was amazed to see how many people were visiting Jaffna to pay homage at the historic temples both on the peninsula and at Nagadeepa, one of the nearby islands. Jaffna has a real laid back feel to it. It is a place where as a result of the war the city has almost been frozen in time. There are no high rise buildings. Most people travel by bicycle or motor bike and the bigger vehicles on the road are mostly public transport or commercial vehicles.
I find the city to be very clean. There is no garbage around and I hope that with the influx of pilgrims to Jaffna it can still remain clean. There is much to be done so the face of this city does not change with the influx of visitors. While there is new construction such as roads and bridges happening in the city, basic facilities such
as toilets, guest houses and places to eat are currently quite scarce. We can’t expect a city that has been at war and not seen visitors for 30 years to be equipped to handle them overnight. Yet, people in the rest of the country are coming in busloads to visit so I hope the rest of the facilities will follow soon.
We visit the Naga Vihare temple which was destroyed a few years ago but has now been fully restored. This temple is relatively new in comparison to those at Nagadeepa but has its fair share of pilgrims.
There is a steady stream of visitors to the Nallur Temple when we arrive. This is a very sacred and historic temple in Jaffna and it is believed its origins go back as far as 948 AD. However, the temple was destroyed during the times of foreign invasion and the current temple dates back to the 18th century and Dutch times.
Most Hindu temples have distinct vertical red and white stripes. I don’t think it has any particular significance except to draw the attention of devotees! Interestingly, all men are expected to remove their shirts and enter the temple bare bodied whereas women are expected to be fully covered! The authorities have just changed the dress code for entering this temple in time for the important Hindu festival. Women will now be expected to wear a toe length dress or saree! My cousins think there is some correlation between my visit and the change to the dress code, as it happened the day after my return! I was in long pants when I visited so I don’t believe I was violating the existing regulations :)!!
The Jaffna Fort is a historic structure built during Portuguese times and renovated by the Dutch. It was occupied by the LTTE during the time they held Jaffna and badly damaged by the war. I hope this historic place and second largest fort in the country will soon be restored to its former glory.
The destruction of the Jaffna library was a dark day in the history of the conflict in Sri Lanka. It was one of Asia’s premier lending institutions at the time and dated back to the 1930s. The library has been rebuilt but the collection of books that was lost will never be replaced completely.
It was quite late when we visited so we did not have time to browse or look around much. We chatted to the people who worked there who showed us around the rooms that were open and we learnt a little about the day those precious books went up in smoke.Everyone who had been to Jaffna told us we must not miss Rio’s Ice Cream. It is an interesting place with bus loads of travellers who have obviously been told the same thing! There are loads of combinations to choose from and we enjoy sampling another interesting taste of Jaffna although the ice cream is nothing out of the ordinary!
I was keen to make the drive to Point Pedro during this trip. I remember learning about Point Pedro in school and it seemed fitting to visit the most northern point of Sri Lanka during this visit. There is an army camp there so you can only observe the lighthouse from a distance.
Fishing is very much a way of life here and as you drive along the northern edge of the peninsular drying fish along the roadside is a familiar sight. 
We also visited the bottomless well! I don’t know too much about this well except that it goes all the way to the ocean and people are forbidden to jump in!
This sacred bath set right next to the ocean was quite beautiful. It is a place where women who are childless are supposed to bathe in so I was surprised to find the baths full of men with not a woman in sight!
The other interesting place we visited was the spot where Sangamitha landed with a Bo sapling from India. It was a long drive through a high security zone but worth it to see the spot. The original ruins have been destroyed in the war and a temple and statue have been recently constructed at this site.
The Bo tree is quite sacred to Buddhists here and an interesting feature of this tree is that its leaves are the only ones where the veins are found on top rather than at the bottom!We then visit the ruins at Chunakham the place where Sangamitha (the sister of Mahinda, the person who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka) and her retinue visited on their arrival from India carrying a sapling of the sacred Bodhi tree. Unfortunately many of them died after eating the local mushrooms and their relics are buried at this site.
The stupas are supposed to be over 2000 years old and thankfully have survived the war. I am amazed at what I have seen in Jaffna. It is an interesting city with a very old world feel to it and so much potential for the future. I have found the people very helpful and welcoming. Although many of them are only able to converse in Tamil we were fortunate to be travelling with Nawfer our guide who was able to interpret for us.
Jaffna appears to be a very fertile place and we found healthy crops everywhere we looked. The town is bustling and trade is brisk but I wonder, in a city where everyone is dark skinned, why are the mannequins white?
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in Harmony”. Mahatma Gandhi"
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