Jaffna

Tamil, Hindu and only recently reachable: palmyra palms, an island causeway and food that tastes nothing like the south.

Every route we run through the northern province passes Jaffna, and the question is never whether to include it but how many nights it earns. Our answer is 2 nights — enough to see it at the hour it is worth seeing and still leave in daylight.

Tell a consultant which month you are coming and they will say plainly whether this is the right place for it, or whether the same days are better spent on the other coast.