Jaffna
Sri Lanka's Tamil north, cut off for thirty years of war and reachable by train again since 2014. The library was burned in 1981 and rebuilt, and that story is the city's.
Jaffna in eight slides
Wikipedia · 4 Sep 2026
Things to do in Jaffna
Where to stay in Jaffna
Jaffna in a day, two days, three
- Day 23 stops
- Nallur Kandaswamy Temple
- St James' Church
- Vannarpannai Vaitheeswaran Temple
Landmarks in Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most populous city.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 27 Aug 2026
Anton 17 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most populous city.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 27 Aug 2026
Anton 17 · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Jaffna Public Library was burned by an organized mob of Sinhalese police and army on the night of 31 May 1981, on the orders of members of the ruling UNP party. The library's burning was one of the most violent examples of ethnically motivated biblioclasm of the 20th century. At the time of its destruction, the library was one of the biggest in Asia, containing over 97,000 books and manuscripts.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2 Aug 2026
Kruys Church or Kruys Kerk is located within the Jaffna fort in Jaffna, Sri Lanka and is situated near the entrance to the fort. The church was built by the Dutch in 1706 and was one of the oldest Protestant churches in the country.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2 Aug 2026
Johann Wolffgang Heydt · Public domain
The Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil is a Hindu temple, located in Nallur, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The presiding deity is Murugan (Kartikeya) in the form of the divine spear vel in the sanctum, the primary shrine, and in other forms, namely, Shanmugar, Muthukumaraswami, Valli Kanthar with consorts Valli and Deivayanai, and Dandayuddhapani, sans consorts in secondary shrines in the temple.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 1 Aug 2026
Gane Kumaraswamy · CC BY-SA 2.0
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most populous city.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 27 Aug 2026
Anton 17 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Vannarpannai Vaitheeswaran Temple is a Hindu temple in Vannarpannai, Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. It was built by Vaithilingam Chettiar a business man during the Dutch colonial period. The temple was declared an archaeological protected monument in December 2011.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 1 Aug 2026
Ghostface Buddha · CC BY-SA 2.0
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most populous city.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 27 Aug 2026
Anton 17 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most populous city.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 27 Aug 2026
Anton 17 · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Jaffna Public Library was burned by an organized mob of Sinhalese police and army on the night of 31 May 1981, on the orders of members of the ruling UNP party. The library's burning was one of the most violent examples of ethnically motivated biblioclasm of the 20th century. At the time of its destruction, the library was one of the biggest in Asia, containing over 97,000 books and manuscripts.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2 Aug 2026
Kruys Church or Kruys Kerk is located within the Jaffna fort in Jaffna, Sri Lanka and is situated near the entrance to the fort. The church was built by the Dutch in 1706 and was one of the oldest Protestant churches in the country.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2 Aug 2026
Johann Wolffgang Heydt · Public domain
The Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil is a Hindu temple, located in Nallur, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The presiding deity is Murugan (Kartikeya) in the form of the divine spear vel in the sanctum, the primary shrine, and in other forms, namely, Shanmugar, Muthukumaraswami, Valli Kanthar with consorts Valli and Deivayanai, and Dandayuddhapani, sans consorts in secondary shrines in the temple.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 1 Aug 2026
Gane Kumaraswamy · CC BY-SA 2.0
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most populous city.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 27 Aug 2026
Anton 17 · CC BY-SA 3.0
From the airport
When to go to Jaffna: Jan or Feb or Mar or Apr
Guides about Jaffna
Two monsoons hit opposite coasts, so there is no bad month and there is a wrong coast. The month table by region, and the two weeks to be careful with.
Arif Rahman · 2 Sep 2026
Two monsoons hit opposite coasts, so the route depends on the month. Both versions of a fortnight, the train seat that matters, and the ETA rule.
Arif Rahman · 2 Sep 2026