Jaffna is located in the north of Sri Lanka and is the capital of the northern province.
In and around Jaffna most people are Hindu Tamils.
It is still not very touristic in Jaffna and the north of Sri Lanka. You still have beautiful miles of empty beaches and many colourful Hindu temples.
What to see and do:
In Jaffna:
Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil is the largest Hindu temple in Sri Lanka.
The temple has a beautiful five story high gopuram (gate tower). In contrast to most Hindu temples that are very colourful, this temple is completely in terracotta color.
Inside, just like in most Hindu temples, it is colourful.
The temple is dedicated to the war god Murugan (Skanda), the six heads symbolize wisdom, wealth, strength, impertinence, fame and divine power.
The centre of Jaffna lies on the Jaffna Lagoon.
Here lies the Fort, built by the Portuguese in 1618 and conquered by the Dutch in 1658. After that it was taken by the British. Within the star-shaped fortress, many of the historical buildings have been ruined by the war. Near the fort are the Clock Tower and Jaffna Public Library.
South west of Jaffna are a number of islands in the Park Strait. The islands are thinly populated. Some of the islands are connected by bridges.
On the island of Delft where you can live with a boat in the wild ponies. Furthermore, the remains of colonial buildings / fort can be seen from the time of the Portuguese Dutch and British times and a Baobab tree.
Point Pedro is the northernmost spot of Sri Lanka.
In Kantarodai there are about twenty mini tufas. They are remains of the Buddhist monastery Purana Maha Raja Vihara from the 2nd century BC.
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