Visiting Jaffna - A Kaleidoscope of Colour, History and People!
After hearing of its tasty food, rich history and vibrant population, Jaffna had always been on our list of essential Sri Lankan destinations. As the northernmost city of Sri Lanka, with strong cultural links to India, Jaffna has an entirely different feel from its southern cousins. With a long history of conflict, Jaffna town has witnessed many significant historical events both in recent times and during the colonial periods. Its unique and sometimes separate identity, complex history and different prevalent religion (Jaffna as with much of the north is predominantly Hindu as opposed to Buddhist), Jaffna is a world away from Kandy. After two weeks in the south we couldn’t wait to see what Jaffna held.
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In this Guide to Jaffna:
How to get to Jaffna?
Jaffna sits in the very northern tip of Sri Lanka (you can find the city on a map here), about a 7.5 hour drive (approximately 400 KM) away from the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo.
We were travelling to Jaffna from Anuradhapura and, luckily for us, there was a nice, easy train for us to hop on to, to take us between the two places. Jaffna Railway Station was, until the civil war, the second largest in the country, smaller only than Colombo. The train line itself actually runs all the way from the capital, so it is well connected to the rest of the country. Once you arrive at Jaffna’s Railway Station you can easily hail a tuk tuk to take you to your accommodation or if you were like us and are staying in the centre, it is only a short 20 minute walk.
We would, later on, use a bus to go between Jaffna and the coastal city of Trincomalee. Jaffna’s large bus stand has routes that spread out all over the island. The easiest way to book tickets is to head straight to the bus station. If you are heading to Trincomalee, you can easily book a private taxi in advance.
Where to stay in Jaffna?
As soon as we stepped off our train, we entered the melee that is Jaffna. We don’t know if it was just because of the fuel crisis, (our hostel was near two petrol stations) but the streets of Jaffna were a whole ‘nother level of busy. Pavements (sidewalks to our American cousins) were often non-existent, and in places, far more dangerous than the open road with cracked and often missing paving stones and deep drains. The road itself was a ‘free for all’ of tuk tuks, bicycles, scooters, cars, buses, lorries, pedestrians, cows, goats and the ever present street dog. The people of Jaffna were more colourfully dressed, with saris and tunics a plenty. It’s not that the south was drab by any means but the colour had certainly been ramped up.
Closed up store fronts on the streets of Jaffna.
In Jaffna we booked a stay at the centrally located Yaarl Hostel. We were visiting at the end of the peak season and the whole hostel was completely deserted! Our room was massive with a comfy bed, a small basic sofa and a small balcony that led to a separate (still private) bathroom. We had an extremely cheap and comfy stay and the hostel was within walking distance of everywhere we wanted to visit.
For those looking to book a stay in Jaffna, check out our handy accommodation map below for all your choices (it includes everything from high end to budget friendly):
What to do in Jaffna
We only had two nights in the city so we really wanted to make the most out of our stay. Next time we would love to stay longer and explore more of Jaffna’s colourful temples, its coastline and even visit its beaches!
Visit Jaffna Market
Jaffna’s market was a swirling vortex of people, clothes, textile stores, beauty shops and hairdressers. The hairdressers in particular seemed very popular with young men, all hanging around outside with immaculately coiffed beards and moustaches. We were here on a Saturday, so it's possible that the young men of the town were getting ready for the weekend shenanigans.The other side of the market consisted of the standard plethora of bag sellers, clothes shops and a rainbow of fruit and vegetable stores.
Jaffna’s Market had a unique feel and was very different to the markets we had experienced elsewhere in Sri Lanka. It is well worth a visit if you’re in town.
Explore the ruins of Jaffna Fort
We then made our way down to the coast and Jaffna’s enormous Dutch Fort. Originally built by the Portuguese in 1618, then taken over and enlarged by the Dutch, then eventually taken over by the British until Sri Lanka’s independence. In modern history, Jaffna’s fort has more recently seen use in Sri Lanka’s Civil War and now lies partly in ruins, but with the colossal coral and stone fortifications still largely intact.
There is an entrance fee for foreign tourists of 1700 LKR each (around $5 USD). Once inside, you are free to scale the walls and wander around at your leisure.
