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Point Calimere | |
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  Point Calimere Kodiakkarai, Tamil Nadu | |
Coordinates: 10°17′04.2″N 79°49′26.8″E / 10.284500°N 79.824111°E
  Point Calimere Location of Point Calimere in the Indian coast |
Kodiakkarai also called Point Calimere or Cape Calimere, is a low headland of the Coromandel Coast, in the Nagapattinam district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Cape is located about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) south of Vedaranyam in the delta region of the Cauvery River, and marks a nearly right-angle turn in the coastline. The antiquity of the area is evidenced by the Kodi Kuzhagar temple built during the Chola period, and a Chola lighthouse, which was destroyed in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Kodiakkarai has been designated as a Ramsar site since August 2002. Point Calimere is also associated with the mythological Hindu epic, The Ramayana. The highest point of the cape, at an elevation of 4 metres (13 ft), is Ramarpatham, meaning "Rama's feet" in Tamil. A stone slab on the Cape bears the impressions of two feet and is said to be the place where Rama stood and reconnoitered Ravana's kingdom in Sri Lanka, which is 48 kilometres (30 mi) to the south of the Point. It is also mentioned by Kalki in his historical novel Ponniyin Selvan.