Ramanathapuram District is situated in the south-eastern part of
Tamil Nadu. It is bounded by
Sivagangai,
Pudukkottai,
Virudhunagar and
Tuticorin districts, and the
Bay of Bengal. Ramanathapuram was ruled by
Pandyas,
Cholas and Nayaks before the British.
Ramanathapuram District covers an area of 4,089 sq km and has a population of over 1.2 million. Agriculture, textile industry and fishing are the major occupations, and paddy, corn, cottons, groundnut, gingelly and chillies are the main crops. The temperature varies from 22o C to 37o C. It receives an annual rainfall of 827 mm.
Vaigai River is the main river of Ramanathapuram. Ramanathaswamy temple, Kurusadai Island, Devi Patinam,
Erwadi and Dhanushkodi, 2.5 km long Pamban Bridge (connecting Rameshwaram Island with the mainland) are the main tourist attractions.
Ramanathapuram District is connected with other parts of the country by road and rail.
Madurai is the nearest airport, 110 km from
Ramanathapuram.