TravelingBeats

On the night of 01/01/2011 I called up MMTT travel on the way back from Rameswaram to check if seats for package tour to Kanyakumari is available. To our luck it was available. After reaching Madurai we bought the tickets at MMTT office. Kanyakumari package tour cost per person was Rs 450 but the cost may be less during off season.

Address:

MMTT Tours and Travels
Hotel Ashoka (KPS)
12, Perumal Theppakulam East,
Town Hall Road, Madurai – 625001
Ph: 2340282, 2343572, 4231177
Email: anil_mmtt@yahoo.co.in

After taking our ticket we went to Sai Punjab Da Dhaba located little away from MMTT office. This is a veg restaurant and you will get here authentic north Indian food at reasonable price.

Address:

Sai Punjab Da Dhaba
22, Town Hall road,
Near Canara Bank,
Madurai – 1
Cell: 9626081105, 9488957443

During dinner we received a call that, our bus is ready. Hurriedly we went to said destination and boarded the bus. That was also a mini bus but was better in infrastructure. The bus started around 10.30 pm from Madurai and we reached Kanyakumari around 3.30 am. The bus parked in front of Hotel Shankar’s Guest House. There was no room available there. The other passengers whose stay was also included in the travel were taken by the driver to another hotel in the next by lane. But that hotel is not at all good. Taking the cost factor into account we decided from the beginning that we will not take room and will sit in the bus. However, the driver told that the bus will go to the parking depot and we cant sit in the bus. So with no option we sat at Hotel Sankar’s reception. There the boy offered to give a single room for Rs 500 which will be vacated by 4.30 am. By 5 am we got our room for which I ultimately paid Rs 450 after negotiations.

Address:

Hotel Shankar’s Guest House
Main Road, Kanyakumari – 629702
Ph: 04652 – 246260, 246360

We took bath and by 5.50 am boarded our bus. The driver dropped in front of Hotel Sea View and guided us through a nearby lane to the beach for viewing sunrise. The sea side at most places has been embarked with stone boulders and sitting arrangement has been made. As we reached the site it was still dark and I could see only the lights of Vivekananda Rock Memorial. Soon the sky was getting lighter and one could see the blue sea with Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvallur statue in the backdrop. The sunrise here is amazing as you can see the sun rising as it out of the ocean. This place is amazing for photography as well. After you finish watching sunrise, you can take a stroll on the artificial stone path which goes half km inside the sea. The seaside has two church. Please note that most of the places to see in Kanyakumari are within 1 km radius.

Meanwhile after finishing the sunrise point, we tried to contact the bus driver but was unable to find him anywhere. Also, tried to contact MMTT office and I was provided a number that seems to be of their another bus. This did gave us a scare but we decided not to loose time and start watching places. We kept in mind that we need to reach the hotel by 1 pm. While all these going on we stood in the line for the ferry to Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar statue. The ferry service is run by Poompuhar Shipping Corporation Limited – a government of Tamil Nadu enterprise.

Ferry service cost: Rs 20 per person to and fro
Entry fee to Vivekananda Rock Memorial: Rs 10 per person

Everybody boarding the ferry is given a life jacket but most of them do not wear it properly or just hold them on hand. First the ferry took us to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. While entering inside you will have to open your shoes. You can keep your shoes at the shoe stand. It is said that Swami Vivekananda meditated on this rock after he came back to India from the Parliament of Religions in Chicago, USA in 1893. In 1970 the Ramkishna Misson which Vivekananda founded constructed a memorial in his name on this rock. The Vivekananda Rock Memorial is probably the last land formation in the Indian sub continent. Here you can see a solar time table and a direction finder marked on marbles. First I suggest you go and see the stone statue of Vivekananda by climbing the stairs. Also, from here you can get a bird’s eye view of the beaches of Kanyakumari and surrounding. Amazing place for photography. Then you can go the Vivekananda museum located on the opposite side. Here you can also see the sign of the foot of Devi Kanyakumari. I suggest you do take a walk along the length and breath of this rock island. If you would like to visit the Vivekananda Kendra in Kanyakumari, check the following info:

Vivekananda kendra, Vivekanandapuram, Kanyakumari – 629702
Ph: 04652 – 247012, 246250
Email: info@vkendra.org
Website: www.vkendra.org

Check a video taken during 2004 Tsunami:

Then we were taken to Thiruvalluvar statue. Thiruvalluvar was a saint and poet in the Tamil Sangam era. He wrote the masterpiece Thirukkural. It talks about the code of conduct on how should man live life. The 133 feet of Thiruvalluvar was erected on minor rock island near the confluence of three seas – Indian ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea. It was built under the supervision of award winning sculpture Dr. V. Ganapthy sethupathi and weighs 7000 tonnes in granite. At the pedestal of Thiruvalluvar statue there is a little balcony where you can sit or walk around. To reach there you will climb some stairs. From here one can get a amazing view of the Kanyakumari beach side and surrounding.

