Jaffna and the northern peninsula
Palmyra palms, Hindu temples shrieking with colour and flat islands laid on a turquoise lagoon: the Tamil north, long cut off from the world, is the island's most disorienting counterpoint.
Suggested stay — 2 to 3 nights
Driving the A9 to Jaffna is changing country without crossing a border: Sinhalese gives way to Tamil, dagobas to multicoloured gopurams, and recent history lies close to the surface — the peninsula was the epicentre of the civil war until 2009, and its reconstruction can be read in every street. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, immense and pulsing with daily pujas (bare chest compulsory for men), the star-shaped Dutch fort facing the lagoon and the reborn library tell of an intact Tamil pride. At the market, Jaffna crab curry alone justifies the hours of road.
The trip's true land's end floats offshore: a causeway worthy of the Florida Keys leads to Kayts and Punkudutivu, from where a rattling ferry reaches Delft (Neduntivu) — a coral island of drystone walls, centuries-old baobabs planted by Arab traders and wild horses inherited from the Dutch. Closer in, Casuarina Beach lines up its flat, milky waters, and Point Pedro marks the island's kilometre zero. Tourism here is still embryonic: simple guesthouses, scarce English, immense smiles.
Don't miss
- The Nallur Kandaswamy temple during the evening puja
- Delft island by public ferry: wild horses, a baobab and coral drystone walls
- Jaffna's Dutch fort at sunset over the lagoon
- The causeway road to Kayts and the peninsula's lagoon country
Our tips on the ground
- The Delft ferry leaves early (around 8-9 am from Kurikadduwan) and returns at a fixed time: arrive 45 minutes ahead, and bring a hat and water — the island is toured by tuk-tuk or local pick-up, with next to no shade.
- Jaffna wakes early and lunches early: the best crab tables (Mangos, or the family addresses your guesthouse points to) serve at noon sharp and close between services.
- In August-September, the Nallur festival (25 days) transfigures the town: chariots, spectacular devotions and dense crowds — magnificent, but book accommodation well ahead.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“Sri Lanka on your own”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Before you go
Readers' questions about Jaffna and the northern peninsula
Is Jaffna worth the 5-6 hours' drive from the cultural triangle?
If you have 15 days or more and an appetite for the cultural off-piste, yes without hesitation: it's the least touristy face of the island, and Delft resembles nothing else. On 10-12 days, the detour is paid for in sacrificed beach or mountain stages. The Colombo-Jaffna train (6-7 h) makes for a clever one-way at the start or end of a circuit.
Is the north safe and welcoming for travellers?
Yes: the region has been perfectly safe for years and the welcome is warm, often curious — visitors remain rare. The traces of the war are still visible (pockmarked buildings, memorials, a residual military presence) and deserve respect: ask before photographing, especially around military zones, and approach the subject of the conflict with tact if your hosts raise it.