Jaffna Town Day Tour, Jaffna Town

Jaffna town is an atmospheric place to visit and this tour takes in the main highlights. You’ll visit several of the historic buildings in Jaffna, some damaged by years of war but some having now been restored. The traditional Jaffna House is built around a central courtyard and you’ll visit several excellent examples.

You’ll also visit the Rosarian Convent for the chance to purchase the wine made by the sisters there – a novel experience! For those keen on churches, Jaffna has a strong Christian tradition with several worth a quick visit, such as St Mart’s Cathedral, St James’s Church and Vaddukoddai Portuguese Church. The old Jaffna Archaeological Museum completely survived the war and has several interesting exhibits on its dusty old shelves.

Jaffna is famous for its food, and this tour will include lunch at one of its excellent restaurants, where you can sample traditional Tamil food. 

Jaffna Fort was mainly destroyed during the war, but it was Sri Lanka’s biggest and most impressive fort and it is still worth a visit. From here, the centre of town, with its central market and jewellery street, can be explored on foot. The contents of Jaffna Library are a shadow of what they once were, but it is still a peaceful haven with industrious students beavering away.

Jaffna has Hindu temples on almost every street, and many are worth a quick visit. On this tour, we suggest visiting the holy Nallur Temple in time to make puja. The atmosphere is electric during this time, and the temple itself is fascinating. Bear in mind that men should remove their tops and enter the temple bare-chested, and women should dress accordingly.