13 Amazing Places to Visit in Jaffna + Essential Guide

North Sri Lanka, and its amazing capital, Jaffna, is one of Sri Lanka’s hidden gems. If you’ve spent any time at all in the country, you’ll soon notice that it’s a different world up north. Think fewer people, almost no tourists, incredible scenery and an infectious laid-back vibe. For intrepid travellers, Jaffna is one region you don’t want to miss.

With so many interesting things to do in Jaffna and so many places to visit in Jaffna, you could spend ages in north Sri Lanka and never get bored. We love Jaffna and bet you will too.

Need to get your bearings? Well, you’re in luck. Read on for our complete guide to north Sri Lanka, including all the best places to visit in Jaffna.

Read: The Essential Sri Lanka Travel Guide (2024) for all the travel information you need

Jaffna: Overview

Jaffna is distinctly different from the rest of Sri Lanka. Geographically closer to India than to Colombo, the Southern Indian influence in the north is strong. Culturally, North Sri Lanka has long been home to Sri Lanka’s Tamil population – contrasted with the strong Sinhalese presence in the rest of the country. 

These differences are easily seen in the Indian-style food and the bountiful Hindu temples that pepper the entire northern region. 

With a lower population density, north Sri Lanka is super relaxed and noticeably less chaotic than the rest of the country. Jaffna feels like a big village, with tons of little laneways to explore, people cruising by on bicycles and juice bars galore (not to mention the incredible food).

Jaffna and the Civil War

Jaffna was the epicentre of Sri Lanka’s long and brutal civil war. From 1983 to 2009, the entire north of Sri Lanka was engulfed in the civil war between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan army – the ending of which was nothing short of apocalyptic and devastating for the northern inhabitants. You’ll see the scars of this terrible conflict all throughout Jaffna and north Sri Lanka. 

Some reconciliation work has occurred, but much remains to be done. For many in the north, there’s still a massive difference between north and south, which is important to bear in mind when travelling in north Sri Lanka.

Related: Gartmore Falls – How to Visit Sri Lanka’s Most Beautiful Waterfall

Best Time to Visit Jaffna

Be prepared: it’s hot in north Sri Lanka. Seriously hot. 

The best time to visit Jaffna is between December and March. This is when temperatures will be at their mildest. Outside of this window, you’ll be facing 30C +, plus humidity. 

We visited in April, and hot damn, was it warm. We lived in the Australian Outback for 2.5 years and we still found Jaffna hot. That’s saying something. Trying to visit all those wonderful places to visit in Jaffna in the heat was damn hard.

In July / August, Jaffna holds the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil Temple Festival, an incredible 25-day celebration filled with food, rituals and parades. If you’re around at this time, this is an excellent thing to do in Jaffna!

Places to Visit in Jaffna

Besides just hanging out and enjoying the wonderful, laid-back vibes of north Sri Lanka, there are a wealth of places to visit in Jaffna that could keep you busy for days. 

Read: 14 Awesome Things to Do in Sri Lanka

Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil

The Nallur Kandaswamny Kovil is an incredible work of art and a place to visit in Jaffna that you absolutely cannot miss. It is easily one of the best things to do in Jaffna.

As with all Hindu temples, men must take off their shirts and women must cover their arms and legs. Photography is not allowed inside and is strictly enforced. 

Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil is closed to visitors from 12 pm – 3 pm. We recommend visiting around 5 pm as the sun is setting. At this time, the bright orange colours of the temple really pop at this time and change with the sun. It’s a magnificent sight to see. Entrance is free. 

Pro tip: visit when it’s busy. Why? Because it’s an incredible cultural experience. Expect lots of people, praying, chanting, smoking incense and deep, hypnotic music. We went twice: the first time we went, it was super busy and it felt like a mystical, psychedelic experience, akin to being on acid. (Hence why we went back a second time 😉 ). 

Jaffna’s colourful Temples

There are countless Hindu temples scattered throughout Jaffna, easily identifiable by their red-and-white-striped walls and tall, beautifully ornamented walls. The level of detail and amount of colour on them is simply astounding and these unique structures are great places to visit in Jaffna.

Just get on your bike and cruise around, stopping in at each one you find. 

Check out all our Sri Lanka travel tips in our article 47 Essential Sri Lanka Travel Tips

Read: 21 Amazing Places to Visit in Anuradhapura in 2024

Jaffna’s islands

Jaffna’s islands are beautiful, quirky and a delight to discover. There’s no real specific sight to see, rather, the attraction here is the journey and the islands themselves, which have a real end-of-the-world feeling. This makes them one of the top places to visit in Jaffna.

