A bastion of Hindu tradition, art and creative culture, Jaffna welcomes visitors
warmly. It’s intriguing, unimposing, slightly off the beaten path and a thoroughly
rewarding place to learn about Sri Lankan Tamil culture. The city is green and leafy, with attractive palm-shaded suburbs and beautiful
temples and churches. Physically, new projects and upgraded transport
connections show that Jaffna’s days of isolation are long past. Ancient sights both in the center of town and on the outskirts make for
compelling attractions. And while there is enough to do after dark to create a
nascent buzz, it’s still mellow enough that you won’t get run over while walking. The city is an ideal base for forays to the idyllic islands just to the west and trips
along the coastline and lagoons of the surrounding peninsula.

• Jaffna Fort

Long the gatehouse of the city, the vast Jaffna fort, overlooking the Jaffna lagoon, has been fought over for centuries. Today you can wander its walls, gateways
and moats, see the barracks that once housed thousands of troops and civilians, and view the city from its ramparts. History
A fort was originally built in this location by Portuguese colonialists in 1619
during their invasion of the Jaffna Kingdom and was held for nearly 40 years, during which they fought off three Sri Lankan rebellions against their rule. In
1658, the Dutch captured it when they briefly joined forces with the Sinhalese
and then used it as a base to consolidate their own power. The Dutch expanded it, and defensive triangles were added in 1792 to produce
the fort’s defining pentagonal shape you’ll recognise from aerial imagery of the
structure. However, British colonial powers seized control of the garrison just
three years later without firing a shot. Following Sri Lanka’s independence from Britain, the fort became a focal point of
the country’s civil war between Tamil groups and the
the Sinhalese dominated Sri Lankan Government, with government forces
using it as an encampment. In 1990 the LTTE (also known as the Tamil Tigers), who were at the time in control of the rest of Jaffna, forced out government
troops after a grisly 107-day siege. After the war concluded in 2009, authorities began the painstaking task of
restoration, with financial help from the Dutch government. Restoration of the
coral, stone, brick and mortar walls is still ongoing. Visiting the fort today
Alongside the wonderful views from its walls and ramparts, visitors can check
out exhibits relating to the archaeological history of the structure in a room
inside the main portal. The entry fee for the fort is US$2 for children and US$4
for adults.

• Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil

This huge Hindu temple, crowned by a towering god-encrusted, golden- ochre gopuram, is one of the most significant Hindu religious complexes in Sri
Lanka. Its sacred deity is Murugan (or Skanda), and during cacophonous puja – at
5am, 10am, noon, 4.15pm (small puja), 4.30pm (‘special’ puja), 5pm and 6.45pm
– offerings are made to his brass-framed image and other Hindu deities like
Ganesh in shrines surrounding the inner sanctum. It’s about 1.5km northeast of
the centre. The kovil’s current structure dates from 1734, and its huge compound shelters
decorative brasswork, larger-than-life murals, pillared halls and a colonnaded, stepped holy pool. Several friendly priests, some of whom speak English, can answer questions
about the temple and its traditions. Visitors must remove their shoes; men need
to remove their shirts as well. You can also say a prayer at the sacred tree in the temple’s southern courtyard
anytime: get a piece of gold-threaded cloth from outside the temple, wrap some
coins in it, and tie it to the tree along with a prayer. Afterwards, ring the big brass
bell. The temple is the focus of the enormous and spectacular Nallur Festival in
midsummer.

• Jaffna Public Library

Tellingly, one of the first major buildings to be rebuilt after the 2002 ceasefire
was Jaffna’s Public Library. It had been burnt down by pro-government mobs
(some say forces) in July 1981, a destruction that many Tamils deemed a cultural
attack – few acts were more significant in the build-up to civil war. In its reconstruction, architects kept true to the elegant original neo-Mughal
design from 1959. Today it’s a bright spacious place that’s very actively used by
Jaffna’s citizens. Jaffna residents have long considered their city to be one of Asia’s finest
intellectual capitals, and the library is an important Tamil cultural centre and
historic institution (it was inaugurated in 1841). The original world-renowned
collection destroyed in the fire included more than 90,000 volumes, including
irreplaceable Tamil documents such as the one surviving copy of Yalpanam
Vaipavama, a history of Jaffna. There’s a statue of Saraswati – Hinduism’s goddess of knowledge – out front. At
the back there’s an airy cafe.

• Yamuna Eri

This U-shaped pool made of carved stones is neglected but still intact – it’s
thought to have been the women’s bathing pool of the royal family. The tank is
north of St James’ Church, which is on Chemmani Rd (and not to be confused
with the church of the same name on Main St). You reach it on narrow lane east
of Point Pedro Rd. It’s an evocative site; just tune out the nearby modern
buildings.

• Clock Tower

An architectural curiosity, the spindly Clock Tower has a Moorish domed top, which makes it look like it belongs somewhere in North Africa. It was erected in
1875 to honour a visit by the Prince of Wales. In 2000 the current prince, Charles, donated the working clocks you see today to replace those damaged by fighting.

• Jaffna Archaeological Museum

This small, unkempt but interesting museum is hidden away at the end of a
messy garden behind a concrete events hall. At the door are a pair of rusty Dutch
cannons from the fort and a set of whale bones. Inside, there are a few treasures, including some 15th-century Buddha torsos found at Kantarodai and a 14th- century ‘seven-mouthed pot’.