Jaffna – The final frontier

Team of 3

4 Days in December 2012

Traveled by Car

For many local nowadays, Jaffna is the place to go to. I guess it’s mainly driven by the fact that one can now travel to the northern most district of Sri Lankan without being mortified by the thought of landmines exploding at their feet and bullets whizzing past their ears. All civil war related anecdotes aside, Jaffna boasts of a rich culture to our heritage that’s definitely worth grasping.

From what I see, locals and foreigners travel to Jaffna with two general motives. There are those who try to envisage themselves in a 3-D movie which was once the civil war in Sri Lanka. The bullet ridden buildings, the burnt vehicles and the still re-emerging cityscape is a grotesque reminder what Jaffna was not so many years ago.

For the other set of people (ie – me), Jaffna is all about unchartered territory. The culture of the unknown.  The land of mystery with an identity of its own. Having travelled all over the country, it’s amazing how Jaffna and the entire Northern Province can prove to be so different from the rest.

Day 1 – ‘The road to Elephant Pass’, Jaffna Mangoes and the wormhole to Pettah (And also Rio Ice Cream)

Jaffna : The public market as bright as ever

A point to note – to get a chunky bite of Jaffna (metaphorically of course), you need a minimum of 4 days. One and half days of which will be spent entirely on the road. Three of us decided to do this trip in my trusted, all terrain little car. Owing to many logistical and practical reasons, we decided to skip the route through Mannar, Wilpattu and took the left turn from Puttalam to travel though Anuradhapura, Vavuniya and Kilinochchi. The route was about 40kms longer but was easier on my little car. What’s more, the A9 route from Anuradhapura onwards was perfectly laid and actually was quite scenic given that it was smack in the middle of the country. We left Colombo at about 3.30 am on a Thursday and rarely touched 90kmph per hour. We reached Jaffna town at about 2pm - right in time for lunch. Although tiring, it was 11 hours well spent. Not to mention that we were able to reach Kilinochchi with only a half tank of fuel.

It must be mentioned that security is still very much in place on the way to Jaffna. The legendary Omanthai checkpoint is still as large as ever and is pretty much the entry point to the Northern Province. They re-route, NIC holders and Passport holders through different routes for registration but unlike our expectations, we weren’t checked rigorously. We were allowed to pass through upon initial registration. A word of caution – be careful about what you photograph. Whatever said and done, Jaffna is still a sensitive subject. It would be best if you do not draw your camera out to photograph checkpoints and servicemen.

The next major checkpoint was Elephant Pass. The legendary elephant pass – the subject of many a folklore, movie and rumor.  Once you get on the ‘The Road to Elephant Pass’ you are able to drive through a stretch of land with the sea on either side – not unlike what you may witness in Kalpitiya. You must for sure try the roadside mangoes. Now that is real heavenly mango. Trust me on this.

Enter Jaffna. The first thing we notice is how absolutely, frantically busy the town is. It’s like we went through a wormhole and landed in Pettah. Street hawkers, the entire spread of major banks, a massive bus stop, petrol sheds, liquor stores, hotels and shops - you get everything in Jaffna. There are a couple of things you can’t miss. The big bright yellow public market smack in the middle of the town is one. The architecture of buildings obviously has a Tamil cultural influence and at times portrays a magnified view of Wellawatte. The next thing I noted is that you are not allowed to park on the sides of the main road. Instead, all vehicles big and small park in a line that is exactly in the middle of the road. That is the first time I came across a concept as such in all my travels across the country. And it is without doubt full of some useful merits.

The Nallur Kandasamy Kovil 

In the town, you can find anything. It is not overpriced as is commonly believed in Colombo. Some items are far cheaper and far more accessible than in Colombo. If you are into real beverages, don’t forget to check out Palm Arrack and Palm Toddy. Liquor stores are aplenty and locals can direct you to licensed toddy dealers. Language however proved to be a challenge. Fortunately, we had with us a Tamil in the group and that made things a lot easier. But even he mentioned that the accent is a lot different up here. Sinhala is rarely known and spoken outside of the town, but English is a viable substitute if you cannot speak Tamil. (Note to self – learn Tamil)

Had you landed in the town with no knowledge of the civil war, you wouldn’t have believed that it ever happened. There were no bullet ridden houses, shelled buildings, burned vehicles etc. But then again, Jaffna town was in government control for the better part of the latter stages of the civil war. I cannot say for sure, but maybe that is the reason why Jaffna looks quite urban.

