"Jaffna" - A land of hope...
October 8th, 2011
After three decades of ruthless war, Jaffna finally became accessible to the general public. I've always wanted to visit the far north of the island and that day had finally dawned. We started the trip at 3am on a Saturday morning. It was a loooong journey. The longest I've ever made on land. But neverthless it was an interesting one since I was travelling with 17 close relatives in quite a comfortable bus.
After three decades of ruthless war, Jaffna finally became accessible to the general public. I've always wanted to visit the far north of the island and that day had finally dawned. We started the trip at 3am on a Saturday morning. It was a loooong journey. The longest I've ever made on land. But neverthless it was an interesting one since I was travelling with 17 close relatives in quite a comfortable bus.
The A9 road to Jaffna is carpeted till you reach Vavuniya. From here the road is not at its best. But the roads are being constructed and after a rough estimate of 1-2yrs, it should be a very comfortable ride to the northern peninsula.
We took a longer way to Jaffna. Though long it was definitely a worthwhile route and is highly recommended. We took a right from Puliyankulam and headed towards Mullaittivu, where fierce battles took place towards the end of the eelam war. We entered Mullaitivu crossing the "Nandikadal Lagoon", a familiar name during the latter part of the war. We met up with Major Sunil Jayarathne, the commanding officer of the area, who was such a nice gentleman and gave us a warm welcome. Mullaittivu was known for its famous Sea Tiger strong hold, a base that had been present since the very begining of the eelam war. Its beaches also holds the famous "Farah 3" ship, a Jordanian cargo ship captured by the sea tigers and used for their training. |
While enroute to the beach on both sides of the road lies thousands of distroyed vehicles. This was done by the fleeing LTTE so that the SL army will not be able to take use of them. We were also lucky enough to see the sea tiger "Submarine Yard" which for some good reason they failed to complete.
Leaving Mullaitivu, we drove off to Puthukudiyirippu, another land mark location when concerning the eelam war. This was home to the LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran. It was also a town badly hit during the war period. Towards the end of the war there were fierce gun battles between the armed forces and the LTTE. There were thousands of houses destroyed with artillery fire and now being covered by thick forests.
We went to see the Tamil Tiger leaders personal residence. It was one of the most conceled places I've ever come across. It was stratergically placed right in the middle of the forest and the pathway leading to it was covered with tree branches. Secured with 6 highly fortified defence circles, the house had 4 underground stories and was built in a way that none could have seen it from the skies. It was evident after seeing it that no matter how powerful and ruthless one could be, the fear of danger on ones life could take someone to extreme measure of personal security though they do not realize that the pawns they use in battle have no such luxuries.
We also saw the famous sea tiger leader "Soosai" bungalow. Finally we saw the famous battle ground where the tiger leader and his close followers were shot to death. Strangely the place was deserted with nothing except a plastic bucket left for a monument as if to mock the leader!
We went to see the Tamil Tiger leaders personal residence. It was one of the most conceled places I've ever come across. It was stratergically placed right in the middle of the forest and the pathway leading to it was covered with tree branches. Secured with 6 highly fortified defence circles, the house had 4 underground stories and was built in a way that none could have seen it from the skies. It was evident after seeing it that no matter how powerful and ruthless one could be, the fear of danger on ones life could take someone to extreme measure of personal security though they do not realize that the pawns they use in battle have no such luxuries.
We also saw the famous sea tiger leader "Soosai" bungalow. Finally we saw the famous battle ground where the tiger leader and his close followers were shot to death. Strangely the place was deserted with nothing except a plastic bucket left for a monument as if to mock the leader!
We were finally on our way to Jaffna and it was past 11pm when we came to the hotel we had booked previously. It was a long weekend and it was practically impossible to find vacant hotels. Someone had recommended "The Millenium" and out of lack of choice we had booked it. It was a horrible decission!
