Madurai Rameshwaram Kanyakumari Tour Package

At Rameshwaram, the crystal lingam darshan lasts just one hour, from 5 am to 6 am. That single hour shapes this whole Madurai Rameshwaram Kanyakumari tour package, and it is why you stay two nights on the island. In five days you take darshan of Goddess Meenakshi in Madurai and bathe in the 22 sacred wells of the Ramanathaswamy Jyotirlinga at Rameshwaram. You stand at Dhanushkodi, where the island ends, and watch the sun rise over the sea at Kanyakumari. You finish with darshan of Lord Padmanabha in Thiruvananthapuram. Here is the real plan for this Tamil Nadu temple tour: temple timings checked on official sources, one clear dress code for each temple, honest drive times, and the small details that make each morning go smoothly.

What this tour is, in one answer

This is a 5 day, 4 night private tour by car. It starts at Madurai airport or railway station and ends at Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) airport or railway station. You stay one night in Madurai, two nights in Rameshwaram and one night in Kanyakumari. The two Rameshwaram nights are the heart of the plan. They give you one full, unhurried day for the sea bath, the 22 wells, the crystal lingam darshan and Dhanushkodi. Most short tours squeeze all of that into a few rushed hours.

How the route runs, and how far each drive is

You travel south and east from Madurai to the island of Rameshwaram, then down the coast to Kanyakumari at the tip of India, then up into Kerala. Here are the road distances we checked on a routing service and against other published figures:

• Madurai to Rameshwaram: about 170 to 180 km, roughly 3.5 to 4 hours with a tea stop.

• Rameshwaram temple to Dhanushkodi (Arichal Munai): about 24 km, roughly 30 to 45 minutes each way.

• Rameshwaram to Kanyakumari by the coast road through Thoothukudi: about 300 to 320 km, roughly 6 to 7 hours with stops. Some older pages say 250 km. That is too low.

• Kanyakumari to the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram: about 85 to 95 km, roughly 2.5 to 3 hours.

There is no ferry from Rameshwaram to Kanyakumari. You go by road or by train.

Madurai: the city of Goddess Meenakshi

The Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple is the living heart of Madurai. Devotees believe Goddess Meenakshi, a form of Parvati, was born as the daughter of a Pandya king and later married Lord Sundareswarar, a form of Shiva, here. The temple you see today grew over many centuries. Much of its outer form, including many of its tall gopurams and pillared halls, comes from the Nayaka rulers of the 16th and 17th centuries.

The official temple website, run by the Tamil Nadu government's Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) department, gives the timings as 5 am to 12:30 pm and 4 pm to 10 pm. The temple stays closed from 12:30 pm to 4 pm. The last ritual of the day, the Palliyarai pooja, is listed at 9:30 pm to 10 pm. In this ceremony the Lord is carried to the Goddess for the night. Timings change on festival days, so please confirm on the official site before you go.

Phones and cameras are not allowed inside. You leave them, with your footwear, at the counters near the gopuram entrance.

Two Madurai things carry a Geographical Indication tag from the Government of India: Madurai Malli, the jasmine (2013), and the Madurai Sungudi tie and dye saree (2005). Buy both from shops near the temple streets, and ask for a bill.

Rameshwaram: the Jyotirlinga by the sea

The Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and one of the four Char Dham. Tradition says Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva here after the war in Lanka, with a lingam that Sita shaped from sand, while Hanuman went to Kailash and brought back a second lingam. The temple keeps the custom of worshipping the lingam Hanuman brought first.

The official temple website gives these timings, which we used to plan Day 3:

• The temple opens at 4 am, and devotees are let in from 5 am onwards.

• Spatika lingam (crystal lingam) darshan is the first darshan of the day, from 5 am to 6 am.

• Main sanctum darshan runs from 6 am to 1 pm, and then the doors stay shut for the afternoon rituals until 3 pm.

• Evening darshan runs from 3:15 pm to 8 pm. The temple closes for the night at 9 pm.

• The 22 theertham bath inside the temple runs from 5:30 am to 12:30 pm and from 3 pm to 7 pm.

Please confirm these on the official site before you go. Ticket rates for special darshan, the Spatika lingam and abhishekams are listed on the same official page. Check the current rate there. Book only through the official portal.

Dhanushkodi: the end of the island

Dhanushkodi was a busy town until a cyclone destroyed it in 1964. Today a road runs to Arichal Munai at the tip of the island. Tradition says this is where Lord Rama broke the bridge to Lanka with the tip of his bow. Two practical rules matter more than any story:

• It is a day visit only. Entry generally stops in the late afternoon, around 5 pm, and you must be out by about 6 pm.

• The police close the road whenever the sea turns rough. This happens most in the monsoon months. The sea here is dangerous for swimming, so please stay on the shore.

That is why this tour takes you to Dhanushkodi in the early afternoon, not at sunset.

Kanyakumari: where India ends

At Kanyakumari the Bhagavathy Amman Temple faces the sea. It is counted among the Shakti Peethas. The temple opens before dawn, around 4:30 am, closes for a midday break from about 12:30 pm, and opens again from about 4 pm to about 8:30 pm. Men usually remove the shirt before going in. Please confirm the timings and the dress rule at the gate, because they can change on festival days.

The Vivekananda Rock Memorial stands on a rock about 500 metres from the shore. Swami Vivekananda is said to have meditated here in 1892. The ferry is run by the Poompuhar Shipping Corporation, a Government of Tamil Nadu undertaking. News reports say the boat usually runs from about 8 am to 4 pm, and in busy weeks the hours have been extended. The boat stops whenever the sea is rough, in heavy rain, or at very low tide. Keep a spare hour in the morning for this.

Thiruvananthapuram: darshan of Lord Padmanabha

The Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple keeps a strict and old dress code. The official temple website says men must wear the Kerala mundu and an upper cloth, and must leave trousers, shorts and shirts at the locker counter. Women wear a saree, a set mundu, or a long skirt with a blouse. Only Hindus may enter.

Darshan happens in short fixed slots. The official evening slots are 4:30 pm to 6:15 pm and 6:45 pm to 7:20 pm. That is why your drop at Thiruvananthapuram airport or station is planned after 8 pm. Please confirm the slots on the official site before you go.

Dress codes, temple by temple

• Meenakshi Temple, Madurai: men in a dhoti (veshti) or full trousers with a shirt; women in a saree, half saree or salwar kameez with a dupatta. No shorts or sleeveless tops.

• Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameshwaram: the same rule as Madurai. You will be soaked at the 22 wells, so carry a full change of clothes and a towel.

• Bhagavathy Amman Temple, Kanyakumari: men usually remove the shirt before going in; a dhoti is best. Women in traditional dress. Please confirm at the gate.

• Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram: men in mundu with an upper cloth, no shirt; women in saree, set mundu, or long skirt with blouse. Many women who wear a salwar or churidar wrap a mundu over it at the temple. Please confirm at the gate.

If someone in your family is not Hindu

Many NRI and OCI families travel with a spouse or relative of another faith. In Tamil Nadu temples, the Madras High Court has directed that non-Hindus may go beyond the flagpole (kodimaram) only after giving a short written promise at the temple office that they respect the deity. At the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala, only Hindus may enter. Tell us in advance and we will plan the days so that nobody waits alone outside.

When to go

October to March is the travel season. From mid October to December the northeast monsoon brings rain to Tamil Nadu, so keep a spare half day; the Dhanushkodi road and the Kanyakumari boat can close for a day. The calmest stretch is late December to March. April to June is very hot on the plains and on the coast.