There are many places to visit within the vicinity of the town. The old library now has visiting hours for sightseers and one can walk through many sections that allow public viewing. The building has been rebuilt almost completely but some photos hang on the great walls inside giving away some evidence on the massive destruction it suffered during the civil war. The effort of the relevant authorities and NGOs need to be commended for refurnishing the walls of the library through books and periodicals that appear to be quite current to my limited knowledge.

Standing tall and majestic a little away from the hustle and bustle of the town is the Nallur Kandasamy Kovil. The meticulous attention to detail that goes into building a Kovil will never cease to amaze me. A dark orange and regal in its presence, the Nallur Kovil is a must see for anyone who goes to Jaffna. My Tamil friend, a Hindu by religion initiated us into the proceedings of Hindu Pooja activities at this Kovil and it was definitely a learning experience. Kovils are synonymous with Jaffna given that Hinduism is the faith of the majority. But my favorite spot in Jaffna was the Old Dutch Fort. Built in 1680, it is now undergoing major reconstruction and preservation work. The Fort is a scenic sight. The ramparts overlook the Bay of Bengal and the atmosphere is chilled and quiet. A truly beautiful and serene place in the evening.

That was the end of Day one. Jaffna goes into hibernation by 7pm. There are no nightclubs, party spots, cafes or restaurants like in Colombo. You basically have nothing to do other than go home and spend the rest of the day till morning the next day. We stayed at a friend’s place in Chunnakum which was about 10kms from Jaffna on the Kankasanthurai Road.

Day 2: Sunrise in Kayts and a ferry to fable. (And also Rio Ice Cream)

Sunrise in Kayts

When you have only four days to be a nomad in Jaffna, you cannot waste it by burning daylight. We were up at 5am and were looking at a packed schedule for the Day 2. The first stop for the day was at the legendary Nagadeepa Kovil and Viharaya in the Nainativu island. You need to exit Jaffna and take the bridge that leads to Kayts. In total this is a drive of around 35 kilometers and thus needs to be planned accordingly.(I was later told by Prishan its called a Concourse, not a bridge. So much for Social Studies). Kayts is easily one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in Sri Lanka. The lush greenery on both sides of the narrow road, quite possibly untouched by mankind and the picturesque greenery can easily take your breath away. We were fortunate enough to catch the sunrise off Kayts at about 6.30 in the morning. There’s nothing quite like it. I’ve uploaded a couple of pictures along with this post since words cannot pay justice to such a scene. Kayts is a small town with just the very basic essentials. But you do have electricity and other basic infrastructure. Goats are aplenty and roam freely on the road. I’m assuming their lifespan is not that great.

There is a ferry service which operates between Kayts and Nainativu to ferry passengers to and from the island and starts as early as 7 am. This is the equivalent of public transport in Colombo. Nothing more, nothing less. The ferry operators usually pack the ferries to the hilt with people and they’re not in the best of conditions although sea-worthy. Locals say that a trip to and back from Nagadeepa is usually a good half day’s worth of time. Luckily for us, Prishan (1/3^rd of our group) had a contact in the Navy and was able to arrange a gunboat especially for us. So we were spared the half day stay on Nainativu. The authorities have done up the Kovil in such a way that the massive structure can be seen from the pier at Kayts. The boat ride took not more than 10 minutes and we were soon exploring the island of Nainativu. The Kovil is under refurbishments and a special pier was being constructed to enter the Temple without having to go past the main pier which leads straight to the Kovil.

Once we finished our travails in the island, we came back to Kayts and decided to hit Casurina Beach – which is by far the most famous beach in the Northern Province. The beach was clean and clear like most beaches in the country. But the sea floor in the immediate bathing area was rocky in patches and took substantial neck high dips. It was a nice beach, but there are other beaches which I would rate above Casurina.

The Old Dutch Fort in Jaffna

We came back to mainland Jaffna for a late lunch and hit our now customary hangout on the ramparts of the Old Dutch Fort. After chilling for some time on the ramparts, we again paid a visit to the Nallur Kovil to take some night pictures of the structure and made our way back to Chunnakum. Day 2 was complete. But it was nothing compared to our itinerary on Day 3.

