Responsible Tourism: We are Sri Lanka’s only Travel Partner endorsed by The Long Run - a community that ensures travel experiences have a positive impact, and that conservation is socially and financially sustainable. Our private trips restore. Each customized slow travel itinerary is driven by a purpose to help you explore the unusual, support several responsible tourism initiatives, strongly support local communities and conservation efforts. Above all, we encourage a healthy respect for authentic local interactions.

Jaffna is unique.

Ayu in the Wild’s guided walks around Jaffna is about exploring Sri Lanka’s northernmost outpost through the eyes of locals and their pride in a culture brimming with traditions, faith and the flavours of its cuisine. There are Forts, ancient Hindu Kovils and modern religious monuments. Its landscapes are a rich contrast of arid empty spaces, green palmyrah tree lined roads interspersed with bird rich lagoons and uncrowded beach fronts, all vying for a place in the storytelling of Sri Lanka.

How to Experience Jaffna Like a Local

Guests on a holiday to Sri Lanka with Ayu in the Wild will experience guided walks around Jaffna’s local markets where you will walk among traders of Palmyra products, traditional dresses, jewellery, jasmine garlands, tobacco, delicious fruit and more. For walking tours in Jaffna, it is best to remember that the highest rainfall is experienced between November and mid-December and the hottest months are in May and June.

Narratives on the guided walks of Jaffna will be from a local community-based guide who will speak of the famous Kings, Hindu mythology and beliefs that guide traditional lifestyles from centuries ago, or about his days as a schoolboy when he had to relocate during the conflict. There will also be interactions with people engaged in both traditional as well as creative livelihoods of art and craft. From cooking to eating, your walk in Jaffna will be spiced with the distinct flavours of the peninsula. Each experience hosted by locals supports residents of Jaffna and local artisans, many of them women and is part of the positive impact footprint of your Sri Lanka itinerary.

Visit the Jaffna Fort - built by Portuguese colonisers of Ceylon and later captured by the Dutch invaders, on a guided tour of the ruins. A day out in the unexplored parts of the far north of the Peninsular will take you on a half day drive through farming heartlands with the red soils of Jaffna, the Velvettiturai and coastal area, casuarina beach and Karainagar island.

Birdwatching in Jaffna with Ayu in the Wild’s Naturalist Guides will yield some unique species including the Grey Francolin, Little egret, Glossy Ibis, Brown Shrike, Common Hoopoe, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Whimbrel, Pacific golden plover and Garganey.

The Nallur Temple

The majestic Nallur Kandaswamy Hindu temple was originally built 947 and has been destroyed and rebuilt over many centuries since then. Visit the Nallur Temple in time for a guided tour during the special poojah times. Let our local community-based Guide bring out the many stories depicted in the paintings within: stories of Lord Sivan and Bharathy, the births of Lords Ganesh and Murugan and of the elaborate Dravidian architecture. The Nallur Kovil attracts devotees in their thousands during the 27 day annual festival starting in August each year. No photography is allowed within the Kovil and a strict dress code must be followed by all visitors.

How to Travel to Jaffna

Jaffna can be included into any Sri Lanka itinerary and connected through Anuradhapura or Sigiriya. Train rides can be booked by Ayu in the Wild from Anuradhapura to Jaffna or domestic flights can be arranged which will depart from Colombo and reach Jaffna in just over an hour.

To experience these walks in Jaffna on your holidays to Sri Lanka, send us an enquiry. Ayu in the Wild is a 100% Sri Lankan owner-run boutique travel agency based in Sri Lanka, curating tailor made private trips that restore and regenerate, since 2012. Discover Sri Lanka with the island’s only Travel Partner of The Long Run - a membership community committed to holistic sustainability. Founders of @sustainabletravelsrilanka

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