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Near the
beach is the Ramanathaswamy Temple, one of the
most important temples in southern India. It
was built in the 17th century and is famous
for its 1200 gigantic granite columns.
The 54 meter tall gate-tower, called
‘Gopuram' and 1220 meters of magnificent
corridors attracts even foreign tourists to
this temple. Another belief is that Lord Sri
Rama earlier constructed a mythological bridge
to Sri Lanka from this Rameshwaram beach.
Another
important tourist spot in Rameshwaram is
Agnitheertham, which is just 100 meters away
from the temple. It is believed that this is
the place where Rama worshipped Lord Shiva,
and asked forgiveness for killing Ravana.
MARINE FAUNA IN RAMESHWARAM BEACH
The benevolent sea inhabits the rare sea
species and coral reefs. Exotic variety of
marine life-algae, starfish, sea cucumber,
crabs, sponges and the sea cow are found here.
The clean beach and shallow water here are an
ideal destination for swimming and sunbathing.
This is the only place in the region where one
could swim in the sea day and night. An
enjoyable sight is frolic of dolphins in the
water.
MAJOR ATTRACTIONS OF RAMESHWERAM BEACH
Main attractions are the Ramanathswamy temple
is spread over 151 acres and is a magnificent
example of Dravidian art. This temple took
about 350 years to take its present form
various release having contributed to its
construction at different times from the 12th
century onwards.
Parakrama Bahu, the ruler of Ceylon guilt the
sanctum sanctorum. The corridors and other
vast structures of the temple and the Gopurams
were built by the Sethupathis, rulers of
Ramanathapuram since 12th century.
The temple has
two Gopurams at the eastern and western
entrances, 130 feet and 80 feet high,
respectively. The sanctum sanctorum is built
of polished granite stone. |