Jaffna’s islands include Delft Island, Nanaivatu, Velanai and Karaitivu. All of the islands take a bit of work to get to, so reaching them is part of the experience itself! It’s a highlight of all the things to do in Jaffna.

Delft Island

Getting to Delft is no easy feat, but if you want to feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere, this is your place. 

To get to Delft Island, you have to take a ferry from Kurikadduwan (KKD) on Punkudutivu Island which leaves early in the morning (around 8.00 am). To get to the ferry at KKD, take the 6.30 am bus from Jaffna centre to the pier. 

The ferry is pretty crowded, so don’t expect comfort. The journey takes one hour. Once on the island, you can hire a tuk-tuk to take you around. 

Bring all the food and water you’ll need and reconsider visiting in the hotter months (April and May). 

Nanaivatu

Home to both a sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site and a holy Hindu temple, little Nanaivatu is only ever busy on poya days. Outside of these, you’ll probably be the only one there.

You can visit both of Nanaivatu’s sites by foot. 

To get to Nanaivatu, take a ferry from Kurikadduwan (KKD). Ferries depart every 30 minutes or so. 

Velanai

Velanai is connected to the mainland by a long causeway. And we mean long! It’s quite the fun journey to cross on a scooter and that in itself is a great thing to do in Jaffna.

On the island, you can find Kayts, a little fishing village, and Charty Beach. 

To get to Velanai, you can drive or take a bus from Jaffna across the causeway, or if already on Karaitivu, take the cute barge across. For a fun day trip from Jaffna that incorporates Velanai, see Western Loop below.

Karaitivu

Featuring the popular Casuarina beach, Karaitivu is a good island to drive around to soak in the island vibes but has few specific sites of interest. It’s still an excellent place to visit in Jaffna.

To get to Karaitivu, you can drive or take a bus from Jaffna. For a fun day trip from Jaffna that incorporates Karaitivu, see Western Loop below.

Heading to the East Coast? Read A Quick Guide to Visiting Pigeon Island

Things to Do In Jaffna

In addition to all the wonderful places to visit in Jaffna, there are a ton of fun things to do in Jaffa. Trust us, you will not be bored in Jaffna!

Rent a scooter and explore the peninsula

Renting a scooter and exploring the Peninsula is by far one of the best things to do in Jaffna. The landscape is unique, the people are super friendly and you probably won’t see another tourist. 

Need some inspiration? Here are two different Jaffna motorbike trips you can do. We’ve done both – they’re both a great way to spend a day and one of the best things to do in Jaffna.

Eastern Loop

Including stopping to swim, eat, take photos and just generally stretch your legs, this loop should take you a whole day. 

From Jaffna, head east, hitting up the following spots:

• Manalkadu Beach. This beach has absolutely unreal white sand and crystal clear, turquoise water. The water is also refreshingly cool, which is a nice change of pace after the warm bath waters of the south. There’s the usual trash that you find on many Sri Lankan beaches, but it doesn’t detract from how beautiful it is. Plus, expect to have it all to yourself. We went on a Saturday and it was empty. 
• Explore the area south of Manalkadu. From Manalkadu, head south as far as you want. It’s a wonderful area to explore aimlessly, with lots of little shops and people just hanging about and massive sand dunes scattered throughout. Here you’ll see scars from the war – destroyed buildings, big holes in the ground and plenty of decapitated trees. 
• Point Pedro. This is the northernmost tip of Sri Lanka and a famous place to visit in Jaffna. There’s a cute lighthouse to see, but not much else. 
• KKS Beach 
• Keerimalai Springs. This is a sacred spring, set outside facing the ocean. There are two separate bathing areas, segregated by sex. Men get the scenic, open-air side, while women get the enclosed one that has no view whatsoever (go figure). Tip for women visiting: Bring a set of clothes to swim in. Tamil women swim fully clothed and you’ll feel a lot less conspicuous if you’re not in a bikini. 
• Keerimalai Temple. Another beautiful and intricate Hindu temple worth exploring and a great place to visit in Jaffna. It’s really beautiful inside and out. 

Pro tip: get some food at one of the delicious local hotels outside Valvettithurai.

Western Loop

Depending on how long you stay at Casuarina Beach, this loop should take anywhere from a half to a full day. 

From Jaffna, head to Keerimalai Temple (make sure to stop at a juice bar for a cold drink en route), then head west and stop at the following: 

• Take the bridge across to Karainaga on Karaitivu Island. The feeling as you drive along this long causeway is blissful. 
• Casuarina Beach. This is a very popular beach with locals. Entrance costs 20 LKR per person and an additional 20 LKR for a bike. It’s a cute beach, but not spectacular, but still worth a visit. There are lots of places to grab some food and you should definitely get an ice cream at the airplane. Yep, you read that correctly, the airplane. 
• Drive around Karaitivu Island.
• Take the barge to Kayts. This is an extremely cute little ferry that runs every 30 minutes during daylight hours. The trip takes 15 minutes. 
• Make a quick stop at Charty Beach. This beach isn’t much to see, but again, it’s filled with locals and a nice place to get some local atmosphere. 