Devi Kanyakumari Temple: Next we went to Devi Kanyakumari temple or Kumari Amman (virgin goddess) temple which located around 100 meters away by the beach side. The deity here also know as Bhagavathy Amman. She is one of the avatar of goddess Durga. I was told that the temple is more than 3000 years old.

Entry to the temple: One can go for the free darshan (view) for which time spent at the queue is long. Rs 20 for special darshan. Also, one of the temple people offered to give me direct darshan (without any queue) for Rs 100. But looks like this was unofficial.

Timings: 4.30 AM to 12.00 noon and 5.30 PM to 8.45 PM

Gandhi Mandapam: Gandhi Mandapam (house) was constructed at the site where his ashes were kept before immersion at the triveni sangam (confluence of three seas – Indian Ocean, bay of Bengal and Arrabian sea). The ashes of the Indian father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi is kept here. On the ground floor there is also a museum describing the life of Gandhiji. The building is built in such a way that on 2nd october (Gandhiji’s birthday) sun rays falls on where the ashes are kept. Gandhiji is said to have visited this place. The monument is a Orissa/Bengal type of temple built near the triveni sangam. Entry is free here. However, you may be expected to give Rs 1 or 2 for keeping shoes at the shoe stand.

Triveni Sangam: Little further was triveni sangam which means confluence of three seas – Bay of Bengal in the east, Arabian sea in the west and Indian ocean in the south. This place is considered very holy by the Hindus and taking bath here is considered very sacred. If you cant take bath at-least sprinkle water on your head.

Adi Sankaracharya Temple: On the opposite side of Triveni sangam is Sankaracharya Temple. Sankaracharya was a Hindu sage who traveled all over India and constructed many temples through out his journey while spreading Hinduism.

There are other places to see which are located outside Kanyakumari. Some of the prominent are Vattakottai Fort, Padmanabhapuram Palace, Pechiparai Dam, Maruthuvazhmalai, Mathur Aqueduct,Thirparappu waterfalls, Udayagiri Fort, St. Francis Xavier’s Church, Suchindrum Temple etc. I could not visit those places, if you have time you should visit them. However, as I mentioned earlier every sightseeing is located within a radius of 1 km.

For buying sea artifacts I suggest Kanyakumari as it is much cheaper here and you should bargain. We finished our sight seeing around 12.30 pm and on the way back to the hotel had lunch at Hotel Hari on the Main road. This hotel has a good simple menu. We ordered Bangra fish fry (sea fish – Rs 45) and rice – dal (Rs 25). Its a no frill hotel you can try. We reached hotel by 1 pm and took rest for sometime. By the time ( 2 pm) we left Kanyakumari it started raining. Keep in mind that during day time even in winter it can be hot and the sun is really scorching. The road from Kanyakumari to Madurai is excellent as it is part of the North – South corridor. Around kanyakumari one can see huge number of windmills which are used to convert wind energy to electricity. A ride/drive by personal vehicle will be amazing. We reached Madurai around 7.45 pm. This time we found a new hotel called Hotel Palace with the help of the bus driver.

Day 1: Trip to Madurai
Day 2: Trip to Rameswaram

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on 31st night we have booked tickets for Rameswaram through Sree Devi hotel. At their reception I found the package trip per person to Rameswaram is Rs 275 including food. But dude to season time they charged us Rs 350. We were provided 2 seats on Subbu Travels. The scheduled timing was 7.30 am to 7 pm. on 1st Jan 2011 we were called around 7 am in the morning and by little after 7.30 am we boarded the bus. We were the first passengers on the bus. It was actually a mini bus and was of below average quality. At the next stop they picked up two Bengali families from Kolkata and goodness gracious the scenes they created on the trip was no less than a Govinda flick in terms of laughing intensity. We left Madurai city around 9 am.

Distance from Madurai to Rameswaram: 164 km

Travel time: 3.5 to 4 hours

Route: Madurai – Ramanathapuram – Rameswaram

The roads are very good. But the driver of Subbu travels was very slow and he took more than 4 hours to reach Rameswaram. I suggest you try the following travel agency:

MMTT Tours and Travels

Hotel Ashoka (KPS)
12, Perumal Theppakulam East,
Town Hall Road, Madurai – 625001
Ph: 2340282, 2343572, 4231177
Email: anil_mmtt@yahoo.co.in

About Rameswaram: Rameswaram is one of the 4 dhams of Hindu religion. It is a very important pilgrimage center for the Hindus from all over the World. Geographically Rameswaram is an island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel. It is also known as pamban island. The early rulers of Rameswaram were the Pandya kings and Chola kings. Followed by Nayak kings as feudals of Vijaynagara empire and then independently upto 17th century. Then earlier chieftains of Rameswaram – the Sethupathis came to power. It is said that the generation of Sethupathis were there when Ram visited Rameswaram.

Sight seeing in Rameswaram:

First we saw Pamban bridge which comes on the way to Rameswaram. Pamban Bridge is actually a set of two bridges – one rail bridge and a road bridge. It connects mainland India with Rameswaram island. The bridge is over Palk Strait or Pamban channel. The 2.3 km bridge is the first sea bridge in India and at present second largest sea bridge after Bandra – Worli sea link in Mumbai. The railway bridge is a cantilever bridge and it allows movement of ships. The railway bridge construction was started in 1887 and was completed on 1912. This British constructed bridge started operation on 1914. The road bridge called Annai Indira Gandhi bridge, named after late prime minister of India Indira Gandhi.