October 9th, 2011 The first thing we did in the morning was to look for a better hotel. We came across "Tilko Jaffna City Hotel", the best in the Peninsula at the time of writing. It definitely had its quality for a hotel in Jaffna. Even though not star class it sure was a comfortable place to stay and would be the best recommended hotel in Jaffna. Thankfully there were some rooms vacating and we were able to spend the rest of the days at Tilko. |
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The Jaffna city was very impressive for a place that lasted 26yrs of bombardment. And it showed a lot of development during the recent time. For travelers it had a variety of dinning places and rest houses. The town had enough groceries and had a wonderful market. The mobile network coverage was very good thanks to two recently placed towers (Seen below).
One of the most impressive things at the Jaffna town was "The Rio Ice Cream". It served some of the best ice cream I've tasted at an unbelievable price. A definite "must visit" to anyone who's travelling Jaffna.
After moving into the new hotel we continued our journey which brought us to the "Kadurugoda Viharaya", a place written in history as where 60 arahath (enlightened) priests had died after a food poisoning. The tombs are still standing strong to bring memories to the place.
Next we went to "Dambakolapatuna", where the arahath Sangamiththa landed. She brought a sprig of the original Sri Mahabodhi to the country as a symbol of buddhism to Sri Lanka. It was planted at Anuradhapura where the great "Sri Maha Bo Tree" now lies. Dambakolapatuna Viharaya was a beautiful temple located by a gorgeous beach.
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Island Hopping.................
October 10th 2011 On the third day morning we went to Kurichchikadu island from where we were suppose to ferry it to Nagadeepa Temple in Nainathivu island. The road way to Kurichchikadu was simply gorgeous. Having to cross two large lagoons where you could see water on both edges of the road was breath taking. The lagoons were used largely for prawn farms and fishing. |
Kurichchikadu island was a hub where the ferry service was provided to the other smaller islands. Well I don't know if it could be called a ferry service! It was more similar to smuggling people in fishing boats! It was sad to see how around 100 people were packed into one small fishing boats engine room and they were asked to even sit on the heated engines. It was even more surprising that the Navy, who were supposed to be a responsible body, was actually helping the boatmen to do it.
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The people had no ventilation in the tightly packed engine room with only one or two exits. In case the boat sank, all entrances would be blocked and only god will know the fate that might set upon those travelling in it. The government should really take measures for more safety of these travelers.
The Kurichchikadu island on the other hand was very pleasing with some exceptional scenery. The lagoon looked lovely in the morning sun and it was enjoying to photograph it.
The Kurichchikadu island on the other hand was very pleasing with some exceptional scenery. The lagoon looked lovely in the morning sun and it was enjoying to photograph it.
After a gruesome 20min journey we reached Nainativu island. It was a landmark-place in buddhist culture where lord Buddha supposedly brought peace between the two serpent races that ruled the island back in history avoiding a great battle. The island holds the "Nagadeepa Viharaya" and the "Nagadeepa Kovila". |
Back in Kurichchikadu we loaded a better vessel, namely "Vadatharakai II". It was almost an hours journey to the "Delft Island". There we went on a sight seeing trip on trucks. It was mainly barren land. The drought had left only a minimum of greenery. There were dying carcasses of cows and the pony which the island was famous for. We also came across the famous "Baobab" tree, the largest tree trunk in Sri Lanka. Also in the island is a dutch fortress ruins that should not be missed.
A monument built at the blast sight
On our way back from our island hopping we reached the spot in the Kaytes Island where a team of the highest officials in the armed forces were killed in a blast. On August 8, 1992 Maj. General Kobbekaduwa(General Officer Commanding Northern Sector), Brigadier (posthumously Major General) Vijaya Wimalaratne, Jaffna Brigade Commander and Commodore (posthumously Rear Admiral) Mohan Jayamaha, Commander Northern Naval Area were killed when the Land Rover they were traveling in was destroyed by a blast which raised a lot of controversy in the country.
October 11th, 2011
Our trip was coming to an end. It was time to head towards Colombo, but before that we had one more place to visit. The Sri Lanka's largest hindu kovil....The "Nallur Kovil". The Nallur Kandaswamy Temple is another "must visit" places in Jaffna. Its traditions and architecture is of great interest.
And we were off for another 12hr journey. On the way we just glanced at the Jaffna museum since it was closed on a public holiday ( if not, another "must visit"). We also came across several other monuments of war and before long the whole bus went into the silence of sleep.
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