Jaffna

The city of Jaffna is also known as Yazhpanam. In Tamil dialect, this city was initially known as Yaalpaanam. At present, the Sinhalese refer to Jaffna as Yapanaya. The ports of this city were once part of the ancient silk route. Reference to this city is found in Marco Polo’s travel related documents.
Historical facts about the city of Jaffna are found in Chulavamsa, Mahavamsa, Kailaya Malai, Vaipava Malai and some other books. This city has a written history spanning for about 2000 years. At several point of time, different colonial power took over the city of Jaffna. The Portuguese took control of the city in 1621. In later years this city was also invaded by Dutch rulers. Jaffna also witnessed the rule of British colonizers. It came under British dominance from 1798.
This Sri Lankan city is mainly resided by Tamils. Small communities of Portuguese Burghers and Moors have also settled here. In the 1990s due to an ethnic conflict the Moors or the Muslims has to leave Jaffna. Majority of the population of Jaffna speak Sri Lankan Tamil language. English is also widely spoken here.
In Jaffna, there are a number of tourist attractions. The temples located in this city are popular to both devotees and tourists. One can visit the Nagapoosani Temple, Selva Sannithi Temple, Nallur Temple and the Madhu Church.

Jaffna Map