Yesterday we boasted to provide the most comprehensive descriptions of Sri Lanka's national parks on our website. There is another series of destinations that is worth mentioning as being described in our articles that is extraordinarily packed with information, namely Jaffna and surroundings. There are more places of interest in the northernmost district of Sri Lanka than already mentioned on our website. However, the most important attractions are already included in our list and travel information on them is unrivalled. Find a list here...

Mannar is a town on Mannar Island, which is part of Mannar District. The town is situated at the bridge connecting mainland Sri Lanka with Mannar Island. The main attractions of the city of Mannar are the fishing port, a huge baobab tree and the Dutch fort. Mannar Island is inhabited by feral horses. In this respect, Mannar is comparable to the remote island of Delft in the Gulf of Mannar. Find comprehensive information about Mannar here...

The Kandarodai stupas are the remnants of a Buddhist temple and burial place right in the centre of Jaffna Peninsula. The stupas are from the ancient period. But according to legend, in the 16th century the famous Jaffna king Sangili harassed Buddhist monks, 60 Bhikkus left Jaffna to migrate to India. When they stayed in Kandarodai, they received alms-givings from locals. But the mushroom curry was poisoned and all of monks died. Afterwards burial stupas were constructed enshrining the relics of those monks.

Toward the very end of the war in 2008, just before the Sri Lankan armed forces managed to regained control of the Kilinochchi area, the terror group LTTE blow up the water tower of their former rebel stronghold. The water tower had provided water to the whole city. The aim of the destruction was to deprive citizens of drinking water and thereby to undermine government efforts to reestablish normal life in the city and also to force the Tamil population to leave the town and join the rebel forces to serve them as human shields. The fallen tower now serves as a war memorial. It’s located at the busy main road A9 and not far from the Elephant Pass to Jaffna Peninsula.

Kirimalai in the very north of the Jaffna Peninsula is famous for one of Sri Lanka’s four most sacred temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, the supreme deity venerated by Tamil Hindus. The Naguleshwaram Kovil, also known as Thiruthambaleshwaram Kovil, attracts pilgrims from India, too, particularly in the Tamil month of Aadi. Hindus believe, that the Keerimalai springs have curative properties due to their miraculous origin. Indeed, it’s a natural phenomenon to find such an amount of freshwater only a few meters from the ocean. Legend has it, that the sage Nagula Muni had had a face that likened that of a mongoose (Kiri in Tamil), but was cured from it when taking a bath in the pond. The original Naguleshvaram temple of Kirimalai was destroed by Christian fanatics during the Portuguese colonial period. The sanctuary was revived during the period of Hindu revivalism of Jaffna Tamils in the late 19th century.

Read our detailed report about Kirimalai here...

Jaffna is the name of both a city and a peninsula. The city of Jaffna is the capital of Sri Lanka‘s Northern Province and of its northernmost district, which is also callled Jaffna. Jaffna District covers most of the Peninsula and the nearby islands to the west, many of which are connected with Jaffna city by causeways. In a way, the entire Jaffna peninsula is an island, as there is no natural land connection to Sri Lanka mainland. The Elephant Pass causeway is man-made.

After the end of the civil war, Jaffna city has developed into a new travel destination. The main attractions of Jaffna are the amphibic landscape of the peninsula and islands and the Tamil culture, which differ from both, mainland Sri Lanka and mainland Tamil Nadu (South India. For travelers there are two places of interest in Jaffna city that deserve to be called must-sees, viz. the Dutch Fort in the town center and the Kandaswamy Kovil, the largest Hindu temple of Sri Lanka, which is situated in the northwestern suburb of Nallur. Actually, what is called Nallur is the historical town of Jaffna, which was the capital of an almost independent Tamil kingdom in the late Middle Ages and early modern period. Till today, Nallur is a kind of spiritual centre of the Hindu community.

On our website, you can find detailed descriptions of Jaffna city and the temple town Nallur and Jaffna Peninsula and their attractions.

Today, Nallur is the northeastern suburb of Jaffna city, but in a sense Nallur is the ancient Jaffna, as it was the residence and temple town of the Tamil kings during the period of the Jaffna kingdom in the late Middle Ages and early Modern Age. The Portuguese Christians destroyed the major Hindu temple and erected a church on the original site. However, the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil – dedicated to the highly venerated Tamil deity Murugan, as the name „Kanda“ for „Skanda“ indicates – was reconstructed in the 19th century 1.5 km further west and again has become the spiritual centre and main sanctuary of Tamil Hindus on the Jaffna Peninsula. Besides the impressive temple, built in the the typical Dravidian style, remnants of palaces of the ate Jaffna kings can also be seen in Nallur.

Find our comprehensive article on Nallur and ist attractions here...

Neduntheevu, also spelt Neduntivu, is better known under the Dutch colonial name of Delft Island. The island covering an area of about 8 km length and 6 km width is the second largest and remotest of the eight Tamil islands to the west of Jaffna Peninsula. The dry Neduntheevu, built of a coral bank, is home of Tamil-speaking people, many of them are Christians.

Neduntheevu‘s main attraction for tourists is its untouched nature, which is home to a population of feral horses, a unique kind of wildlife in South Asia. During the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial periods, Neuntheevu was used for horse breeding, which turned out to be a difficult task but lucrative business in tropical Asia. In the 20th century, after the breeding programme had been stopped, the horses ran wild.

Another quite extraordinary attractions of Neduntheevu is a Baobab tree of African origin. An island round tour on Neduntheevu will also show you a miracle coral stone that is said to be growing vertically, the lighthouse at the southwestern shores, coral walls, an ancient stupa and last not least the Portuguese and Dutch Fort. Visiting Neduntheevu is usually a day excursion, regular boat service from Kurikadduwan Jetty, which can be reached by road from Jaffna. Simple accommodation for guests is available on Neuntheevu, too.

Find our detailed description of Neduntheevu alias Delft Island here...