There wasn’t much information about the history aside from a few signboards on entry, and it's very clear that the site is still under renovation. But from the walls there are good views across Palk Bay where you can see the fishermen coming and going. The fort was an interesting diversion, and a quiet spot in the otherwise frenetic city.
Organised tours in and around Jaffna
Jaffna and its surrounding region are full of unique and amazing experiences. The easiest way to get out and about and get these otherwise inaccessible experiences is with an organised tour. From night markets to pottery, farm stays to hidden islands, there’s loads to find. Check out our Get Your Guide widget below for inspiration!
Eating like a local in Jaffna
Whilst in Jaffna we dined at two fantastic restaurants. They were:
Malayan Cafe
Find the Malayan Cafe on a map here
An oasis of relative calm amidst the bustling streets of Jaffna. The Malayan Cafe served us some of the cheapest but tastiest food of our journey so far. We came here three times during our stay here. Once for lunch, where we devoured masala dosas and twice for dinner, where string hoppers were swiftly delivered to the table and subsequently our mouths. All meals were served on a banana leaf with an unending supply of dahl, chutney and curry refills. The staff were super friendly, and very inquisitive as to why two pasty British people had wandered into their shop.
String hoppers and curry from the Malayan Cafe!
The young man serving us kept, for some reason, giving Ellie extra refills! All food at Malay Cafe is vegetarian and although we are not vegetarians or have any authority on vegetarian food, everything we ate was delicious, satisfying and kept us full. The prices were extremely cheap with two dosas and two Pepsi’s coming in at 900 LKR the string hoppers were cheaper still (again for two sets with two drinks) at 350 LKR.
Rice and Spice
Find Rice and Spice on a map here
A popular spot for dine in and takeaway, we went to Rice and Spice on a whim as we saw that it did mutton biryani. We had been told (by the internet) to look out for mutton curries and biryanis whilst in Jaffna, and seeing this was on the menu we headed in. The restaurant was very popular when we arrived, with lots of young couples and families. We ordered two of the mutton biryani and watched in awe as the small team prepped, wrapped and sent out what appeared to be a battalion's worth of takeaway orders.
Our food arrived as a tower of orange rice with steaming chunks of mutton, a boiled egg, chutney, and a yoghurt/chopped onion/deconstructed coleslaw on the side. We quickly dug into our respective mountains. The rice was cinnamon-y, spicy and overall delicious. The mutton melted in your mouth (but be careful of the bones) and the chutney and onion sides provided contrast and fresh relief from the hearty spice of the biryani. It was all we could have hoped for and more. The price for two biryani and two drinks was 2000 LKR including tip. This may seem expensive in comparison to Malayan cafe, but in comparison to anything else, this was still very cheap. The portions were very generous, the cooking fantastic and the restaurant even had air conditioning, a bonus when you’d spent all morning sweating in the city!
Our final thoughts on Jaffna
Overall we were very pleased we had made the journey north to visit Jaffna. The difference in the streets, food and culture were a world away from what we had already experienced in the south of Sri Lanka. As soon as we had arrived in Jaffna, our senses were completely overwhelmed by noise, colour and smell. It is a more intense place than the south. The streets are crowded with people all in a rush to be somewhere else. Sometimes as a tourist this can be overwhelming, as you feel a little like an inconvenient rock in a raging river.
We have to point out that some of this intensity was definitely due to the ongoing fuel and financial crisis. Streets were overtaken with parked cars, vans, lorries and tuk tuks as they snaked around the city streets in a queue waiting for when the petrol arrived. With all this in mind, however, the city was fantastic. As we’ve said it was a total contrast to anything we’d visited up to this point and we cannot wait to come back!
A Lion for the Lionesses!
Jaffna has very little nightlife for travellers (or at least we found) in our area. The only alcoholic options seemed to be; buy some beer and go home or stand outside the beer shop in the company of extremely drunk old men. Unsurprisingly, we opted for the former. So on our last night we brought some bottles of Lion beer and drank them in our hostel whilst watching our Lionesses in a triumphant win! A nicely celebratory end to our time in Jaffna.
Thank you for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
Obligatory Jellie selfie from the walls of Jaffna Fort!
