As we drive from Sigiriya in Sri Lanka’s centre towards the north, the landscape changes. Outside are emerald paddy fields, palmyra trees, salt flats shimmering under the sun, lagoons and shells of abandoned houses. The curly Sinhalese script morphs into the Dravidian Tamil script on name boards and shop fronts. By the time we reach Jaffna, it feels like a different world. Also called Yalpanam in Tamil, Jaffna is perched at the tip of the island’s far north. It was at the heart of the devastating civil war until 2009, and was long cut off from the rest of the country.
Jaffna was the capital of a Tamil kingdom in the 13th Century, and the centre of Tamil culture and literature for many centuries. After more than twenty-five years of war and isolation and the scars of the 2004 tsunami, it is coming into its own and welcoming tourists who want to experience a Sri Lanka vastly different from the south.
Culturally and geographically, Jaffna is closer to South India than to Colombo , with more than 78% of its population being Tamil Hindus who once migrated from the mainland. Colonial era buildings, a British era clocktower and modern hotels lie cheek-by-jowl with crumbling bungalows, Hindu temples and pastel churches. Cycles were once the only mode of transportation here when there was a blockade of fuel and supplies during the war–today the bicycle is still a prominent part of daily life here. Here’s a pick of the best things to do in Jaffna:
The city’s showstopper is the Portuguese built fort from the 17 th Century, which was later enlarged into a pentagonal structure by the Dutch. It was constructed using stone and huge chunks of local coral and one can still trace the delicate patterns of corals on its walls and floors. Large swathes of the fort are still in ruins, a reminder of the civil war from not long ago. Inside is a Dutch church awaiting restoration; a Queen’s palace has crumbling walls, with signs that warn visitors not to go near. Unbothered by history, grazing cows and goats share space with canoodling couples. Climb the ramparts for a panoramic view of the scrublands, glistening lagoons with fishermen’s homes on stilts, and endless mudflats. The fort is open daily from 8am to 6pm. It’s free for locals but foreigners pay a fee of $5 (Rs450).
History whispers from every corner of the city and battle scars run deep underneath the surface. One of the city’s most poignant symbols is the white Indo-Saracenic Jaffna Public Library from 1841, designed by a Chennai architect, which housed more than 90,000 rare Tamil literature and ancient manuscripts, including the History of Ceylon written by Robert Knox in the 1660s and Mudaliar Nayakars’ historical piece: Ancient Jaffna. The library was reduced to ashes in 1981 by angry Sinhalese mobs. In 1998, under president Chandrika Kumaratunga, the government began to rebuild it with contributions from across the world. The restoration project was completed in 2001, and the library was given spacious reading halls. Inside students and researchers pore over periodicals and newspapers under whirring ceiling fans.
Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil Hindu temple in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
The spiritual heart of the city is the 13th Century Nallur Kandaswamy Temple dedicated to Lord Murugan, with its new nine-storey Raja Gopuram, and life-size murals and statues. I visited late in the afternoon, when prayers chanted by priests and the smell of incense transported me back to Tamil Nadu . The evening puja is a popular attraction, when the gods are taken in a procession around the temple to drumbeats. Remember that men have to enter bare-chested and barefoot, and women have to dress decorously covering their legs. No photography is permitted inside the temple. “The town comes alive during the Nallur festival in August with ceremonies, processions, and devout devotees piercing their bodies with spears as an act of devotion. It is an extremely busy time of the year and a very colourful festival when faith and history converge,” says Nilanthi Wijesooriya, the general manager of Jetwing Jaffna who moved here 15 years ago from the south .
Ocean view seen from edge of Keerimalai Hot Springs in Jaffna, Sri Lanka
The Keerimalai Springs, 25km from Jaffna, set against the backdrop of serene Keerimalai Bay are supposed to have miraculous healing powers. The site was mentioned in ancient Tamil Sangam literature as the place where a Pandyan princess was cured of her horse-like face, and, according to local folklore, a sage Nagula Muni was cured of his ‘mongoose face’ after a bath here. Today, there are separate bathing sections for men and women just next to the sea, separated by a wall. Watch local men and boys splash about and then visit the famous Naguleswaran temple dedicated to Lord Shiva .
Casuarina Beach on Karaitivu island, Sri Lanka
Driving outside the city, you come across a maze of causeways, sandy roads and peninsular islands. Salt flats glisten in the sun, palmyra trees stand like sentinels and cows and goats wander freely in these sparsely populated parts. Accessible via ferry, there is Delft , with its white-sand beaches, wild ponies, and a baobab tree brought in by Arab traders. Nanaitivu is another island that has both the Hindu Naga Pooshani Amman Temple and a Buddhist temple, which Buddha is said to have visited. The public ferry can be extremely crowded and claustrophobic, a better alternative is to hire a six-seated private boat for around Rs5,000 along with life jackets. The island only has a couple of local eateries: it’s better to carry drinking water and some snacks. Kayts is another popular island and its fort once played a role in maritime defence and trade, with churches and temples and many decrepit houses that were abandoned by owners who left the country during the war and never came back or were destroyed in the war. Banyan Trees claw their way into brick walls and crumbling columns remind one of the island’s painful past. Casuarina Beach on Karaitivu island feels meditative–it is one of the most peaceful stretches of beach lined with casuarina trees, dotted with cement benches and colourful fishermen’s boats.
