The island at the edge of India — where Rama built his bridge to Lanka, 22 sacred wells under one roof form the longest temple corridor in Asia, and the Pamban Bridge connects to mainland India over sea
Rameswaram (pop. 44,000) is a coral island in the Gulf of Mannar, connected to mainland Tamil Nadu by the Pamban Bridge (built 1914, still the only rail link between the island and the mainland, requiring trains to reduce to 12 km/h as they cross). The island is one of India's four Char Dham pilgrimage sites (alongside Badrinath, Dwarka, and Puri) and one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva — meaning the deity here is believed to be a manifestation of divine light rather than a represented image. The Ramanathaswamy Temple's corridors (the outer corridor is 1.2 km long — the longest temple…
Rameswaram's religious significance predates recorded history — the island appears in the Ramayana as Rameshwaram, the place where Rama prayed to Shiva to absolve the sin of killing the demon king Ravana (who was a Brahmin) and was blessed in return. The current Ramanathaswamy Temple was constructed between the 12th and 16th centuries under Pandya, Jaffna Kingdom, and Setupati rulers; the famous outer corridor with 1,212 pillars was added in the 17th century under Setupati king Mutharaiyar. The Pamban Bridge (1914) was the longest sea bridge in India for many decades; it was heavily damaged b…