Pamban Island also known as Rameswaram Island, is an island located between peninsular India and Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. The island is a part of India and is governed by the administration of Ramanathapuram district

Ramanathapuram District

Ramanathapuram District is an administrative district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Ramanathapuram is the district headquarters. Ramanthapuram District has an area of 4123 km²...

 of the state of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

. The principal town in the island is the pilgrimage centre of Rameswaram.

Location and size

Pamban Island is situated between 9°11' N and 9°19' N latitude and 79°12' E to 79°23' E longitudes. The chain formed by Pamban Island, the shoals of Adam's Bridge, and Mannar Island

Mannar Island

Mannar Island, formerly called Manar Island, is part of Mannar District, Sri Lanka. It is linked to the rest of Sri Lanka by a causeway.It has an area of about 50 square kilometres, mainly covered with vegetation and sand.Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu ,[1] is a chain of limestone shoals, between...

 of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

 separate Palk Bay and the Palk Strait

Palk Strait

Palk Strait is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Mannar district of the Northern Province of the island nation of Sri Lanka. It connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast with the Palk Bay and thence with the Gulf of Mannar in the southwest. The strait is wide. Several...

 in the northeast from the Gulf of Mannar

Gulf of Mannar

The Gulf of Mannar is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. It lies between the southeastern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka. A chain of low islands and reefs known as Adam's Bridge, also called Ramsethu, which includes Mannar Island, separates the...

 in the southwest. Pamban Island extends for around 30 kilometres in width from the township of Pamban in the west to the remains of Dhanushkodi towards the south-east. The length of the island varies from 2 kilometres at the Dhanushkodi promontory to 7 kilometres near Rameswaram. The area of the island is around 67 square km.

Demographics

Pamban Island constitutes a separate taluk of Ramanathapuram district with four administrative divisions: Okarisalkulam, Mahindi, Pamban and Rameswaram. There are two administrative villages:Pamban and Rameswaram. The two main towns on Pamban Island are Pamban and Rameswaram. There are also smaller settlements upon the island like Thangachimadam

Thangachimadam

Thangachimadam is a village in the central part of Rameswaram which is a holy island in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is separated from the mainland by Pamban channel. Languages spoken include Tamil and English.-Economy:...

 and Ramarpadam. The taluk headquarters is at Rameswaram. There are railway stations at Pamban and Rameswaram.

Rameswaram with a population of 38,035 (2001 census) is the largest and most populous town on the island. It is one of the most sacred Hindu religious sites and a pilgrimage destination for thousands of Hindus every year. The Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram has the longest corridor in Asia. Rameswaram is situated at the centre of the island, around 11 kilometres from the township of Pamban and 18 kilometres from Dhanushkodi.

Pamban, situated at the western edge of Pamban Island, is a fishing village and a harbour which is the main point of entry for the pilgrimage centre of Rameswaram. It has a population of around 9,000 inhabitants. Its importance has enhanced because it is located at the eastern end of Pamban Bridge

Pamban Bridge

The Pamban Bridge is a cantilever bridge on the Palk Strait connects Rameswaram on Pamban Island to mainland India. It refers to both the road bridge and the cantilever railway bridge, though primarily it means the latter. It was India's first sea bridge...

 through which supplies enter the island. Pamban is 11 kilometres from Rameswaram, 30 kilometres from the tip of Dhanushkodi and around 7 kilometres from Mandapam

Mandapam

Mandapam is a panchayat town in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-Geography:Mandapam is located at . It has an average elevation of 9 metres .-Demographics:...

 on the Indian mainland. It is separated from the Indian mainland by a narrow strip of sea.

Thangachi Madam

Thangachimadam

Thangachimadam is a village in the central part of Rameswaram which is a holy island in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is separated from the mainland by Pamban channel. Languages spoken include Tamil and English.-Economy:...

 situated between Pamban and Rameswaram is a minor settlement. It derives its name from a mutt(Madam) which is located in the town. There are a couple of temples and a few churches. The township is also served by a police station. Ekantharamar Temple constructed and maintained by the Kanchi mutt is the main attraction here.

At the eastern tip of the island lies the site of Dhanushkodi. Dhanushkodi, a harbour and a pilgrimage centre, was washed away by the December 1964 cyclone. Prior to its destruction it was a flourishing township and a prominent place of pilgrimage. In its heyday, it rivalled Rameswaram in size and population. However, the December 1964 cyclone destroyed the town in its entirety claiming over 2,000 lives and crippling power supply and communications. Houses, temples, churches, dispensaries and dharmashalas were destroyed leaving nothing but a ghost town. Some of the dharmashalas and a prominent mutt based in Dhanushkodi have been moved to Rameswaram. But Dhanushkodi could never be rebuilt. Dhanushkodi was well connected by rail and road with Pamban and the mainland until the cyclone struck. The ruins of the station and the railway track have been left untouched thereby making the ghost-town a popular tourist destination.

Physical features and vegetation

Most of Pamban Island lies below sea-level. However, there are a few hillocks and elevated physical features in the vicinity of Rameswaram of which Mt.Gandamadana is the tallest. It is believed that this was the hillock from whose summit Lord Rama

Rama

Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

 observed Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

 and conceived the idea of constructing a bridge between India and Lanka. A temple commemorates the exact site.

Most of Pamban Island is covered with white sand and hence is not suitable for cultivation

Tillage

Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shovelling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking...

. Coconut

Coconut

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

 and palm trees are found in abundance apart from fig

Ficus

Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...

 and eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

 plants. Scrubs and rushes

Juncaceae

Juncaceae, the rush family, are a monocotyledonous family of flowering plants. There are eight genera and about 400 species. Members of the Juncaceae are slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous plants, and they may superficially resemble grasses. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range...

are found in abundance all along the sea-shore.