Ramanathapuram Rameswaram Pilgrimage Salt Fishing Tamil Nadu

Ramanathapuram district at Tamil Nadu's southern tip contains Rameswaram — one of India's four dhams (sacred pilgrimage sites) — where the 22 teerthas (sacred wells) and the Ramanathaswamy temple corridor (the longest temple corridor in the world at 1.2 km) draw millions of pilgrims annually, especially during Karthigai and Maha Shivaratri. The district's Adam's Bridge (Ram Setu) — the chain of limestone shoals between Rameswaram and Sri Lanka — is a contested archaeological and religious site, believed in the Ramayana to be the bridge built by Rama's army. The district's Nadar and Mukkalathor fishing communities operate from Pamban Island and Mandapam coast, fishing for prawn, squid, and sting ray in the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar.