Visit Jaffna
A Magical Destination
Jaffna (
Tamil: யாழ்ப்பாணம், romanized: Yāḻppāṇam, Sinhala: යාපනය ) is
the capital city of the Northern Province of
Sri Lanka . It is the administrative
headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same
name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th
most populous city. Jaffna is approximately six miles (9.7 kilometres)
from Kandarodai which served as an emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from
classical antiquity. Jaffna's suburb Nallur, served as the capital of
the four-century-long medieval Jaffna Kingdom.
Prior to the Sri Lankan Civil War, it was Sri Lanka's second most
populous city after Colombo. Jaffna has been a contested city. It was
made into a colonial port town during the
Portuguese occupation of the Jaffna
peninsula in 1619 who lost it to the Dutch,
only to lose it to the British in 1796.
The majority of the city's population are Sri Lankan Tamils with a
significant number of Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamils and other ethnic
groups present in the city prior to the civil war. Most Sri Lankan
Tamils are Hindus followed by Christians, Muslims and a small Buddhist
minority. The city is home to number of educational institutions
established during the colonial and post-colonial period. It also has
number of commercial institutions, minor industrial units, banks, hotels
and other government institutions. It is home to many historical sites
such as the popular Jaffna library that was burnt down and rebuilt and
the Jaffna fort which was rebuilt during the Dutch colonial period.