1. Ride in a Cool Rickshaw

There aren’t too many options for transportation in Jaffna, but riding around in a “cool rickshaw” is probably the best choice!

The cool thing about the Bajaj rickshaw’s is that they are actually comfortable, and you can get a good view out the doorway.

2. Jaffna Fish Market

There are a number of small scale fish markets around Jaffna city, but the one located on Beach Road is easy to get to and very relaxed. The fish market in Jaffna gets started right around 7 am and when I went there was a good selection of exotic fish and the normal catch of the day.

The entire market consisted of only about 100 men, trickling in and out, making it nice and calm as compared to many of the bigger city fish markets in this world!

3. Walk Around Beach Road

Beach Road is one of the coolest areas of Jaffna – and it’s not because of the beach. It’s because of the fascinating life and the community that exists in the area.

4. Nallur Kovil – Ceremony

Jaffna, in northern Sri Lanka is populated by a majority of Hindu Tamil’s. Nallur Kovil (also known by its full name Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil), is the most famous Hindu temple complex in Jaffna.

While the temple is home to a number of festivals throughout the year, Nallur Kovil also holds daily ritualistic ceremonies. Catching a Hindu ceremony where you get to hear the sounds and smells is one of the most interesting things to do in Jaffna.

Daily Ceremony:

• There are ceremonies throughout the day, but from what I’ve heard the best time is 4 – 5 pm. I personally arrived at 4 pm and watched the ceremony for about 30 minutes.
• Women must have their legs and shoulders covered and men are required to take off shirts before entering the temple.
• No photography inside the temple.

5. Pilgrimage to Nainativu Island

If you are up for a day trip out of Jaffna, one of the popular things for locals to do is to make the pilgrimage to Nainativu Island. The island is one of the holiest sites in Sri Lanka for both Buddhists and Hindus.

The Buddhist temple is known as Nagadipa Purana Vihara (Naga Vihare) and the Hindu temple is the Sri Naga Pooshani Amman Kovil.

How to get to Nainativu Island:

• Take any local bus heading to Nagdeepa from Jaffna – 50 LKR ($0.44)
• Ferry to Nainativu Island – 30 LRK ($0.26)
• Double this for a round trip from Jaffna – about $1.40

6. Catholic Cathedrals

Though Jaffna is predominantly Hindu, there are quite a few Roman Catholic churches especially around the beach side area of town.

Some of the most famous cathedrals include: St. John’s, St. Mary’s, Our Lady of Refuge Church, St. James’ and John the Baptist. Pictured above is a view of St. James’ Cathedral and school.

7. Old Buildings and Ruins

As Jaffna was recently in the middle of the long running Sri Lankan civil war, there are lots and lots of empty fields and bombed out, decaying ruins. Everywhere you look around Jaffna there’s a pile of rubble and jungle vines starting to grow.

Taking a walk around town while checking out some of the ruins of Jaffna is one of the interesting things to do in Jaffna.

8. Jaffna Fort

The well known iconic fortress in Jaffna was originally built by the Portuguese but was later overtaken by the Dutch. The Dutch transformed the city of Jaffna into a successful trading hub.

Throughout the war, the Jaffna Fort was the center of a number of battles and today (though it’s being restored at the moment) it remains a great historical destination to see.

Visiting the Jaffna Fort is one of the popular things to do for both local tourists and foreigners alike.

9. Graveyard View

Another solemn reminder of the former war in Jaffna is the Catholic graveyard located near the beach, just off Beach Road.

10. Jaffna Public Library

Another building in Jaffna that has an interesting history is the Jaffna Public Library. At its peak, it was one of the largest libraries in Asia – but it was burned down in 1981.

The library has since been rebuilt, but it doesn’t house nearly the collection that it had before.

Entrance fee is 10 LKR ($0.09) – pretty cheap (stuff like this made it possible to travel through Sri Lanka on $10 per day)

11. Jaffna Causeway

The northern part of Sri Lanka is made up of small low lying islands or which Jaffna is connected by causeway. You can walk a little ways down the causeway, take a rickshaw or take a local bus to another island.

12. Jaffna Shopping Market

The central part of Jaffna is as busy these days as parts of Colombo. Near the bus station is a lively market that is stocked with all necessities one could possibly want.

From Tamil style clothing to tools and dvd’s and music cd’s, the market will always have you excited. The friendly Sri Lankans and the rowdy traffic adds to the bustling scene.

13. Eat at Hotel Rolex Restaurant

One of my favorite things to do in Jaffna (like most places I go) is to dine on the local food. Jaffna, being the center of Sri Lankan Tamil culture presents a few different Sri Lankan food delicacies and tasty specialties.

Hotel Rolex is an excellent restaurant to get a satisfying Jaffna style cheap meal!

Full rice and curry meals go for just $1 – $2 per person.

14. Sri Lankan Sunrise Breakfast

There’s nothing more pleasant than taking advantage of the cool morning in Jaffna. Along with the beautiful daily sunrise, Jaffna has a few very local restaurants that serve cheap and delicious dishes and cups of steamy ginger and milk tea.

15. Eat Jaffna Mangoes

Of all the things to do in Jaffna, sometimes sitting back and enjoying a few mangoes and just people watching is one of the most rewarding.

The area of Jaffna is well known throughout Sri Lanka for its supply and deliciousness of mangoes. In Pettah Market in Colombo, many of the vendors will even tell you they have “Jaffna mangoes!”

16. Play Football in Jaffna

If you happen to be awake in the really early morning (about 6 am), these guys will be out in the field enthusiastically playing a little football and sometimes cricket. This neighborhood field was located near the fish market just off Beach Road.

Have you been to Jaffna? What others things did you find to do?