A chain of sandbanks and limestone shoals stretching from Talaimannar toward India, protected as a marine national park and steeped in the legend of the Ramayana.

Overview

Adam's Bridge, known in Hindu tradition as Rama's Bridge (Rama Setu), is a 30 km line of sandbanks, islets and submerged limestone shoals reaching across the Palk Strait from the western tip of Mannar Island toward Rameswaram in India. The chain and its surrounding waters form the Adam's Bridge Marine National Park, a remote seascape of shifting sand islands, coral, seagrass and rich birdlife. Boat trips run by licensed operators cross to the nearer sand islands, where migratory birds nest and the sea shimmers over pale shallows.

History

In the Ramayana, the bridge is the causeway built by Rama's monkey army to cross to Lanka and rescue Sita, giving it deep religious significance for Hindus. Geologically it is a natural formation of sand and coral shoals, once thought to have been walkable to India in the distant past. The waters around the shoals were declared the Adam's Bridge Marine National Park by the Department of Wildlife Conservation on 22 June 2015 to protect their marine life and migratory birds.