Jaffna

Why Visit

A markedly different side of Sri Lanka from the south, with its own language, temples and food, only fully reopened to travellers in recent years.

The main city of the Northern Province, with its own distinct Tamil culture, cuisine and a Dutch-built fort on the lagoon.

History

Jaffna was the capital of the Jaffna Kingdom, an independent Tamil kingdom that governed the northern peninsula from around the 13th century until the Portuguese conquered it in 1619, ending centuries of separate political rule in the north. The Dutch took the city from the Portuguese in 1658 and rebuilt Jaffna Fort into the large star-shaped structure that still stands on the lagoon, later held by the British after 1796, who used it as an administrative centre for the northern province. The Jaffna Public Library, opened in 1933 and once one of the largest libraries in Asia with tens of thousands of volumes and rare Tamil manuscripts, was deliberately burned down by a mob in 1981 amid rising ethnic tensions — an event widely seen as a precursor to the civil war that followed. The city and surrounding province were significantly affected by that war (1983–2009), including prolonged fighting, siege conditions at times, and mass displacement. Since the war's end, Jaffna has been steadily rebuilding — the library itself was reconstructed and reopened — and its historic sites, markets and distinct Tamil culture have become increasingly accessible to travellers over the past decade.