My Favourite Restaurants in Jaffna (& Tourist Map)

Hi Karl,

I’ve been following your adventures in India before and now I’m just enjoying this new Sri Lanka series you’re beginning because of / thanks to the ordeal you are going through for political reasons you evoked earlier. It will be over soon hopefully but you can successfully profit from it, as I can see, to make incredible things like your recent trips.
I’ve been in Jaffna myself before the lockdown so I’m now happy to discover that you are visiting the place yourself. I also stayed at the D’Villa, in my case, Guest House not the Garden House, which is the newer property held by the owner. The latter is an extremely sympathetic (strong) person that invited me to the D’Villa Garden House for Pongal so I had the chance to experiment the good vibes coming from that place as well. I can only confirm what you mentioned about the incredible breakfasts proposed there. They’re both visually attractive and extremely tasty! I also went to several other places you are showing us here and missed a few others. Like I went to the Malayan vegetarian restaurant which I found quite decent but did not try the Nallur Bhavan. It makes me want to give Jaffna another go now. Also I went to the Yarllini Hotel and that time I had converse impressions as yours: The promises of the food from the pictures outside were amazing but I found the diversity and the quality quite average once inside. Moreover, I did not go to Rio Ice Cream but the Lingan Ice Cream nearby the temple. This time, maybe I missed something. Similarly, if I may recommend something, at the junction between Navalar rd and Jaffna-Point Pedro rd immediately to the left when going to the centre on Jaffna-Point Pedro rd, there was a new fruit juice store held by a young guy where I found the juice amazing, so if you’re still around, you might give it a try if you want.
I understood that in the next episode you’re going to show some of the incredible beaches around Jaffna. I hope you could find about the Hindu temple where hot water springs out of the earth (a.k.a. sand) a few meters before the sea! (Keerimalai Naguleswaram Kovil) There are pools there, one for men, another for women, where you can swim. Some people believe those waters have medical properties. Beware that this spot is not on the main road from Jaffna but a step more to the West otherwise you end up in a military resort zone where foreign tourists are not necessarily well appreciated.

As for the northernmost point of Sri Lanka, Point Pedro, there is nothing exceptional there, apart from its geographical location. Very soon, however, there will be a bicycle race starting from there and traveling all the way up to Point Dondra (southernmost point of Sri Lanka) crossing the all island North to South by the middle. 600km that the racers are supposed to do in 24 hours for the most champion among them! Therefore, quite a challenge! This event is called ‘Race the Pearl’ and it will be held on the next 5th and 6th Februrary. In Colombo, there is a spot called ‘Spinner Cycling’ (Pitakotte-Talawatugoda rd) which is both a café and a bicycle repair shop. They’re trying to promote cycling in Sri Lanka and the owner of the place is also the organiser of ‘Race the Pearl’. You can rent bicycles from there and the meals of the café are both dietetic and very tasty. I know all of this because I cycled Sri Lanka myself and was amazed by the cycling culture in Jaffna which is even more developed than in Colombo. Riding a bicycle is an activity performed equally by both men and women in the northern province which is very different from the rest of the country and possibly from the whole subcontinent in general.
Sri Lanka, in my experience, is really a wonderfull country. I would mention two other places that are worth to visit. First Sigiriya, not only for its cultural legacy but also for its ambiance. it is currently the most visited site of the country and possibly the most touristic which might act as an authenticity seeker repellent, yet it has kepts its natural charm for the jungle is everywhere around. At night, wild elephants are roaming and nobody is supposed to stay outside alone. But you might try to observe them from a distance or at least you’ll hear them from the safety of your room. In second, I would recommend visiting Nuwara Eliya (pronounced ‘Nurelya’ by the locals) in the mountains where, by taking 2000 meters of altitude you just find yourself in a totally different country!

I wish you many other incredible experiences in the region and a lot of luck in the future!