Mannar Island
Mannar Island is natures bounty in Sri Lanka. A causeway connects this island with the Sri Lankan mainland. Covered through sands and flora, it has the total area of approximately 50 square kilometers. Tourists usually visit the interesting spots like Adam’s Bridge limestone shoals chains that is a connecting point between Mannar, Sri Lanka with Tamil Nadus Pamban Island, also called Rameswaram Island. Geographical findings describe that it used to be an erstwhile bridge to connect India and Sri Lanka centuries ago.
White sands, palm trees, gulls, and terns seek the attention of visitors here. Tourists enjoy exploring the fishing boats. Presence of ancient baobab trees which were actually native to Africa and believed to have been planted by the Arab merchants here several centuries ago, keep the visitors hooked.
Travelers spend a good time exploring the ruins of the crumbling colonial edifices which Portuguese, Dutch, and British rulers had built several centuries ago during their respective periods. Mannar used to be an affluent pearling center before LTTE hostage leading to the cold war for many decades. Today, it is the poorest of the Sri Lankan islands but has once again started gaining prosperity.