Keerimalai springs and Point Pedro the northern tip day loop from Jaffna
Northern roads person with a free Jaffna day The map shows a coastal loop I cannot resist Keerimalai the sacred freshwater springs beside the sea the Naguleswaram kovil the northernmost point at Point Pedro with its lighthouse and Casuarina beach on the return Who has driven it recently How do the springs work for a respectful visitor what stands at the actual northern tip and does the loop fill a day richly or thinly
4 Answers from travellers
Jaffna guide and this loop is my favourite day to give visitors Run it counter clockwise Keerimalai first morning light and fewer bathers The springs how they work a stone walled freshwater pool sits directly on the shoreline fed by an underground spring the water rises cool and mineral and the sea crashes on the other side of the wall the bathing is gender separated the larger pool for men the walled womens pool adjacent bathe in shorts and a t shirt modesty is the code soap is not lockers are informal and the legend ties the springs to healing the name itself remembers a sage cured here The Naguleswaram kovil beside the springs is one of the ancient Pancha Ishwaram Shiva temples of the island heavily rebuilt after the war years but the sanctity is unbroken shoes off shoulders covered men may be asked to remove shirts in the inner sanctum Friday mornings bring the springs and kovil alive together Then east along the coast road through palmyra country and fishing villages to Point Pedro the northernmost tip the lighthouse stands at the point photography of the lighthouse itself is restricted as a security structure but the northernmost point marker and the fishermens beach beside it are free roam the sign says Point Pedro and the next landfall north is India and you have collected the islands other end if you have stood at Dondra The return leg west brings Casuarina beach at Karainagar side or the closer Manalkadu dunes and the buried church of St Anthony half swallowed by sand which is the photograph nobody expects from Sri Lanka The richness verdict with the springs bath the kovil the tip the dunes church and a Point Pedro crab curry lunch the loop fills a day generously hire a car or ride carefully the roads are flat quiet and lined with waving schoolchildren 4000 to 6000 LKR by tuktuk for the full circuit from Jaffna town
Counter clockwise loop booked springs bath planned dunes church saved to the map this is precisely the day I hoped the map was promising
The sand swallowed church at Manalkadu is extraordinary and entirely unvisited we had the dunes the ruin and the wind to ourselves for an hour
Confirming the Point Pedro crab curry as a destination in itself the lagoon crab up north needs no introduction and the lunch stop doubles the loop value
Fair TukTuk Prices
Help travelers avoid overcharging!
Be the first to report a priceYou must be logged in to post an answer.
Log In to Answer