There is a light house and a nice beach on the Rameswaram side.

Sita kund or sri Sita Teertham which comes on the left hand side. It is a small tank which is associated with Sita (wife of Ram). The tank has many small fish. Entry fee is Rs 2 per person.

Then we went to Lakshman kund or sri Lakshmana Teertham. This place is located on the right hand side of the road near Sita Teertham. Before entering Lakshmana Teertham on the right had side you find Naganathar (Snake god) temple. Entrance is Rs 2 per person and the tank here is comparatively much bigger. Besides the tank is a well built temple dedicated to Lakshman in Nag avatar.

Next was Ramachandra temple which is little further on the right hand side of the road. In this temple Ram, Lakshman and Sita is worshiped together. Just after the entrance on the left hand side you can find a Hanuman statue and little further is the deity of Ram, Lakshman and Sita. Here, you can also see the amazing floating stones with which Ram built the Ram sethu (bridge) to visit Sri Lanka and bring back Sita. This stones are made up of limestone and are perforated. Unfortunately photography is not allowed inside this temple.

Then we had food and moved to see Agni Teertham. To view Agni Teertham you have take the road opposite to Sri Ramanathaswamy temple. On the way you will find Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Amman temple. On the left hand side you will find a small temple for lord Shankar (Shiva) and on the right hand side a temple for lord Ram. Walk little further and you will see red and white gates built by Acharya Satguru Teoonram Ji Maharaj. On top the gates Agni teertham is written. The sea at Agni Teertham is very calm and water is very shallow. You should take bath in the clean blue waters of Bay of Bengal. This place is hold very holy as Ram after killing Ravan in Lanka came here and took bath. Typically people first take bath here and then go to visit Sri Ramanathaswamy temple.

The beach here has been embanked after Agni Teertham with tiles and railing so you can walk at least 1 km on the sea side up extended bridge into the sea. However, the entrance to the bridge is closed now. You can see some ships, steamers or small fishing boats on the sea here.

The last and the most important place we visited in Rameswaram is Sri Ramanathaswamy temple. This temple is has a wonderful architecture with four corridors surrounding the temple. The temple is said to be more than 12000 years old and built by Lord Ram. It is said that, sri Ram wanted to pray to lord Shiva and asked to Hanuman (Anjeneya) to bring a Shivalinga (idol of lord Shiva) from mount Kailash in the Himalayas. As Hanuman was late, meanwhile Sita built a Shivalinga with sand and Sri Ram prayed there. On his return, Hanuman was upset that his Shivalinga will not be worshiped. He tried to remove the sand Shivalinga but he could not. Then Lord Ram told him, that his Shivalinga will be first worshiped and then the sand Shivalinga will be worshiped. So we can infer that the installation of the idol was very old but the present structure of the temple is not that old. The temple was mainly built by the Sethupathi kings. However, apart from them many others also contributed in restoration and re-novation.

The temple has beautiful gopurams (tower) typical of Tamil Nadu but they are not colourful as in Madurai. Here the towers are painted in cream colour. It also has 108 teerthams (small tank) which are dedicated to sages and others. I saw people bathing with those water as they are considered holy. At the entrance of the temple you can keep your shoes. the other side of the entrance has a small market which sell religious artifacts and sea artifacts like shankh (sea shell) etc. We bought few items from shop # 32, 37. But make sure that you bargain your heart out. Also, if you are visiting Kanyakumari, I suggest you buy sea artifacts from there as it is cheap there.

Also, note that photography is not allowed in the inner shrine area.

One go for special darshan for Rs 50 per person which allows you to view the Shivalinga closely. The way to the special darshan is fitted with nice paintings and description of Lord Ram’s Vanavas (journey in the forest). The room in which the Shivalinga is kept, only deeps(soil lamp) are lit. It is a beautiful to see the Shivalinga amidts deeps and a silver snake keeping its hood on top of the Shivalinga.

Official website: www.rameswaramtemple.org

You should also see Kodandaramaswamy temple, Ramar Padam, Dhanushkodi which I could not visit.

Hotel:

1. Hotel Royal Park
Semma Madam,
Ramnad Highway, Rameswaram – 23526
Ph: (04573) 221680, 221323
Cell: 94431 59722, 9500459009
Website: http://www.hotelroyalpark.in

2. Hotel Tamil Nadu
TTDC, Rameshwaram

3. Hotel Hare Rama Hare Krishna
15/24,Ramar Padham Road
Thittakudi Street
Rameswaram

4. Gujarat Bhavan
Sanadhi Street
Rameshwaram

I suggest you stay at Rameswaram for at least 2 days so that you can see everything at peace and enjoy the place.

Around 5 pm we started our backyard journey. We were lucky to see the sun set from Pamban bridge. We reached Madurai again by 9.45 pm.

Day 1: Tour of Madurai