Rama Setu also known as Rama's Bridge or Adam's Bridge, is a chain of limestone shoals, between Rameswaram Island, off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Geological evidence suggests that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka. The sea in the area is very shallow, being only 1 to 10 metres (3 to 30 ft) deep in places, which hinders navigation. It was reportedly passable on foot up to the 15th century until storms deepened the channel. Temple records seem to say that Adam's Bridge was completely above sea level until it broke in a cyclone in AD 1480.

The bridge was first mentioned in the ancient Indian Sanskrit epic Ramayana of Valmiki. The name Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu refers to the bridge built by the Vanara (ape men) army of Lord Rama in Hindu theology which he used to reach Lanka and rescue his wife Sita from the Rakshasa king, Ravana. The earliest map that calls this area by the name Adam's bridge was prepared by a British cartographer in 1804. Islamic tradition refers to a mountain in Sri Lanka as Adam's Peak, where Adam supposedly fell to earth, and describes Adam as crossing from Sri Lanka to India on what became known as Adam’s Bridge.

Photo:Planemad