Rameshwaram stands on Rameswaram island in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu. The island is reached over the Pamban bridge. The temple has 22 holy theerthams (bathing places) inside its premises, and the visit includes them as well as darshan. This guide follows the visit in the order you meet it, using the times and fees the temple's own pages publish.
The walk to the sanctum
The temple opens daily at 4:00 AM. Devotees are allowed for darshan by 5:00 AM. The first darshan of the day is the Spatiga linga darshan, from 5:00 AM to 6:00 AM. The main darshan at the moolasthana runs from 6:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
The temple closes at 1:00 PM and reopens at 3:00 PM. Darshan then runs from 3:15 PM to 8:00 PM. The temple is closed by 9:00 PM every day.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 4:00 AM | Temple opens |
| 5:00 AM to 6:00 AM | First darshan, of the spadiga linga |
| 6:00 AM to 1:00 PM | Darshan at the moolasthana |
| 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM | Temple closed |
| 3:15 PM to 8:00 PM | Darshan |
| 9:00 PM | Temple closes |
The temple's service information lists a locker room at Rs 50. The temple's own pages do not give a list of items that must be left behind, so check with the staff at the entrance before you go in with a bag or phone.
The queue runs inside the darshan windows above. The temple's fee list does not show a charge for general darshan. It does list a special entrance darshan and a quick darshan, at these prices:
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Special entrance darshan, Swamy sannathi | Rs 100 |
| Special entrance darshan, Ambal sannathi | Rs 50 |
| Quick darshan, Swamy sannathi | Rs 200 |
| Spadigalinga darshan | Rs 50 |
The fee list has further items (abhishekams, archanai, chariot offerings). Check the full list on the temple's HR and CE page before you go.
The temple has 22 holy theerthams inside its premises. Pilgrims are allowed to bathe in them from 5:30 AM to 12:30 PM and again from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Plan a block of time for them on top of darshan.
The temple holds six daily poojas. Each is listed with its time:
| Pooja | Time |
|---|---|
| Thiruvanandal pooja | 6:00 AM to 6:15 AM |
| Vilaa pooja | 7:00 AM to 7:15 AM |
| Kalasandhi pooja | 10:00 AM to 10:15 AM |
| Uchikkala pooja | 12:00 PM to 12:15 PM |
| Sayaraksha pooja (evening) | 6:00 PM to 6:15 PM |
| Ardhajama pooja | 8:30 PM to 8:45 PM |
Larger abhishekam offerings are also on the fee list, including Rudrabisegam and Panjamirtha abisegam at Rs 3,000 each, and Vadamaalai at Rs 300.
The temple and its story
The temple page describes Rameswaram island as shaped like a conch in the hands of Lord Thirumal, and gives the temple an area of about 15 acres. The Puranas, as the temple tells it, link the shrine to the Ramayana. Sage Agastya advised that Sri Rama come here with Sita and Lakshmana to expiate the sin of killing Ravana, and to install and worship a linga.
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The temple's sthala puranam says Rama set an auspicious time for the installation and sent Hanuman to Mount Kailas for a linga. Hanuman was late, so Sita made a linga of sand, and that one was installed in time. When Hanuman returned, he was angry and tried to remove the sand linga, without success. To calm him, Rama had the linga Hanuman brought installed beside it. The temple says the first worship of the day is still made to that linga.
The temple's history page records that the shrine was in a monk's care until the 10th century. It says the sanctum was built in the 12th century by the Sri Lankan king Parakramabahu. The west gopuram and the rampart walls were built in the 15th century by the Ramanathapuram ruler Udayan Sethupathi and a Vaishya from Nagore. The Nandi mandapam was built in the 16th century by Chinna Udayan Sethupathi Kattathevar, a minor ruler under the Madurai king Viswanatha Nayakan.
Planning the visit
- Getting there: the district says Ramanathapuram has a railway station with express and passenger trains. Madurai airport is about 120 km from Ramanathapuram, and Tuticorin (TCR) about 125 km. The district also gives a bus terminus with services from major Tamil Nadu cities, and puts Ramanathapuram about 518 km from Chennai. Routes are on the how to reach Rameshwaram page.
- Staying: the temple and district pages used here do not name specific hotels. The hotels page covers the options.
- Booking: the temple's fees and darshan bookings sit on the Tamil Nadu HR and CE online portal at rameswaramramanathar.hrce.tn.gov.in. Steps are on the booking page.
- Best time: October to March, by this site's season guide. The temple and district pages used here do not give a best season.
- Around the island: see the nearby page for Devipattinam, Thiru Uthirakosamangai and Erwadi, and for the Pamban Bridge, Dhanushkodi and the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial.