Where to next? Read: Wilpattu National Park – The Ultimate Sri Lanka Safari Destination

Go On A Juice Bar Crawl

Sri Lanka is overflowing with fresh juice stalls and somehow this is taken to the extreme in north Sri Lanka. It feels like there’s one every 50 metres.

One of our favourite things we did whilst in north Sri Lanka was to go on a juice bar crawl, and we can’t recommend it highly enough. Hop on a scooter and just drive around, stopping at everyone you see for a drink.

Our recommendations? Vithaya Fresh Juice, Yaal Juice and Juice Spot. We dare you to find them.

War history tour

North Sri Lanka is a great place to take a tour focused on better understanding Sri Lanka’s civil war. There are numerous operators who can take you out for the day to various memorials, monuments and strategic sites.

Ask at your guesthouse, or contact Sri Lanka Click Travel Mate, who specialises in meaningful and unique North Sri Lanka tours.

Other Things to Do in Jaffna: Tours

If you like your activities well-organised, there are a number of fun and exciting tours you can do in and around Jaffna.

Looking for more things to do in Jaffna? Read: Sri Lanka – 10 Reasons You Shouldn’t Skip the North

The Best Restaurants in Jaffna

The food in Jaffna is hands down, the best in the entire country. Think Indian-influenced flavours and lots of delicious treats like dosas, uttapam and lassis.

Eating all the delicious food is one of the best things to do in Jaffna and you could easily spend a week here eating your heart out!

Mangos

Mangos is the most iconic and famous restaurant in Jaffna – it rightfully gets a shout-out in every travel guide and blog. The great thing about Mangos is that it’s not just for tourists. Yes, the tourists flock here, but so do the locals. 

We’re divided on it: Zandy loves it, Dotti likes it. You can expect to find the usual suspects: dosas, uttapam, kotthu, and kotthu parotta. We both agree that their lassis are fantastic. 

Prices are reasonable, but it’s not the cheapest place in town. A dosa costs between 500 – 750 LKR. 

Malayan Cafe

Malayan Cafe is an amazing little spot in the centre of town, and it’s especially good for breakfast or brunch. 

Our recommendation: try the thick dosas with potato masala. The vadai are very good as well. 

The prices aren’t advertised but we’ve eaten here a few times, had lots of food and tea and it’s always been between 900 – 1000 LKR for both of us. 

Nallur Bhavan Vegetarian Restaurant

It’s not much to look at, but Nallur Bhavan Vegetarian Restaurant serves up the best chilli kotthu parotta in Jaffna. This is a place to visit in Jaffna just for that alone.

The dosa is okay, but you can’t beat the prices. A main will set you back 250 – 300 LKR. 

Lavin’s Vegetarian Family Restaurant

Lavin’s Vegetarian Family Restaurant is another favourite in Jaffna with delicious food. Expect the standard fare and similar prices to Mangos (500 – 700 LKR for a dosa-based main, 1000+ for curries). 

Rio Ice Cream

This sprawling ice cream palace is probably the most famous (and the busiest) place in town. It is literally an attraction in its own right and eating some ice cream here is definitely a thing to do in Jaffna.

Rios serves up a  baffling number of ways in which you can eat ice cream. You’ll pay 150 – 350 LKR, depending on the extravagance of your choice. 

Lingan Ice Cream

Just around the corner from its famous neighbour. Good ice cream, a lot fewer people. 

How to Get Around Jaffna

While Jaffna is not a large city, it is somewhat spread out and having your own set of wheels (either in the form of a scooter or bicycle), will make it much more pleasant to get around.

Considering all the things to do in Jaffna and where they’re located, your own transportation will make things much easier. When you factor in tuk-tuk costs, it’ll also end up being cheaper. 

Many people get around by bicycle in Jaffna so the general public is more used to bicycles on the road. But this is still Sri Lanka, so be careful. 

Scooter hire for the day costs approximately 2000 LKR, while bicycles cost 750 LKR per day. 

Considering travel insurance for your trip to Sri Lanka? Shop for plans at SafetyWing

Like this post? Pin it for later!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you buy or book anything through them, we’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps us run this website and create comprehensive guides to help you get off the beaten track. We only recommend products and/or services that we use ourselves and trust.