Remote and war-torn JAFFNA is far and away the largest town in northern Sri Lanka and the undisputed cultural capital of the Sri Lankan Tamils, who have controlled the area since the thirteenth century. Further south, the vast swathe of sparsely populated countryside known as the Vanni is little visited, even by Sri Lankans, although the remote church at Madhu draws a steady stream of pilgrims of all faiths while the war-torn town of Kilinochchi, former capital of the LTTE, provides a stark reminder of the destructiveness of the war.
Foremost of these is the fascinating town of Jaffna, with its absorbing mixture of colonial charm and vibrant Tamil culture, while the Jaffna Peninsula and surrounding islands offer a string of remote temples, beaches and more off-beat attractions. Reaching the area is now straightforward, and although it still entails a long road journey (or short flight), for those who make the effort there are rich rewards. The region is only gradually emerging from the long years of isolation and fighting, and the painfully slow process of rebuilding shattered towns and villages, de-mining fields, restoring roads and returning refugees to their former homes is likely to continue for some time to come.įor the traveller, the north is Sri Lanka’s final frontier, and offers a fascinating opportunity to explore a region emerging from over twenty years of isolation and civil war.
For much of the past two decades, large areas of the north were controlled by the LTTE, who established their own de facto independent state stretching from just north of Vavuniya through to Elephant Pass (while for a period they also controlled Jaffna and the Jaffna Peninsula until it was recaptured by the SLA in 1995).
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