As we travelled around Sri Lanka I found myself describing it as ‘India-light’. That perhaps does it a disservice, as it is very much its own country with its own identity. But it seemed to me that it had much of what appealed to me in India, but slightly muted. The traffic was less manic, the roads less potholed, the food less spicy, the colours slightly softer. For anyone who struggles to like India, Sri Lanka would be a great alternative. But if like me you love the chaos of the former country, Sri Lanka may feel a little ‘tame’. Head north however and it’s a slightly different story.
For many years the northern region of Sri Lanka was the stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, usually abbreviated to LTTE and better known as the Tamil Tigers. But when the civil war hostilities ceased in 2009, visiting the region again became a possibility. It’s a long drive north, but well worth it to see a different side of this island.
Exploring Jaffna
We spent two days exploring Jaffna with our friendly driver/guide Champi. He was kind enough to acknowledge that he didn’t know the city well and to hire a local to show us some of the sights. I’ve already taken you to several of the places we visited: shrines on the coast north of the city, as well as the sign at Sri Lanka’s northernmost point, Sakkotai Cape and the city centre clock tower.
In this post I want to share some more of the sights that we visited in the city itself. This isn’t exactly the itinerary we followed as we seemed to zigzag in and out of the centre several times. But it seems to make a logical selection, saving some more out of town sights for a future post.
Market and downtown area
I love a good local market so I was very pleased when Champi suggested a visit even though it wasn’t on our original itinerary. This one measured up to my expectations of an enjoyable market wander: friendly people, interesting local produce (including the largest jack fruit I’ve ever seen!), and therefore lots of good photo opps.
There are several market halls intersected with streets that added to those opps with street art and local scenes.
Public library
As a former librarian I was quite interested when our guides suggested a stop at the library. We couldn’t go inside however as it was a Monday, when the library is closed. Luckily the security guard was happy for us to go into the garden for a closer look. I was struck (and not in a positive way!) by the rather long list of rules posted outside. The insistence on silence and lack of debate went against the library culture I had tried to build throughout my career. But there’s no denying that it’s a beautiful building.
The statue in the grounds is of K.M. Chellappa, one of the founders of the library. It was built in 1933 and by the early 1980s it was one of the biggest libraries in Asia, containing over 97,000 books and manuscripts. But in 1981 it was burned down in a deliberate mob attack by Sinhalese police, a response to the shooting of two local policemen by members of the Tamil United Liberation Front. Over a million books were destroyed, including a collection of ancient Tamil books and manuscripts. By 2001 its renovation had been completed, but although many new books were acquired, the ancient manuscripts cannot, of course, be replaced.
Nallur Kandaswamy
We visited this temple, considered the most impressive Hindu temple in Sri Lanka, in the late afternoon, our guides timing our visit perfectly to coincide with a puja ceremony.
Not only did we have to remove our shoes here, the men, including Chris, had to remove their shirts. And while photography of the exterior was permitted, inside it was strictly prohibited. And I mean strictly.
Although I was carrying my camera in a way that I felt made it clear I knew not to take photos, i.e. tucked over my shoulder and with the lens cap on, I was approached and told to put it in my bag. However the bag was too small for it so they said I should leave it outside with the shoes. That I wasn’t prepared to do, naturally, so I suggested our guide might carry it. But they were having none of it. I then said I would rather pass up the visit and wait outside rather than risk leaving the camera unattended there, at which point they produced a cloth bag that I could put it in. And I was glad that they did, as it was so intriguing to witness the puja.
Photos were allowed outside
The temple is dedicated to the god Murugam. The ceremony involved symbolically washing his image, offering food and incense, and waving a lamp before him. Perfumes and ointments were applied to the image, and possibly more details too that I overlooked or failed to understand. There was also a lot of drumming, ringing of cymbals and chanting. The small crowd watching included some other tourists but a majority were, I think, devotees. I was fascinated … although I did still wish to be able to photograph it too!
Jaffna Fort
From Nallur Kandaswamy we drove to Jaffna Fort, our guides timing our visit to coincide with the sunset. This fort was originally built by the Portuguese in 1618, but much enlarged under Dutch rule and later used as a British garrison. From 1985 to 1995 it was under the control of the LTTE, during which time they destroyed several of its main features. These included the Dutch Kruys Kerk (Cross Church), so that now only parts of its walls and columns remain.
Entrance gate and church ruins
After wandering around the ruins for a while we spent some time relaxing on the ramparts watching the sun set over the prawn fishing area. It wasn’t a dramatic sunset but rather a soft one, which I felt suited the scene.
There was more colour however on the water, as it reflected the setting sun.
And this, I think, is a good place to finish. I will however have more sights to share from the Jaffna region in a forthcoming post. Meanwhile I reckon there was enough walking around these sights, especially the market and fort, to justify a link to Jo’s Monday Walk!
I visited Jaffna in February 2026
