Related Wildlife Species Founds in India
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Location :Ramanathpuram
Coverage area : 6.23 Km
Main attraction : Blue whale, Mink whale, Gastropods, Fin whale
Best time to visit :October to March
Nearby excursions : Adam?s Bridge or Rama Setu, Dhanushkodi, Rameshwaram Temple
Nearby cities :Rameswaram
From the past two thousand years, Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, which was actually known as Pamban to Tuticorin barrier reef, is famous for its Pearl Banks of PinctadaFucata and PinctadaRadiata. Located in the Ramanathpuram&Tuticorin districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park is a part of the core area of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve.
Established in the year of 1980 over an area of 6.23 Km2, this is the first marine Biosphere Reserve in India.The National Park was given the status of a Biosphere Reserve in 1989. It comprises of 21 islands and all of them are surrounded by coral reef areas along with shallow water habitat of unique marine biodiversity. As all the 21 islands come under the Marine National Park sphere, there is no permission of tourism or other commercial activities. So, public access inside the Park is limited to
the glass bottom boat rides where they can explore the wide diversity of plants and animals in its marine, intertidal and near shore habitats.
Interestingly, the Park also forms a part of the third largest of the world?s oceanic divisions i.e. Indian Ocean. The Gulf of Mannar is separated by the Palk Strait by a series of closely linked group of islands with Coral origin and reefs which are popularly referred to as the Adam?s Bridge or the Rama?s Bridge by the locals. It is, indeed, one of the richest areas in terms of marine biodiversity has three explicit Marine ecosystems. They are:
Coral reefs
Sea grass and Mangroves accompanied by salt marshes
Algal communities
It also has an interesting geographical condition as Tambaraparani River from the coast of India and the AruviAru from the coast of Sri Lanka merges with the Indian Ocean on both sides of the park. The 21 islands within the park are of various sizes and are grouped into the following four:
The Tuticorin group
The Vembar group
The Kilakarai group
The Mandapam group
The months October to March are considered as the perfect time to visit Gulf of Mannar National Park for unforgettable experiences.
The park has both vertebrates and invertebrates. The common ones among the Vertebrates are:
Blue whale, Mink whale, Gastropods, Fin whale, Sperm whales, Finless porpoise, Humpback whale, Bottlenose dolphins, Common dolphin, Butterfly fish, Parrot fish, Squirrel fish, Clown fish, Snappers and more.
Major invertebrates include but not limited to Lobsters, Echinoderm, Bottle nosed dolphins, Shrimp, Cephalopods, Sponge, Bivalves, Polyplacophorans, Crabs, Sea cucumbers, Molluscs, Gastropods, Scaphopods, Sea horses, Spinner dolphin, and Common dolphin.
Amongst the birds, visitors can easily spot Dunlin, Longtoed stint, Rednecked phalarope, Lesser sand piper, Red knot, Eastern knot, Curlew sandpiper, Little stint, Crab plovers Bar tailed Godwit, Broad billed Sandpiper, Little tern, Kentish plover, Stone plover, Stone curlew, and Lesser crested sterna.
Crab plovers, Broad billed sandpiper, Bar tailed godwit, Dunlin, Red necked Phalarope, Long stoed stint and Red knot are the usually seen migratory birds.
Rameswaram , 23 km
Mandapam , 45 km
Madurai , 191 km
Thiruvananthapuram, 387 km
Coimbatore , 403 km
Chennai , 583 km
Bangalore , 626 km
Hyderabad , 1192 km
Goa , 1194 km
Airways
Madurai airport is about 150 Km from the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park and is the nearest air route. Tourists can fly to this airport as there are plenty of private cars and buses available for transfer.
Railways
Rameshwaram railway station is the nearest railway station and is about 7km from the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. Rameshwaram railway station is easily connected by the road network. Mandapam-Ramanathapram and Tuticorin are the other nearby railway stations.
Roadways
There are buses connecting Ramanathapram, Rameshwaram and Madurai.There are a number of government and privately operated vehicles that offer transfers from the connecting towns at frequent intervals.
Accommodation facilities
A number of accommodation options are available in Rameswaram (22 km) and Ramanathapuram (59 km) for tourists which range from premium to budget category. There is no hotel or resort owned by the park. Daiwik Hotel, Hotel MCM Towers, Hotel Brindavan Residency are some of the preferred private stay options.