari Railway Station (situated on Vivekananda Rock), Thiruvalluvar Statue is dedicated to the greatest Tamil poet, philosopher and saint - Thiruvalluvar.

The pedestal of the statue is of 38 feet height and the statue over it is 95 feet tall with a grand total of 133 feet for the entire sculpture. The 3 tier pedestal known as Atharapeedam is surrounded by an artistic Mandapa with 38 feet height. To help the tourists to worship the holy feet of Thiruvalluvar 140 steps are constructed inside the Mandapa.

The view from this point is quite breathtaking! It is a very entertaining and enlightening piece of work and inspires one to lead a very principled and moral life.

Visting Hours are 8 AM To 4 PM. The ticket fare is 20/- for boat transfer.

Vivekananda Memorial is also located on the adjacent island.

At a distance of 1 km from Kanyakumari Bus Station & 1 km from Kanyakumari Railway Station, the Kumari Amman Temple is an ancient temple situated in Kanyakumari, Tamilnadu. It is one of the popular places of pilgrimage in Tamilnadu, and among the top places to visit in Kanyakumari.

The temple is dedicated to Devi Kanya Kumari, an adolescent girl child form of Goddess Parvati. The diety is also known as Shree Baala Bhadra or Shree Baala. Kanyakumari Temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peethams. It is believed that the right shoulder and (back) spine area of Sati's corpse fell here creating the presence of kundalini Sakthi in the region. Sage Parashurama is said to have performed the consecration of the temple. This is one of the prime places to visit as part of Kanyakumari tour packages.

The .....

At a distance of 1 km from Kanyakumari Bus Station & 1 km from Kanyakumari Railway Station (situated at the entrance of Beach Road), The Gandhi Memorial completed in 1956 is built in the memory of the Father of the Nation.

An urn of Mahatma Gandhi was kept here for public to pay homage before immersion. Mahatma Gandhi visited Kanyakumari twice in 1925 and 1937. In 1948 his ashes were immersed in the sea waters in Kanyakumari. In commemoration of this event a beautiful monument has been constructed here. It's central shape is 79 feet high representing the age of the Mahatma at that time. The sun at Mid day on 2nd October would fall on the peedam through a hole in the roof.

Visting Hours 7 AM To 7 PM, entrance is Free.

About Sri Kanthimathi Nellaiappar Temple

At a distance of 4 km from Tirunelveli Railway Station, Sri Kanthimathi Nellaiappar Temple is a popular Hindu temple situated on the banks of the river Thamirabarani in the town of Tirunelveli. This is one of the largest temples in Tamilnadu, and among the must-include places in Tirunelveli tour packages. Popularly called as Nellaiappar Temple, the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanmars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. This is one of the Pancha Sabha temples (Copper) that are revered as the five Cosmic Dance halls of Lord Shiva while the other four being Chidambaram with gold, Madurai with silver, Tiruvalankadu with ruby, and Kutralam with images.

History of Sri Kanthimathi Nellaiappar Temple

The original complex is .....

At a distance of 1 km from Tirunelveli Railway Station, Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple is an ancient and well known Vishnu temple lies on the banks of Thamirabarani River at Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. It is considered as one of the oldest temples in South India and also one of the top Places to visit in Tirunelveli.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The main deity of the temple is Veeraraghavan and the Ustava Moorthy is Sri Varadharaja Perumal, after whom the temple is named. According to the history, king Krishnavarma was ruling this region. Once he found an idol made of blue stone while bathing in Thamirabarani River. He built a temple installing the deity and named him Varadaraja Perumal. Deeply plunged in the worship of the Lord, the king was not prepared militarily to face the invasion on his land. He prayed to the Lord to protect him, his subjects and his land. Responding to the prayers of the king, Lord came to the battlefield in his form, fought and drove the enemies back. .....

At a distance of 4 km from Tirunelveli Railway Station, Sri Rajagopala Swamy Temple is an ancient Hindu temple situated in Palayamkottai area of Tirunelveli in Tamilnadu state. Also known as Sri Vedanarayana Temple, this is one of the oldest temples in South India and also one of the best places to visit in Tirunelveli.

This temple is devoted to Lord Vishnu and is worshipped as Rajagopala Swamy and Vedanarayan Perumal. This east facing temple dates back to the Pandiya period. According to legend, the demons were giving lot of troubles to Indira, the king of Devas. Once, Arjuna went to Indra's kingdom, he asked Arjuna to defeat and kill them and free him. Arjuna destroyed them by using his Pasupathastra. Pleased Indra gifted the Gopala Swamy idol which he was worshipping. Few days later, Lord Krishna appeared in the dream of Arjuna and asked him to leave the idol in Ganga which Arjuna did. The Pandiya king Sripathy got the idol while bathing in Ganga, brought it to this place, installed .....

At a distance of 1.5 km from Tirunelveli Railway Station, District Science Centre is a museum situated on the banks of Thamirabarani River at Palayamkottai of Tirunelveli town in Tamilnadu state. It is part of the National Council of Science Museums and is among the 124 science centers in India.

The District Science Centre was opened to the public on 27th February 1987 with a gallery on 'Treasures from Ocean' and a Science Park. Soon the Centre became one of the most popular centers in NCSM network with the spontaneous support of the local community. The Centre aim is to popularize science and technology among public and to supplement science education in schools and colleges to foster a spirit of scientific enquiry among the students.

At present, the Centre has four galleries on the topics 'Fun Science', 'Popular Science', 'Electronics' and a 'New Wing of Electronics'. It has a well-equipped planetarium and a sky observatory, where one could enjoy the view of heavenly bodies .....

At a distance of 10 km from Tirunelveli, Sri Venkatachalapathy Temple is situated atop Swetha Varaha hill in Mela Thiruvenkatanathapuram village on the banks of Thamirabarani River in Tirunelveli district. Also known as Thirunankovil Temple, the temple is revered as 'Then Thirupathi' and visiting this temple is considered equivalent to visiting Tirupathi.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Srinivasa, a form of Lord Vishnu. According to the legend, Sage Pylor, one of the disciples of Maharishi Vyasa was meditated here on the banks of the Thamirabarani River. Mahavishnu, satisfied by his penance, appeared before him as Lord Srinivasa and blessed him. At the request of Sage Pylor, the deity agreed to be present at the place permanently. The sage is responsible for the building of the temple initially. The current structure of temple itself was constructed by Venkatappa Nayak about 700 years ago.

This east facing temple is built as a 'maada kovil' with the main shrine on the elevated .....