Map of Sri Lanka showing the location of Jaffna in relation to 'C' Colombo - Jaffna Map

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Jaffna, Yapanaya or Yazhpanam
is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, almost 400km from Colombo.

Sri Lankan craftsman - - Image courtesy of srilankatourism.org.uk and The Sri Lanka Tourist Board for the UK and Ireland Most of the residents of Jaffna are Sri Lankan Tamils with marked presence of Sri Lankan Moors of Arab descent. Jaffna had been the second largest city in Sri Lanka for several decades, until the recent civil conflict. When the area was 'ethnically cleansed' of Muslims and Sinhalese.

The Jaffna Peninsula is a disputed territory of Sri Lanka by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) AKA The Tamil Tigers 'Freedom Fighters'. The Jaffna peninsula is practically an island, connected the rest of Sri Lanka by a causeway known as Elephant Pass and a narrow spit of land which houses the Chundikkulam bird sanctuary. There are plenty of beaches but no resorts and until the troubles are resolved this is likely to remain the case.

A ‘star’ fort in Jaffna is said to be Asia’s best example of Dutch colonial fortifications.

The Mahavamsa mentions that Lord Buddha used his iddhi or yogic powers to visit Jaffna by air to resolve a crisis over a jewel between the Naga chieftains and introduced Buddhism to them.

We apologise for the repetition of some place or proper names with different spellings, but there is no definitive spelling translation of these words.

We welcome reviews of any Sri Lanka resorts, hotels or visitor attractions. Please see our contributing writer's guidelines.

The conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, commonly known as “the Tamil Tigers”) ended in May 2009. Although the conflict is over, the LTTE are believed to retain some capability to mount terrorist attacks such as grenade or explosive device attacks and shootings. The Government has relaxed the State of Emergency, under which it has extensive anti-terrorism powers but there are still heightened levels of security (e.g. checkpoints, road blocks) throughout the country. You should exercise a high level of vigilance. The risk for the most part is one of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. In order to minimise this, you should avoid military, government and paramilitary locations. Always carry formal photographic identification with you. Stop and show your ID when asked to do so. If you are detained, you should ask the authorities to contact the British High Commission.

Fatal attacks linked to the LTTE occurred throughout the country into 2009. Most attacks have been directed against Government and military targets though a number have been focussed on civilian targets such as crowded public places, public transport and market areas. Some of the most significant attacks included a suicide bomb at a political gathering in March 2009 and an air raid on military targets in Colombo in February 2009.

JeGraNet.com statement - 15 October 2008 - Quote from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: "There is a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka. Fatal attacks have become more frequent. They have occurred in Colombo and throughout Sri Lanka, including places frequented by expatriate and foreign travellers. Further attacks may occur at any time. There is an increasing risk of British nationals being caught up in an attack". As independent travellers we left Colombo after just 9 days into our planned 6 month stay as a result of a feeling of insecurity, however we are sure that 'package tour' travellers to tourist resorts will probably enjoy a worry free holiday.