Adams Bridge or Rama‘s Bridge is a series of small islands, sand banks and corals, 18 miles long, connecting the southern tip of India at Danushkodi to Talaimannar in north-western Sri Lanka. Based on satellite studies, some believe that it is the bridge that Hanuman built for Rama to cross to Sri Lanka with his army to rescue his wife Sita from Ravana, the king of Sri Lanka some 1.75 million years ago, as recorded by the Indian epic, Ramayana! There are 16 islands, 8 controlled by Sri Lanka and the rest by India.
Talaimannar beach with its old lighthouse and Pier View Restaurant run by the Sri Lankan navy is the starting point for the two hour return journey to Adams Bridge.
Each Sri Lankan navy speedboat has room for eight passengers and is manned by two crew. Life jackets and refreshment packs are provided and a rescue boat is in attendance.
Waters near the islands are shallow. Silver fish dart about and do the triple jump. Common Terns dive bomb.
About half an hour is spent on island number two which is a large sandbank with no trees. During my visit in March 2012, Huglins Gulls, Common Terns and Oriental Skylarks were seen on the island.
Sri Lankan navy runs trips to Adams Bridge from the Talaimannar Pier daily from 7am to 4pm. The cost is Rs.600 (£3) per person.
PS
- Following a fatal accident in November 2013, Sri Lankan Navy has suspended boat trips to Adams Bridge
- Valentina – a young Russian transport engineer and her friend, Anya, an artist, after reading this post were keen to visit Adams Bridge. They asked me for advice and I put them in touch with the travel agent who took me there. Valya & Anya came to Sri Lanka on 25th February 2014 and had dinner with me. Sadly, it is no longer possible for them to Adams Bridge but they will travel to Mannar and view it from a distance.
Related articles
- Retracing the Ramayana – Dhanushkodi and a dodgy dhaba (findingnalanda.wordpress.com)
Comments
The post has attracted many comments, some of them unpublishable, on Youtube, from mostly Indian viewers. Here’s one today:
- “Its Rama Seth bridge. Don’t you come to our land and give your name to our history and religions.” – DBZ For life And movie clips. 1 March 2017
Bandi's Blog 
Dear Dr. Bernard, thank you for the information and Photos of Sand Banks. Would be appreciated if you could send me more pictures of the sand banks as I’m doing a study to develop this historic highlight as a tourist attraction in Sri Lanka. sisitha@live.com is my email address
LikeLike
Dear Dr.Bernard,
Mnay thnaks for the valuable information.I am also visiting Dhanuskodi this year end to view Adms Bridge.
Regards
Raja Acharya
India
LikeLike
Hello Bernard! I read in your blog very interesting post about your trip to Adam’s bridge. I’m traffic engineer. I want to visit Adam’s bridge. In my opinion it is the first road in the World. But I don’t know how to realize it. It isn’t problem for me to come to Sri Lanka. I don’t understand how to visit Adam’s bridge. I’ll be obliged you if you give me advice how to do it. As I understand you speak Russian. Is it possible if I write you in Russian? I’m afraid that I make a lot of mistakes in English and you don’t understand my English. If you understand me I will write in English. It isn’t problem.
I sent the same text to you at facebook, but as I understand there are some problems with mail.”
– Valentina Sapronova (Moscow) on 7 February 2014
LikeLike
Nice to hear from you. Your English is pretty good – much better than my Russian! From Colombo, you need to get to the North-West coast town of Mannar. The Sri Lankan navy runs a daily boat service to Adams Bridge. You can get any travel agent to book it for you. I used an agent called Bandula de Silva. His contact details are given below. Good luck!- – Bernard
Bandula De Silva | Director, RANFER TRAVELS PVT LTD, No.36, Ketawalamulla Place, Colombo 09. Sri Lanka, TEL: +94 (0) 11 4605600 DIRECT : +94 (0) 11 4605643, WEB : http://www.ranfertravels.com FACEBOOK [like] SKYPE : targettravels
LikeLike
Thank you for answer and for your advices. I’ve wrote message to Bandula de Silva as you recommended me. I asked him to help me organize tour in Sri Lanka.
I hope I’ll be in Sri Lanka from 25 feb till 6 March (I haven’t bought tickets yet. Maybe it will be another dates).
I want to spend 4-5 days at the ocean. I want to visit Adam’s bridge, Colombo, and something else (for example Adam’s Peak or something else) in other days. What do you recommended me to visit? What will be better to stay in one hotel and travelling from it or change hotels?
I read about your wine club. It is very interesting. My sister is sommelier. And a lot of our friends work in wine field.- Valentina (Moscow)
LikeLike
Reblogged this on HMWS Blog and commented:
Valentina, a young Russian transport engineer who read this post, wanted to travel to Sri Lanka to visit Adams Bridge. She contacted me and I put her in touch with the agent who arranged my trip there in 2012. Valentina is coming to Sri Lanka on 25th February 2014. However, following a fatal accident in November 2013, Sri Lankan Navy has suspended boat trips to Adams Bridge.
This is my original Bandi’s Blog post published in March 2013.
LikeLike
The two Russian travellers Valya & Anya reached Mannar on 27 February 2014 and viewed Adams Bridge in the distance from the pier. They were thrilled.
LikeLike