Day 3: Point Pedro – life goal achieved (And also Rio Ice Cream)

As is the case, Day 3 started early as well. Our first stop was the Kathurugoda ancient viharaya. As is the case with all tourist attactions in this district, there was security in place here as well. The next stop was the Keerimalai Naguleswaram Kovil and the nearby springs. Personally, I’ve seen enough places of worship by now to last me a lifetime, but Ananth – my Tamil friend is a devout Hindu. He even suggested that I do a longer than usual dip at the springs since it is said to possess the power to wash your sins away. Once the Kovil formalities were completed we walked towards the springs. Another word of caution to everyone concerned about hygiene – unlike us. There is a pool here for ladies and another pool for males. This is a typical public well sort of surrounding with about 50 to 60 people in the small pool at the same time. The steps are moss ridden and slippery and the water is neck deep all around. So this might not be a place for your kids to take a bath in. The water is a deep blue and feeds through a spring which is believed to be connected to the sea. All in all, the springs are worth an experience and if you’re not too worried about hygiene, it can be an enjoyable experience.

Next stop was Dambakola Patuna. Fable and historians agree that King Devanampiyatissa, received the southern branch of the world famous Sri Maha Bodhiya from Sri Sangamitta Theraniyo (pardon my terminology) at Dambakola Patuna. The place is nicely done up by the armed forces and is strictly guarded to preserve the hygiene and sanctity. There is a small picturesque dagoba at the exact place along with boards of historical data.

Kodi Gaha - Point Pedro

Next came the highlight of my trip – Point Pedro. For years I’ve been wondering as to when I can reach the northernmost point of the country and the day has come. Point Pedro is a fishing village in essence with the town being built on top of it more towards the mainland. After several detours we finally landed on the Point Pedro road and continued on until we reached ‘Kodi Gaha’. This is actually a cement structure with the national flag painted on and marked the northernmost point in the country. The little structure was more or less on the rocky beach and is a tourist attraction especially for locals who had never been able to make this journey for security reasons. After some customary pictures, we had lunch at Point Pedro and made our way back to Jaffna which was now actually quite a distance away.

That was essentially the end of our Jaffna travails. Come day 4, we planned to go back to Colombo through Mullativu – where the final stand took place during the last stages of the civil war.

Day 4: A rusting ship and the last stand

Another early start. I’m starting to wonder why I can’t wake up any time before 7am when in Colombo. We had breakfast from a bakery in Jaffna which seemed to be open 24 hours for all we know. The road was good and carpety (Is that a word?); until we turned off from Paranthan towards Mullativu. It was a bit too much for my all terrain little car to handle and far too much for my road rage to handle. But somehow both I and the car made it to Mullativu and we went to see an old LTTE prison camp and Soosai’s (The leader of the then ‘Sea Tigers’) house – both of which were of little interest to me. We travelled through the scarcely populated back roads where the final battle took place and came across the huge man made earth bund which was built by the LTTE as a cover against the advancing armed forces. We also passed through a massive vehicle yard which contained hundreds and hundreds of burnt and destroyed vehicles. One can only assume that this location was chosen after the war was over to collect and dump all the remnants of the vehicular war. The highlight of this part of the journey for me was the sighting of ‘Farah – 3’ off the coast of Mullativu. ‘Farah – 3’ was a massive Jordanian cargo ship which was hijacked by the sea tigers for its food cargo and later used as the central point of attack initiation by the sea tigers. More than its violent history, the destroyed and rusting structure is an artist’s sanctuary in its decaying splendor.

Then came the not so fun part of the trip where we drove back to Colombo. We maintained good speeds until we reached Chilaw. Come Chilaw we were harshly brought back to reality by blaring horns, bumper to bumper traffic, unruly tuk-tuk drivers and unlicensed bus drivers

Points to note if you’re travelling to Jaffna

• Even Google Maps screw up once in a while. Not all roads in Google Maps are actually roads.
• Try the local liquor. It’s not like you go to Jaffna every other day
• It helps if you know Tamil.
• Have your own transport. You can’t do this itinerary on public transport within 4 days
• Obey road rules. Traffic Police swarms the A9 and not like you can go to Jaffna to pick up your license again
• Kilinochchi has the last petrol shed until you reach Jaffna. (At least that’s what we know)

Overall, the visit to Jaffna made us aware of a culture in our own country that we were only privy to through books and media and that too was vastly different from reality. Jaffna is still a sensitive subject. Treating the civil war and its remains as a tourist attraction is insensitive to the people of the land who went through difficult times that we in Colombo can never come to imagine. Go to Jaffna for its culture, the city and its history. You will have much more to take home with you.

(More photos at my Flickr profile here)