Thali of rice and curry, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
What truly defines Jaffna is its food “Cooking here reflects generations of local wisdom: nutrient-rich red rice, palmyra-based dishes found nowhere else and a distinctive curry style that favours aromatic spices over heat. Signature dishes such as prawn curries with drumstick, green banana or eggplant and Jaffna crab curry with murunga leaves are essential experiences,” says Kartiga Athiththan, a Jaffna-based lawyer who also runs a homestay called Malabar Homestay .
Jaffna’s cuisine is influenced by South India with the bold use of spices. Jaffna curry powder is a rich blend of fennel, red chillies, fenugreek, coriander and cumin and used to flavour local fish and meat curries. Jaffna-style dosas are laced with turmeric and served with chutneys and sambar. The most popular dish is the crab curry and Kool–a seafood chowder. At Jetwing Jaffna , the chef makes us an assortment of local curries including a special brinjal and chickpeas curry served with red rice and Jaffna style rasam. We also feasted on kottu roti, vegetables minced with bits of parotta and spices with a distinctive rhythmic preparation. Breakfast had red rice flour pittu steamed in cylindrical molds. A rite of passage is the visit to Rio Ice Cream, close to Nallur Temple, which has been a local institution for over 40 years through the years of conflict and stride. They serve towering sundaes and ice creams, including local flavours like kithul, a local jaggery harvested from palm trees .
A drive up to Point Pedro, 30km from Jaffna, the geographical milestone marking the last point in northern Sri Lanka is mandatory. Sakkotai in Point Pedro, has a board marking it the most northerly point on the island. Once it was the hub of cotton trade, but today, it’s a fishing village fringed by a coral reef, bullet ridden houses, a solitary lighthouse with a stark marking on its façade indicating the water level during the 2004 tsunami, a beach lined with nets and fishermen’s boats , vast stretches of drying fish laid out on huge tarpaulins, and a single mail box on the edge of the beach. This coast bore the brunt of the 2004 tsunami when boats were lifted a kilometre inland reshaping the land and lives here.
Walking through the Jaffna market, is a sensory delight with the soundtrack of Tamil film music blaring from tinny speakers, and stalls overflowing with juicy mangoes, more than 20 varieties of banana, juicy pineapples, gargantuan jackfruit, brinjals and other vegetables. Stalls sell palmyra roots, dried fish, bottles of sharp sweet nelli (gooseberry) cocktail , chunks of jaggery made from palm syrup, chillies soaked in curd and salt and sun dried, and peanut biscuits and candy. Overhead Palmyra bags, baskets and mats hang like festive streamers and clay pots of every imaginable shape and sizes cram the ground.
Best Time to Visit: The dry season, from January to September, is generally considered the best time to visit Jaffna.
Getting there: Indigo has direct flights to Jaffna from Chennai . The other way to reach Jaffna is by train from Colombo–there are three departures a day and it takes around eight hours, nearly the same time it takes by road.
Stay : Stay at Jetwing Jaffna (Doubles from Rs10,000; Website ) for its central location near the clock tower, and a restaurant and bar. Jetwing Mahesa Bhawan (Doubles from Rs14,000; Website ) is a more luxe option with four suites in a restored heritage villa with a swimming pool and local food. Fox Resorts Jaffna (Doubles from Rs10,000; Website )is another boutique property set in a historic house. The Thinnai (Doubles from Rs11,000; Website ) is an all-suite four star property in a central location. Catumaran Jaffna (Prices on request; Instagram ) is a homestay in an old ancestral home, a few minutes outside town.
Shop: Pick up local jaggery and spices from the Jaffna market. Visit Kolam, a boutique setup in an old mansion with a central courtyard that stocks vegetable dye sarees, jewellery made from recycled glass and palmyra baskets.
Eat and Drink: Taste local tiffin like dosas, idlis and vadas at Malayan café and Sri Lankan rice and curry, Jaffna crab curry and kool at Peninsula restaurant at Jetwing Jaffna. For a drink with a view head to the rooftop bar. Try hot butter cuttlefish and odiyal kool at the restaurant in Fox Resorts Jaffna. Have kottu parotta and dosais at Mangos restaurant near Nallur Kovil. For Jaffna-style meals, head to Hotel Rolex.
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