Talaimannar


Talaimannar is a settlement in Sri Lanka located on the northwestern coast of Mannar Island.

Transport

Prior to the severe destructions by a cyclone in December 1964, it was the terminus of a ferry service to India across the very shallow Palk Bay. The Mannar railway line, pier and ferry service to india was restored and reopened in 2015 after it had been damaged in a cyclone. The ferry service is part of the Indo-Lanka Railway service, where passengers were ferried between Talaimannar and Dhanushkodi on Rameswaram island in India. The pier is served by a station of the Sri Lanka Government Railway with railway terminus at Talaimannar which connects Talaimannar to rail network in Sri Lanka via Medawachchiya.
The town can be reached by a road from Mannar which links the island to the rest of highway network in Sri Lanka through a causeway.

Development

Being a windy location, Talaimannar is a kitesurf and kiteboard destination. The government proposed a wind farm but was opposed by the local community as the area is a bird sanctuary.

India-Sri Lanka land border

Talaimannar is about 18 miles east of Dhanushkodi in India. A chain of sand shoals between Talaimannar and Danushkodi, has the only land border between India and Sri Lanka, which is the smallest in the world, being just 45 meters in length on a tiny shoal sand dune.