Dhanushkodi - the abandoned town

                While coming up with the destination as Dhanushkodi just the night before, I was not so sure about how the trip was gonna pan out. Our initial plan was a four-day road trip, which due to plenty of reasons had to be cut short to two days. This forced us to look for alternative destinations as well. Dhanushkodi was accepted by the rest of us, and we decided to go ahead with it, without thinking too much . The next afternoon we left Kazhakkoottam and started off towards Dhanushkodi, via the Thenmala - Shencotta - Courtallam - Tirunelveli -Tuticorin - Rameswaram route. 

The route map

                It was almost 5 PM when we reached Thenmala. All the tourist spots there, the Thenmala Dam & ecotourism, Palaruvi falls etc were closed for the day by then, and we couldn't visit any of them. Still, the drive along this route itself was very enjoyable. The river flowing alongside, beautiful railway bridges, big and tall trees, all together made the scenes so enchanting.

                We continued along the south most pass of the western ghats in Kerala. The drive through the Shencotta road, surrounded by paddy fields bordered by mountains was so beautiful, that we pulled off couple of times just to have a few clicks of this exquisite landscape. 

                We decided to have a short visit at the Courtallam waterfalls en-route, and reached there around 6.30 PM. The place was very crowded, so we were not interested in having a bath in the falls. Instead, we clicked a few pics of the falls and moved on without spending too much time there.

                We met a guy from Kerala at Thenkasi, where we stopped for a tea break. He suggested to take the Tirunelveli - Tuticorin route instead of going via Kovilpatti, since the roads in the former route is better. We took his suggestion and  reached Rameswaram by 1.30 in the midnight, so earlier than Google predicted. Thanks to the smooth roads that helped us throttle the car at ease at high speeds. After knocking the doors of countless number of lodges and hotels, we finally managed to get an AC room for 3000 rupees, with the help of a local auto-rickshaw guy. No bargaining was possible at that moment, since all the hotels were full owing to the huge rush of travelers as well as pilgrims since it was the Pooja holidays.

                The next morning by 8.30 we left the lodge  and drove towards Dhanushkodi. The traffic was so heavy in the Rameswaram town, but once we went past the town, it was an absolute pleasure to drive. The drive through beach sand in trucks towards the end point of Dhanushkodi is no more. It's arguably a loss of an experience, one of its kind. But now, you can take your own vehicle through the smooth and straight roads till the last point. The road is surrounded by Palm trees and thorny bushes for the initial few kilometers, which later give way to sand plains on both sides which were once sea bed.

               As we neared the end point, the remains of the old town in Dhanushkodi started showing up. We decided to stop there on our way back and proceeded towards the last point. The view at the end point was stunning. Shallow calm sea without waves to your left, and the sea with roaring waves to your right, both separated by a narrow stretch of sand which runs down in to the sea, forming the Ramasethu. 

Where it goes down all the way into the sea

                The waters to our left was shallow as well. We could see fishermen standing in knee high waters. The boats in the greenish blue calm water, sea birds flying around, white sandy shore, altogether it was a sight to behold. After spending couple of hours completely mesmerized by the nature around, we left the place to visit the ruins remaining in the ghost town.

Pillar at the extreme end of the Dhanushkodi road

                Dhanushkodi, once a bustling town was completely destroyed in the huge cyclic storm in 1964, making the government declaring it unfit for living. Only settlement here now, is few small huts of fishermen. The ruins of the old church, railway station and other buildings depicts clearly the impact the cyclone made in the town. 

Remains of the old railway station

The old church

Remains of the altar in the old church 

The dome of the church now looks like a skull from this angle, clearly depicting how the town now is

               We also took a stroll along the marshy sand besides the Dhanushkodi - Rameswaram road. This land was once a sea bed and we saw plenty of sea shells and water plants there.

This land beside the road was once a sea bed

                We planned to visit the Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam memorial at Rameswaram, but the place was so crowded which made us leave it for sometime later. We also spotted the 323 meters high TV tower, one of the tallest structures in India. 

                It was 2 O'clock in the afternoon when we left Rameswaram. We stopped at the Pamban sea bridge on our way back to have some clicks of this engineering marvel. There was heavy traffic in the bridge, still we managed to spend sometime on it. The view of the Cantilever bridge and the number of small fishing boats, from the top of the bridge was quite enthralling. 

The Pamban sea bridge

Closer look at the Cantilever bridge

Life under the bridge

                We stopped at the salt pans along the highway at Tuticorin, and had a chat with the people toiling there, about the process of salt making in the pans. After clicking a few pictures we left the place. 

Man at work in Salt pans

              
              
                We continued along the Tuticorin - Tirunelveli - Nagercoil - Trivandrum route, speeding the car well above 100kph. The very high temperature in Dhanushkodi had taken heavy toll on all of us. Skin getting heavily tanned, sun burns, red eyes.., it was a total mess. It's not just advisable, but a must to take proper precautions by using good quality sunscreen, sun glasses, cap etc. We used none of these in the excitement of the beauty around us, despite having sun glasses and caps in the car. I think that sums up pretty well how alluring the place was. Yes, it is a must visit spot...